Wise Men

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12 (Click the link for the scripture in Bible Gateway)

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” 3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” 9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. Matthew 2:1-12 NLT)

Matthew begins his account of Jesus’ actual birth with something that may have happened up to two years after the wonderful event. Some wise men (royal astrologers) arrive in Jerusalem asking where to find the newborn King of the Jews so they can worship him and give him gifts. Evil King Herod hears of their search and sends them to Bethlehem to find the new “king” so he can have him killed. The wise men find young Jesus, worship him, and give him precious and valuable gifts. Then, warned by God, they bypass Jerusalem and return home another way.

The God of the Jews didn’t limit his communication of the wonderful event and the privilege of participating in his great plan to religious Jews. Pagan astrologers came to find the Child King, worshipped Jesus Christ, and gave his parents the valuable gifts that would sustain them as refugees in Egypt.

This speaks to me again of our religious tendency to exclude those who aren’t part of our group. This tendency showed up over and over with the Jews, worked its way into the first generation church, and sometimes even shows up in me!

Do you see this tendency in yourself as I do in me? When will we learn that “God so loved the (whole) world!”? How will we learn to open our hearts and minds to the great scope of God’s love and compassion for his world? How will we learn that the message is more about following Jesus and less about insisting that in order to belong, everyone has to become just like us? I think Jesus is going to help us with this!

Prayer:

Father, I see in myself the tendency to think that all the important stuff happens with my group—the people who look like me, who think like me, and who fit my profile of acceptability.  Please help me and my friends who are reading this to search our hearts, examine our attitudes, and learn that “different” and “wrong” don’t always mean the same thing.  For Jesus’ sake, Amen.