Good morning...and obviously I didn't get replies to your comments! Days go by so quickly entertaining a 16 month old kid! Yesterday's adventure was grocery shopping!
This morning we are in chapter 2 of Matthew- the story of the magi/wise men and King Herod's decree to kill all male babies 2 years old or younger. It is a story we are familiar with, I'm sure.
Matthew doesn't really say anything about Jesus' birth- no shepherds, no overbooked inn, no stable. All we know from Matthew is Jesus was born in Bethlehem. For the nativity details, we need to turn to Luke. Matthew is more interested in how the world received the Messiah- homage from afar (wise men) and hatred and hostility from home (Herod). What kind of reception do we give Jesus? The Hebrew translation for Bethlehem is "House of Bread"- an interesting name of the city for Jesus the "bread of Life" to be born in!
Herod the Great was king at the time. He was great ruler, builder, administrator, but also "great" in his oppression of some groups (especially the Jews) and excessive taxation and power-trips.
Wise men (Greek magoi hence the name "magi") came to visit. They offer three gifts- but there were likely more than three in the travelling band of astrologers. Coming from the eats, they may have been of Jewish descent from the people that were exiled from Judah centuries before. They may have noticed a new constellation announcing the new Messiah and were coming to visit. In somewhat of a contrast, we often times we see images of the magi with Asian style facial features. They were not necessarily of Asian descent.You can see the "actual" skulls of the men in a cathedral in Cologne, Germany. They came to Jerusalem (v 1) expecting to find answers. Jerusalem was the seat of Jewish authority- and also Herod's authority. Jesus wasn't born in Jerusalem though, but their question alerted Herod of something going on! Had the magi not visited Jerusalem- how might this story change? It is interesting that the shepherds had no problem finding Jesus while the magi had a tough time- even following a star! The star may have been the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Numbers 24:17 mentions a star coming out of Jacob (prophecy?). Interesting thing I just realized- the text says the star was "his star"; the light from Jesus' star led the magi to him and also leads us to him!
Herod was greatly troubled by the potential threat of a new king (v 3). He was always guarded against people trying to over throw his throne. The text also says that the people of Jerusalem were troubled as well. Herod was known for assassinating many people that even mentioned anything against him, so they should be afraid that he might do something drastic. Charles Barclay wrote that as soon as he came to power, he began assassinating the Sanhedrin; he also had his wife, mother-in-law, and several of their sons murdered! Jerusalem should be afraid! Herod asked the religious leaders where the child might be found; they responded with words from Micah 5:2 "Bethlehem of Judah". Interesting that they don't seem interested in also finding the Christ! Are we like that- tell people where to look for Christ, yet not go there ourselves? We know they wise men saw the star a while ago (v 7). The trip took the magi a long time (maybe a year or more). Herod requests that they find the child and bring him back to Herod so he could worship him. The text says that the wise men left (v 9) and never agreed to return!
The star reappears and guides the men to the home of the child and his mother, Mary (v 11). Notice, against the custom of the time, that the child is mentioned before the mom! Child is someone aged 6 to 18 months; Jesus was not an infant when the magi came! I can remember the first time I heard this- I was shocked! I always was under the impression that they came soon after the shepherds. I mean, all nativity sets have them there at the stable! Joseph wasn't mentioned. Was he working? Out of town? Maybe he was gone so that they magi wouldn't assume Joseph was the father of Jesus. It was common practice to offer gifts to royalty when you visited.
- gold- to indicate Jesus' kingship
- frankincense- often used to cover the odor of decaying bodies (foreshadow of Jesus' death)
- myrrh- used as an analgesic (pain killer offered to Jesus as he hung on the cross)
Interesting contrast to Luke when the shepherds were the first to visit Jesus. Shepherds tended to be Gentiles, they were lowly members of society, often lower intelligence and somewhat shady characters. The magi were likely Jewish, well-respected and upper class people with much intelligence. Depending on the Gospel we read, we get different ideas of "who" Jesus came for!
Another angel visits Joseph in a dream (reminiscent of the pregnancy announcement) and is warned to go to Egypt (v 13). There was a large Jewish settlement (about a million people ) in Egypt and was outside Herod's jurisdiction. True to Herod's disposition- the angel warns that Herod will kill the child if they go back to Jerusalem. Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1 when he references calling my Son out of Egypt. Interesting that in some translations the word "son" is used while in other translations the word "Son" is used!
Herod decrees that all male children less than 2 years old are to be killed. Called the "Massacre of the Innocents" is recognized ("celebrated") by the Catholic church on December 28 and the children are called the first Christian martyrs. There is no historical account of this massacre happening; it is even absent from the writings of Josephus, a well known Jewish historian. Words from Jeremiah 31:15 are quoted by the author (prophecy?); Rachel is symbolic of the mother of Israel- so she is representing all the Jewish mother's that lost their children to Herod during this time period.
The Holy family stays in Egypt several years until Herod dies. An angel comes to visit Joseph again and says to take "the child and his mother" back to Israel. Again notice how the child is mentioned first! Joseph had heard (from another angel) that Archelaus (an equally evil and wicked son of Herod) was in rule, they changed course and settled in Nazareth in Galilee. Nazareth had a large Gentile population and relatively smaller Jewish population than Jerusalem and Judea. Nazareth was Joseph and Mary's home town (Luke 1:26-27); it was a small and unremarkable town (other than a virgin conception!). Matthew ends with the prophecy of "He shall be a Nazarene" when referring to the Messiah (v 23), yet there are no prophets that said that! There are specific rules that Nazirites must follow (Numbers 6), but nowhere does it say the Messiah must be of that class. The possible link is from Isiah 11:1, "There shall be a branch that grows from the root of Jesse." The word "branch" is translated to "neser" in Hebrew and does sound like "Nazir".
Tomorrow we hear of John the Baptist in another familiar story. I hope you have a good day and enjoy the cool sunshine!
Shalom+
Pastor Paul
One of my most prized possessions is my nativity. The first Christmas we were married I had admired one that was way over my budget. I kept my eye on it because this was the old days when nothing went on sale till after Christmas. I arrived at the store is soon as it opened the day after Christmas. I was thrilled to find it still there and half price. I know that the wise men did not arrive until later so I always put them off to the side and Jesus doesn't go into the manger until Christmas eve. These readings go from such a pleasant thought to Herod killing children which is so disturbing. I did not know that there is no historical account of this massacre. It was interesting to read where their young family traveled to after Jesus birth.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy sunny cool days!
This past Sunday, I talked about the number of Bibles we have in our home. People think that pastors would love to get a Bible as a gift! I think the same goes with nativity scenes...we must have about 20 different ones. Some hand made, some commercial, some from different countries. They are all unique and I love unwrapping them and setting them out every year. Like you- the magi don't come out until Epiphany Sunday!
DeleteThe reading in this chapter does take us on a roller coaster of emotions!
Thanks for sharing!
When the wiseman came it's quite hard to think that jesus could have been almost two years of age as we often think of the wisemen seeing the star and following it to the manger where Jesus was born so when we do the nativity according to Matthew we should not have the wise men there at all. Why did Mary and joseph stay in Bethlehem after Jesus was born since there home was in Nazareth? Also the gifts thought by the magi foretells of Jesus life which is something that I
ReplyDeletenever realized. I knew that Herod killed the babies 2 yrs and under but thought he was just protecting his kingdom in his mind.
The angel appears again and send Joseph Mary and Jesus to Egypt to avoid Herod's decree to kill all the male children 2 yrs and under. They stay in Egypt til Herod is dead and the angel tells them it is safe to return so according to Matthew the angel appears to joseph when marry was pregnant, when they were to flee to Egypt and when they were to leave Egypt but also according to my bible(NLT) the angel again appeared to Joseph telling him it was not safe as Archelaus was ruler and so they went to Nazareth. I didn't even know the angel appeared to Joseph that many times.
Mary and Joseph are in Bethlehem because they had to go there for the census. People were to report to their original home town to be counted. Jesus was born soon after the census.
DeleteMany Christmas stories have the magi coming immediately after Jesus' birth- but it was a few years. That is why, at LM, we don't put them in the nativity until Epiphany Sunday. They slowly migrate from the back of the sanctuary to the front as we go through the weeks of Advent and Christmas.
Herod killed the boys for his "protection"- he heard that there was a future king in the group, so he decided if he got rid of all the threats- he could stay as king and there would be no challenge to his kingship.
Angels were a big part of Joseph's life weren't they!
Good thoughts Clara!
I'm confused, which isn't saying much since confusion is my state of being. my question is this. If the magi came from the East, how could the star be in the East, especially since it stopped over Jesus's birthplace? Shouldn't the start have been in the West? Or did the magi really come from the West?
ReplyDeleteI am aware that the magi came when Jesus was a young boy, about age 2. I am also aware that Herod wanted to kill all boys under the age of 2 so as to kill Jesus, as, obviously, he saw Him as a threat. I am not aware of the Roman Catholic Massacre of the Innocents" celebrated on December 28. I remember being taught about the proposed killing of boys under 2, but I don't remember being taught that it ever happened. (All this I learned in my upbringing in the Episcopal Church.)
Like Clara, I didn't know that Joseph was visited by an angel in his dreams that warned him of Herod and to flee to Egypt. I actually don't remember hearing about Joseph after the birth of Jesus in the manger. To me, he was a "personae non grata" after the birth.
There are many thoughts and ideas of the origin of the magi- many theologians point to the Arabian peninsula which is west of Bethlehem region. So, the star could be in the east and be guiding them eastward. Which then contrasts with the familiar hymn "We Three Kings" who were from "the Orient" and the star was westward leading!
DeleteI looked at many sources and most of them agreed that the massacre never occurred, but the Catholic church commemorates that date.
True- after Jesus' birth we don't hear about Joseph. Mary comes in a few times- but no Joseph! I'd like to know more about him.
Good thoughts Jack! Thanks