On the Same Page: The Magi (Matthew 2:1-12)

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Some stories in Scripture are weird. Some stories are just awful, describing the terrible things that people do to each other. When I'm reading a story that's difficult, I’ve found it helpful to ask a question that helps me get centred in this event that happened to someone else a long time ago. That question is, “Where is God in this story?” OK, I know where David is. I know where Goliath is. I know where the bad guys are. I know where the good guys are. I know where the victims are. That's too much to sort out. So where is God in this story, and what is He doing?  

As we transition forward from Christmas, the story of the Magi, even with the misinformation and presuppositions we bring, is an important first step. This event is the first encounter of non-Jewish people with the good news of Christ. The first time Gentiles encountered Messiah.  

The story of Messiah starts way back before Abraham, one man who lived millennia ago, one man who fathered one child who became the founder of one nation. That one nation—Israel—existed  for one promised purpose: 

“I will surely bless you. I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore and through your offspring, all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22) 

Generations later, one of Abraham's grains of sand—David—becomes king of that one nation. David writes in psalm 86, “Among the gods there is none like you, Lord, all the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They will bring glory to your name.” 

Generations later, another one of Abraham's grains of sand—Isaiah, who was a prophet for God's people Israel—says to and about the nation of Israel, “Arise, Israel, shine! Nations will come to your light, kings to the brightness of your dawn.” 

Generations later, another one of Abraham's grains of sand—Jesus—tells His own new nation, His own new family of believers, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 

Decades later, one of Jesus’ own grains of sand—the apostle John—writes in his amazing vision of Jesus in eternity, “I looked and I saw a crowd too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands, and they cried out in a loud voice, “Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne. And from the Lamb.”” 

But that all began with Abraham, who gave birth to God's nation, Israel, and all through history Yahweh God nurtured and disciplined and preserved that nation, towards the day when Yeshua Jesus, God's Messiah would be born. We looked at Matthew's genealogy a few weeks back, as it lays out for Matthew's Jewish reader Jesus’ Jewish family tree, which contains Jewish kings, Jewish prophets, ordinary Jewish people like Jesus’ Jewish mother and her Jewish husband. Jesus was born in a Jewish town in a Jewish country. His first visitors were Jewish shepherds. His Jewish parents took Him to the Jewish Temple to complete the Jewish traditions and rights. He was recognized by a Jewish worshipper—Simeon—and a Jewish prophet—Anna. He grew up in a Jewish family as a Jewish child.  

Before His second birthday came the first recorded encounter between the Jewish Messiah and those “nations.” All nations, every nation, all of those kings, and people and tribes and tongues. This is the first moment when we get to meet the Messiah. In the steps of the wise men from the east.  

They came to the house in Bethlehem. They saw the child with His mother Mary, and they “fell down and worshipped Him.” These were educated men with money. Men who had travelled 1,500 to 2,000 kilometres—like traveling from Toronto to Winnipeg on a camel—following star charts to find a king. They landed in Jerusalem because that was the big city, and it made sense. But they were sent to this little town of about 3,000 souls. To this little house on a little street. They found a little child with His very, very young mother. And they “fell down.” There was something in that moment, something in that child, something in that home, something in the Spirit speaking to them that made them actually fall down in worship.  

They brought Him gold, a precious metal used by royalty. But the only time we see Jesus take hold of gold is in eternity when He wears it as a kingly crown, and as a priestly sash. 

They brought Him frankincense, which was a beautiful fragrance, used to perfume the offerings made in the holy Temple of God. But God says through Jeremiah that frankincense is nothing to Him compared to a faithful and devoted heart.  

They brought Him myrrh, a fragrant oil used as medicine, and for embalming bodies for burial. But the only time we see Jesus interacting with myrrh is when He was on the cross, and it was offered to Him as a painkiller--that He refused. And then later in the wrapping of His dead body. He left the myrrh behind to perfume the tomb when He rose and walked back into the world. 

Mary receives these guests, these Gentiles in her home, probably wondering 'What on the earth are neighbours going to think? She remembers the words of Simeon, “My eyes have seen your salvation, a light of revelation to the gentiles, and for the glory of your people of Israel,” and she must have thought, “Oh. It's happening.”  

She holds in her hands that gift of myrrh, a smell she associates with funerals. She looks at her toddler son and she remembers Simeon's words, “This child is appointed to be a sign that will be spoken against, and a sword will pierce your soul as well,” and she must have thought, “Oh. It's happening.” 

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There's a lot going on in this story, a lot of detail, a lot of questions. A lot of relationships. A lot of different personalities and different stories, so I come back to my question: where is God in this story? 

God is... speaking. God is speaking to different people in different languages. 

• God was speaking to the Magi in the language of stars and dreams, even though astrology was rejected for the people of Israel. They were told not to depend on stars and signs in the sky, but to depend on God alone for wisdom and for their future. The Magi were not Jewish. They did not have that knowledge. So God spoke to them in a way that they would hear. Through stars and dreams. 
• God was speaking to the priests and the scribes in the language of Scripture and prophecy—the prophecy embedded in the writings of Micah. The texts that the people of Israel held close to their hearts, as they hoped and waited for the coming of Messiah. God spoke to the priests and the scribes in the language of Scripture and prophecy.  
• To Herod, God spoke in the language of power. Of fear, whispers, rumours, and surprise. But Herod had stopped listening a long time ago. His gods were power and self-preservation. He knew he had no hereditary right to the throne on which he sat, hearing the words of these visitors from far away. Hearing his own people’s Scriptures. Knowing what this message meant for his people and for himself: that one had been born who had been born to kingship, unlike Herod who had politically manipulated his rise. Herod sat there, on the throne that was not his, and ordered the death of the one to whom it rightly belonged. The Messiah. Knowing what that implied for his own people, but acting in self-interest. 

God spoke to these different people in different ways. But God's message was the same.  

• To the Magi, God's message was, “You are not going to find truth only in nature. Look for me in the world. Look for me on the road.”  
• To the priests, God's message was, “You are not going to find the truth only in Scripture. Look for me behind the words.”  
• To Herod, God's message was, “You cannot keep the throne that has never been yours. Look for me before it's too late.” 

God's message to every single one of these parties, these people, is the same. 

God's message in this event echoes the words of Isaiah 60:21: 

“All your people... They are the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, so that I may be glorified.” 

God’s unchanging message to them--and to us--is, “This is my work. This is my son. This is my Christ. This is my plan. This is my king. Are you in? Or are you out?” 

To hear the full message: