Sunday January 6, 2010 Matthew 2:1-12

Happy New Year, I hope your holidays were fun and relaxing. Our text continues on with the Christmas text from Matthew. We tend to combine the stories from Matthew and Luke into one but each gospel emphasized different aspects of the birth of Jesus.

V1-2 Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem looking for the King of the Jews. We don’t know where in the East they came from and there are many ideas. One of the most popular thoughts is that they came from Babylon. Babylon had a school of Maji that studied wisdom plus after the end of the Babylonian exile not all Jews returned home. Many stayed in Babylon and that is where the Babylonian Talmud originated. These Maji could have studied the Jewish scriptures along with other writings from other cultures. Whoever they were they were Gentiles as no Jew would ask Herod where the King of the Jews was born because Herod was the King of the Jews. They came to Jerusalem to ask because that is where the King resided so they assumed that was where the new king was born. They had seen a star at its rising which in the literature they had studied meant a great king had been born. We don’t know what this star was but again many ideas abound. Something unusual happened in the sky above Bethlehem that got their attention however it couldn’t have been too obvious as Herod or his guards hadn’t noticed anything, nor had the local people or Jewish leaders. One had to be searching for the sign in order to see it.

V3 Herod is frightened; which means he was more threatened than scared. Was there a new king to challenge him? The people of Jerusalem were frightened as to the reaction of Herod at this news. Herod was a brutal ruler and didn’t hesitate to put anyone to death. He had members of his own family killed, even his own sons. So the people knew if Herod felt threatened he wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone and probably a few extras for good measure.

V4 Since he obviously wasn’t learned in the scriptures he called together the chief priests and scribes and inquired as to where the Messiah was to be born. He was cagey here and only asked if the child were to be born where would it be? He didn’t tip his hand that some had come to inquire about it. It is odd that the most learned in Jerusalem for which Herod sent to interpret the scriptures didn’t realize themselves what was happening. If men from the East could figure it out why couldn’t the most learned in Jerusalem who were waiting for a Messiah themselves?

V5-6 Reciting the Old Testament scripture of the prophet Micah (5:2) they replied in Bethlehem. “A ruler to Shepherd Gods people” In the Old Testament the term shepherd also meant king. Messiah, anointed one.

V7 Herod secretly calls for the wise men to ask when this star in the sky appeared. He needs to know if he is the get rid of this new threat to him.

V8 Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem to look for the child under the guise of wanting to worship the child himself. He had no intention of paying homage to the child he just needed to know who to kill.

V9-10 The wise men set out for Bethlehem which was very close to Jerusalem and watched the star as they traveled. It stopped moving over Bethlehem and so confirmed what they had been told by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.

V11 They found the house with Jesus in it and entered. By this time two years could have passed since the birth of Jesus so he may have been a toddler. They knelt down and honored the child with gifts they had brought, Gold-a true king, frankincense-a true God (this is what was put on the alter in the Temple every morning and evening to rise as a good smelling offering to God and to carry the prayers of the people up to God with it), myrrh-used to anoint dead bodies to cover up the smell of decay and it was more valuable than gold. So we have king, God and sacrifice.

V12 Having been warned in a dream of Herod’s true intentions they left for their own country by another route. Interestingly this route would have extended their return trip considerably but they obeyed God and traveled it.

We tend to get caught up in the story of the 3 Kings coming to honor the Christ child by camels but as we read the story we don’t find mention of three kings. We don’t know how many came and it doesn’t say they rode camels, which are assumptions made because they came from the East where camels were used. What we tend to miss is that Gentiles came to honor the Jewish King while his own people were ignorant of his birth. The Gentiles were despised by the Jews and were referred to as “spittle” 2 Esdras 6:55, 56 (Apocrypha) (Wendt 2009). They were detested and the hope was one day when the Messiah came the Gentiles would come from near and far bringing their wealth to them as the Gentiles of old had come to Solomon bringing gifts (1 Kings 10:23). The prophet Isaiah had said in 60:5 “when the Messianic age broke in the wealth of the nations shall come to you” and in 61:6 “you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations.” They longed for God to pour out his vengeance on the Gentiles (Is 61:2). In these Old Testament texts God was compelling the Gentiles to give all to the Jews. In Matthew the Gentiles (Maji) came willingly, seeking the Jewish king. The Old Testament scriptures were being fulfilled but in a different way then had been determined by the Jewish leaders. What do we seek today, the way of the Messiah or the way of our world? Who do we bring our gifts to?