Wise Men Still Seek Him
Matthew 2:1-12
Rick Warren, now retired pastor of Saddleback Church near Los Angeles and best-selling author of The Purpose-Driven Life, tells this story from his childhood:
My sister recently found a picture of me as a three-year-old, standing next to a birthday cake for Jesus, complete with candles. The cake was my idea. As a toddler, I asked my mother, “Why do we have Christmas?” Mom patiently explained that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birthday. In a burst of preschooler inspiration, I concluded with a child’s logic, “Well then, we should have a birthday party! We can have cake and Kool-Aid and sing happy birthday to Jesus!” My mom said, “Okay, we will!”
Thus began a five-decade Warren family tradition, our Birthday Party for Jesus every Christmas Eve, complete with angel food cake and candles that the youngest child (and now grandchild) gets to blow out. Four generations now participate in the sharing.
Besides singing carols and reading the Christmas story from the Bible, each family member takes a turn sharing his or her answers to two personal questions: “What, from the past year, are you thankful to God for?” and, “Since it’s Jesus’ birthday, what gift will you give him this next year?” These two simple questions have prompted some of the most profound and moving moments in our family’s history.[i]
Those are two really good questions, aren’t they? “What, from the past year, are you thankful to God for?” and “Since it’s Jesus’ birthday, what gift will you give him this next year?” Keep those two questions in mind as we turn together to Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 2, verses 1-12.
It may be the wise men, or Magi, who draw our attention in this passage, but the focus is completely on Jesus. I mean, we have to ask ourselves, “How in the world does a baby born TO a poor, not-fully-married-yet peasant family from Nazareth, IN a building or part of a building set aside for housing animals, merit a targeted visit from wealthy foreign dignitaries? Because while Luke focuses on the contrast between the angelic announcement of Christ’s birth to a group of uncouth shepherds, Matthew contrasts Christ’s birth to a young, poor, peasant couple in a stable with a visit from Magi from lands east of Palestine. Regardless, there’s a huge contrast. Angels announcing the birth of a king to shepherds. Magi from the east traveling a great distance to visit the king that was born in a stable instead of a palace. The focus of the two contrasts is on the baby himself.
These magi had traveled from east of Palestine. Modern day Iraq, to be exact. The magi were originally a highly educated, priestly caste in Persia who specialized in astrology, the interpretation of dreams, and the magic arts. They could be found throughout the Roman world but were especially associated with Babylonia, or Persia, where they originated, in the area we today know as Iraq. They could also serve as highly valued religious and diplomatic advisors to kings. But they weren’t kings themselves.
So what drew the attention of these Magi to the birth of this baby in Bethlehem? A star. Remember, they were, among other things, astrologers. They watched the night sky for signs and omens. Scholars have several theories about what they saw in the night sky. The three most popular theories are that they saw a comet, a supernova, or a planetary conjunction. Halley’s comet did appear in the night sky in 12 or 11 B.C., but that would be far too early to be the thing they saw in the sky. There WAS a supernova recorded by ancient Chinese and Korean astronomers in 5 and 4 B.C., so that IS a possibility.
A favorite theory is that of a planetary conjunction – when the orbit of planets in the night sky makes them appear to be a single, larger, brighter pinpoint of light in the sky than what is normally observed. And these people were observing closely. Remember, they figured out the difference between planets and stars in the sky, and could track the movements of both through the sky without the aid of satellites and orbiting telescopes and far-reaching space probes. All they could do was stand there and look. And yet they learned to tell the stars apart from one another through the use of constellations of stars and could track their movements through the sky, just by standing there and watching, night after night after night. And there WAS a rather unique planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C. – again, within he realm of possibility for what they were seeing.
Funny thing is, Jupiter was the royal planet. It represented kingship. And Saturn represented what the magi and Babylonia would have known as the “westland,” specifically Palestine. And the planetary conjunction occurred IN the constellation Pisces, which represented the last days. So an interpretation of a planetary conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, appearing as a super bright star in the middle of the constellation Pisces, would be something along the lines of “there will appear in Palestine in this year a ruler of the last days.”
The magi – the wise men – were from modern-day Iraq. They knew the stars better than the backs of their hands. In the inky black Mesopotamian nights they had mapped the stars, planets, and comets. They had tracked the almost imperceptible trails for generations. They knew the characteristics and stories of the constellations.
