Gaining Wisdom on the Wise Men
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I analyzed our manger scene today as I was putting it away and noticed a few things. The angel doesn’t look like the warrior I blogged about in October. Joseph and the shepherd look pretty normal I suppose. But Mary looks a bit older than the teenager she probably was. She certainly looks better than I did after just having a baby. And then there’s the three wise men. I have no idea what they would have looked like, but I do know one thing, they weren’t at the manger for Christ’s birth.
Matthew’s account of Christ’s birth tells that the magi came to where the child was: “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11). Notice a few things here. First, Christ is no longer described as a baby, but as a child. Second, there is no mention of Joseph or any shepherds that were there the night Jesus was born (Luke 2:16). Third, the wise men came to a house not a manger where we know Jesus was born (Luke 2:16 again). Also,when Herod gave orders to kill the all the boys in Bethlehem after Christ was born, he didn’t order all the infants killed, he ordered all those who were “two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi” (Matthew 2:16). There you have it, the magi weren’t there that night. Next year maybe we should just place them off to the side a little.
So, other than them not being there that night, what else do we know about these guys? Like, how did they know where to find Jesus? Of course, the star! While that was a great answer for Sunday school when I was 5, the response should probably be a little more developed for adult Christians.
Most of us know a little something about the prophet Daniel, it usually involves a lion’s den or “writing on the wall.” But in a nutshell, after the Babylonians conquered Judea in 605 BC they dispersed the Hebrews, bringing some of the ruling class (well-educated, military personnel, craftsmen, etc) to Babylon for assimilation. Sometimes the best of these men and women came to the Babylonian court and one of those chosen was Daniel. Daniel became well-respected and eventually head of the Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men (Daniel 2:48).
For those of us a bit dusty on our world history, most ancient cultures had a religious caste system of well-educated men, in Babylonian culture they were called “wise men.” These wise men would have undoubtedly maintained religious and historical scrolls from across the empire including the Hebrew scrolls of which Daniel obviously had knowledge. The Babylonians were conquered by the Persians who were conquered by the Parthians, all near-eastern cultures that shared similar court structures. The Parthians were the other major empire in force at the time of Christ’s birth, in addition to the Romans of course. Thus the high-ranking wise men would have had diplomatic access to a Roman governor who also would have received them, unlike regular nomads.
Back to our wise men. These scrolls they read contained the signs and prophecies for Christ’s birth (in addition to some great gift-giving advice). Numbers 24:17 claims a “star will rise out of Jacob,” Jesus’s forefather (Matthew 1:2). Some scholars claim that since the wise men would have had astrological training, they may have seen something in the constellation Pisces, which was associated with the Jews. But, the “star,” where it came from or what is was, remains in large part a mystery.
Bottom line is that there is a logical explanation for the arrival of the magi due to their station in the empire and the prophecy scrolls they would have had access too. It was not a random event and they weren’t just creepy old men looking for young children (though it’s probably safe to assume they had mustaches). And though they weren’t there the night Christ was born, their timing had a purpose that was bigger than filling out my nativity scene. So, I guess they can stay.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Eye Contact or iphone?
Image by Ricky Romero via Flickr
Is staying connected keeping you from connecting with others? According to a survey I recently read, 26% of smart phone users admit to regularly using their phone while at dinner. I don’t think it’s because they are making phone calls. Nope, I’m pretty sure that this is evidence that more and more Americans desire to stay connected with the digital world. The exclamation point and the word “you’re” aren’t the biggest casualties of social networking; our social lives are.
Would Jesus use email, Twitter, and Facebook (cause let’s face it, He wouldn’t be using MySpace)? Sure, why not. But I don’t think He’d be using His smart phone to check for Lazarus’s latest tweet during the Last Supper. Instead, I think He’d be focusing on whom He was with, giving that person His undivided attention.
At the end of Chapter 10 in Luke, Christ and the disciples went to the home of Martha and Mary. While Martha was busy with preparations for the meal, Mary sat by the Lord, soaking up the time she had with Him. Naturally, Martha protested that Mary should be helping her instead of relaxing while Martha did all the busy work. Jesus gently corrected Martha (don’t want to upset the chef before meal time) by proclaiming that Mary was in the right and that Martha had lost sight of the most important part of hosting: the guests.
Okay, so Martha wasn’t exactly texting while JC was telling the latest parable. But if something as understandable as preparing for the Son of God to enter your home is considered obsolete, how much more would emailing work be? Let’s face it; no matter how important we think we are, we aren’t that important (Gal 6:3). When we start to believe our lives are more important than spending quality time with our “loved” ones, there will be consquences.
The Parable of the Great Banquet in Luke’s chapter 14, tells the story of a man who prepared a great banquet (as opposed to a lame one) and invited all his favorite people. One by one his guests gave the man a seemingly legitimate excuse for why they couldn’t come. The man became angry and decided to invite the not so great people who would appreciate him to the banquet instead. While this is a parable about the Kingdom, I believe it still speaks truth to our subject at hand. If we would rather stay attached to smart phones and work emails rather than connecting with those in front of us, we shouldn’t be surprised when they “de-friend” us.
The friends’ latest work out of the day can wait. The text message will be there in an hour. The political junkie will put up another rant in 17 minutes (I promise, I will). So let’s free ourselves and our company from the iphones, droids, and blackberries. After all, which banquet guest would you rather be remembered as: the guy who missed out on the greatest feast in town because he was busy with his ox (Luke 14:19) or the blind guy sitting at the head of the table with the drum stick?
PS-Please post this blog to your Facebook status
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