Taking The Journey

OPENING STORY

An old king sat uncomfortably on his throne, fingernails dug into well-worn grooves in the wood as he waited nervously for the mysterious travelers to approach. All Jerusalem was abuzz with the rumors that these men were searching for a new heir which had just been born, yet neither the king nor any of his sons had just had a baby. This king was praised early in his reign for his effective administration, his shrewd ability to navigate the perilous waters of Roman politics, so that multiple Caesars had favored him, and who had undertaken some of the greatest building projects the ancient world had seen, including the enlarging of the ancient temple of his people.(1)

But the years had changed the king. He was still shrewd, but jaded. He was still energetic, but now his ambition knew no end. He took even wayward glances, whispers, and rumors as hard threats to his reign, and he had no compassion for anyone who stood in his way. He had been married ten times, and he had put to death his most beloved wife and two oldest sons. All Jerusalem groaned under the weight of heavy taxes, levied before Rome got their share. He left instructions that on the moment of his death, hundreds of the nation’s greatest nobles were to be put to death as well.(2) No one would threaten his reign, not family, not nobles, not even a helpless baby or a village of innocents. As these men approached, his eyes narrowed while his lips made a thin, cold smile. He would find out just who this supposed “King of the Jews” was, and put an end to him as he had put an end to so many rivals before.

TAKING NOTE OF THE SMALL STORIES

These mysterious Easterners are men who we’ve grown accustomed to calling “kings” and “Magi”, and their moment in scripture is brief. The ancient church celebrated their coming on the Sunday after Christmas, on a day called Epiphany, a day dedicated to celebrating the moment God revealed Himself in the flesh to the world. But in our modern culture, we often quickly gloss over this story. By the time Epiphany roles around, twelve days after Christmas, our trees and lights are back in boxes, Christmas carols are long banished from the radio, and the stores are all decked out for Valentine’s Day.

But I like holding on to Epiphany. The beautiful thing about the Church calendar is that, in a culture that wants to rush through to the next big thing, it forces us to slow down and take note of the small stories, like the wise men’s arrival instead of rushing right into the start of Jesus’ ministry. Scholars debate about who exactly these men were, and how they knew the appearance of a star meant there was a new king born in Judea. The Greek word for them is “magoi,” a priestly class of Zoroastrians who worshiped one god and believed he was symbolized by the eternal flames they kept in their temples. They were known for their wisdom, and skill in astrology, a practice which while condemned in the Old Testament, was still widely practiced in the 1st century.(3)

Most seem to agree they came from Babylon or Persia, which still had a large Jewish community, even after many had returned to Judea. As men who sought wisdom wherever they could find it, they likely had Jewish writings and maybe even the scriptures available to them, as there’s no doubt they were aware of the prophecies concerning the promised Messiah.(4) One of these prophecies was uttered by a man named Balaam, who prophesied for the king of Moab in Numbers 22-24, who just like these Magi came from Babylon.(5) The king of Moab had hired Balaam to put a curse on Israel, but the Holy Spirit came over Balaam and he uttered a blessing instead. That’s the amazing thing about our God, nothing stands in His way. He can even cause the lips of our enemies to bless us!

But God did something even more amazing through Balaam. He caused a Gentile and a hired enemy of Israel to be among the first prophets to tell of the coming Messiah, when in Num. 24:17, he says,

“I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near:

a star shall come out of Jacob,

and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;”

These magi likely knew of Balaam’s words from the Jewish sages who were their neighbors. They may have even been especially intrigued since they came from a fellow Babylonian and maybe even a fellow magi. Here was testimony that God was already working among the nations, even among men and women who didn’t yet know Him, to draw them to himself.