Not only were they astronomers. They were astrologers. They believed the great God had diagrammed the grand workings of history in the stars. To study the stars was to peer into the dark future. There was a large Jewish population in their area and the magi were very familiar with the prophecies in the Old Testament, like those of Balaam, Daniel, Isaiah and the others.
Then they saw something astounding. Was it a bright confluence of planets? A supernova? A comet? Biblical scholar Colin R. Nicholl has made a very compelling case for a great comet in his book The Great Christ Comet. He points to Balaam’s prophecy in Numbers 24:17, with which he believes the magi were familiar: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” A comet was called a scepter star because of its tail. The Magi seem to have concluded that Balaam’s oracle in Numbers, about the rising scepter-star, was the key to interpreting the comet’s behavior.
The magi saw a star of some kind that so clearly signified to them the birth of the King of the Jews that they traveled some 900 miles just to bow before him. They said, “We have seen his star.” It wasn’t only a guiding star but a signal star, announcing the birth of Israel’s long-awaited Son of David. Only the great God could announce his King in the stars.[ii]
The important thing to notice here, though, is that God was reaching out to these magi from Babylonia in a way they would get the message. They were watching the stars. So God gave them a message about the birth of his Son in the stars. Again, we see incarnation. God WITH us. Jesus is God in translation. God revealing God’s self in a way that we can understand what God is like. Jesus is God speaking our language.
Don Richardson and his wife Carol were missionaries called to tell the Sawi people of what was then known as Irian Jaya, and is today called Papua (a large Indonesian island north of Australia) about Jesus. The Sawi were headhunting cannibals who used their victims’ skulls as pillows. To Don and Carol, they seemed to be living in the stone age. Among the Sawi, treachery was not only a way of life, it was a high ideal which unnumbered generations of their people in the past had conceived, and then systematized and perfected. For them, to “fatten with friendship” a human victim before slaughtering and consuming that victim. So as Don and Carol began to tell these people the story of Jesus, who do you think they really liked? Judas. When they came to that part of the story, the people began jumping and cheering wildly. Judas, who fattened Jesus with friendship before betraying him for crucifixion, was their hero. Whoops. Chalk that one up to one of those “things they didn’t teach me in seminary” that pastors are always talking about.
It wasn’t until warring and conflict between two Sawi villages endangered the Richardsons and they prepared to leave, that the breakthrough came. They had ministered to both villages, and in order to keep the Richardsons with them, the chief of one village, in a solemn ceremony between the villages, sent his daughter to live as a child of the chief of the other village. And so long as that child, the peace child, lived, there would be peace between the villages. And there it was, staring Don and Carol in the face. Jesus was God’s peace child, paving the way for restored relationship between the Sawi people and God, offering forgiveness for the sin that separated them from God. And finally, the people understood who Jesus was and what he came to do. Many came to place their faith in Christ.
In Jeremiah 29:13, God says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” And then, in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7:7, Jesus says “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” God isn’t hiding from you. He is there, speaking to you, through the truth of his word, the Bible. In the person of Jesus as the Bible reveals him to us. In fact, Jesus is seeking you. He wants a relationship with you. He wants to forgive your sin and cleanse you. He wants your life to shine brightly for him. If you’re honestly seeking him, you will find him, because he is seeking you.
Who, or what, are you seeking? Herod sought power and wealth and prestige and titles, and so he wanted to do away with Jesus, because from his perspective Jesus threatened his pursuit of all of those things. Have you found who, or what, you have been seeking? If they’re something or someone other than Jesus, they’re ultimately not going to fulfill you. You see, once we get that thing, we do our best to keep it. Herod wanted to be the king of the Jews, and once he was named king of the Jews, he did everything in his power to hold onto the position and the title. He ended up becoming very paranoid, eventually killing wives and sons because he thought they were plotting to oust him and take his throne too soon. But those who seeking turn to Jesus find their hearts full in even the most difficult of circumstances. Hearts filled with the love of God, and the joy of God, and the peace of God, regardless of their lot in life. Are you seeking him? Have you found him, or perhaps more accurately, has he found you?
I think it’s likely that these particular magi, these particular seekers of Jesus were advisors to kings. Look at V. 7. Herod certainly couldn’t be aware of every foreigner traveling through his territory, even if they were Magi. Foreigners and caravans with goods going from the lands east of Palestine to Palestine’s ports on the Mediterranean Sea to be shipped to the wealthy Greek cities and Rome were always passing through. It was nothing new.
But THESE Magi, and their message: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him,” were noticed by Herod quickly. These men were welcomed and comfortable in the court of a king. They knew how to speak and how to act in that highly specialized environment. And the gifts that they brought for this newly born king of the Jews – Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh, were gifts only the very wealthy would have, much less have enough of to part with.
Gold was, is, and will probably always be of highest value and access to it is limited. Frankincense came all the way from southern Arabia and Somolia and was highly valued for use in worship and also during important social occasions. And myrrh was a luxurious cosmetic fragrance, a perfume, that came from Arabia, Abyssinia, and India. Yes, it was used to mask the stench of decay on dead bodies before burial, but it was a highly valued perfume for use by the wealthy in social gatherings as well. All three were very, very valuable.
Some would say that the three gifts point to the identity of the Christ child – the gold pointing to his kingship, the frankincense to his deity, and the myrrh to his death and resurrection. But it’s unlikely that the magi had that well-developed an understanding of who this baby was. His own parents certainly didn’t, and his disciples didn’t fully understand until AFTER his resurrection. But they are gifts of the highest value, appropriate gifts for a newborn king, and giving them was a real sacrifice. It cost the magi something extremely valuable to give these gifts.
Jesus is God with us. He is God giving us everything he’s got to show us the depth of his love for us and to rescue us from the sin that taints every human heart. Jesus is God’s sacrificial, costly gift given to us. What is the gift you will give to him in the next year?
One of the most appealing Christmas stories is that of Amahl and the Night Visitors. You will remember that it is in an operatic setting by Menotti. The three wise men are on the way to Bethlehem, and they come to the home of a poor woman who has a little boy named Amahl. Amahl is crippled; he could not walk without a crutch.
One evening their humdrum existence was interrupted by a loud knocking at their door, and his mother said to Amahl, “Go see who is at the door.” He went, and he came back and said, “Momma, a king is there.” She lashed him with her tongue for exaggerating so much and sent him back to the door, and he came back the second time. He said, “There are two kings out there.” He was in big trouble by then. So for a third time she sent him to the door, and he said, “Momma, there are three kings out there.”
Eventually, after all kinds of conversation, the three wise men came in, and she was impressed with them, particularly with the gold they carried. She tried to steal some of that, but in all the uproar of her attempted theft, one of the wise men said to her, noticing her plight of need, “You can keep the gold. The babe we are going to worship does not need it.” But she was caught up in the spirit of generosity by then, so she said, “I would never keep that gold. Take it to the baby king, and if I had anything to send myself, I would do it.”
Then comes the most poignant moment of Amahl and the Night Visitors. Amahl, sensing what was happening all around him, sensing he had nothing at all to send but wanting to send something, decided, “I will send my crutch.” The one thing that was indispensable to him, he was going to give away. So he lifted up his crutch and gave it to the wise men. He gave what he had; he gave it personally; he gave it completely. And then a miracle occurred. His mother noticed first that he could walk now. He could stand alone. He was healed. He did not limp anymore.[iii]
Are you seeking him? He isn’t hiding. He is right here, waiting for you to pay attention to him. If you haven’t yet placed your faith in him, now is a great time to do that, and I’m going to give you that chance.
I’d like to bring you back to those two questions we asked several minutes ago. “What, from the past year, are you thankful to God for?” Where have you seen him at work this this past year? How has God gotten your attention this year. That’s the first question.
The second is, “What gift will you give him this next year?” Will you give him your life? Is there a portion of your time, or your talent, or your treasure that you will give? Will you give him something you value that keeps you from him? An addiction. A pursuit. A possession. What will you give him this year.
Where have you seen him at work? What will you give him this year? Let us pray.
[i] Rick Warren, The Purpose of Christmas (Howard Books, 2008), pp. 34–36
[ii] Greg Cootsona “Comet of Wonder,” Christianity Today, (11-23-15), Page 42
[iii] W. Frank Harrington, “The Love That Brought Him,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 51.
