Looking Forward in Worship

The point of this study is worship.  Specifically, that Jesus deserves our worship.  As we reviewed last week, the love of God is truly awesome and makes God worthy of our worship.  But what IS worship?  

Worship is respect shown to one whose "condition of being worthy, dignity, glory, distinction, honor, renown," is expressed.  Unlike those who issue pardons willy-nilly, God, the ultimate judge of correct character, has issued us a pardon for crimes that have existed since as long as there have been humans.  The question is: have we chosen to become more like the pardoning judge (God) or more like the crimes in which we all indulge (harmfullness)?

We look at Matthew 2:1-11 and 16-18 and look at the wise men associated with the birth of Jesus.  These wise men, variously termed wise men; magi; astrologers, dream-interpreters, diviner's, astronomers, magicians, and more, were the scientists of their day.  They made their observations; they relied upon their knowledge and experience to interpret those observations; they acted upon those interpretations; they came to be an integral and guiding part of many ancient government systems. 

Let's look at the introduction of these wise men in today's verses:

Matthew 2:1-6

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Daniel 2, verses 2, and 10, describes a group of people possessing knowledge of Babylonian religious and magical arts. They were associated with diviner-priests, mediums, and sorcerers.  They helped Nebuchadnezzar to interpret his dream of the statue.  

In Matthew 2:1, 7, and 16, the term wise men refers to those who have wisdom through investigation and interpretation of the movement of heavenly bodies.  They came from the east signifying their origin somewhere in the Persia/Babylonian region.  Their interpretation of the stars led them to Judea to find and honor a newborn king.

An entire tradition has arisen from speculation, deduction and legend surrounding these wise men.  Their occupation as scientists would have associated them with the government of their region, and hence while they, themselves, may not have been kings they certainly could have been the representative of their king, or kings of their region.  As such when they came to the region to which they were led they “checked in with the king” of the region.

The Romans had made Herod (the Great) the king of Judea in 37 BC.  He was only part Jewish and many of his subjects held that against him, but he did a large number of monumental construction, renovations, and improvements.  The Temple of Jesus' period was renovated and improved upon by Herod the Great.  But Herod was also known for his ruthless and paranoid political tactics; kind of like we have experienced for the past four years.  He went so far as to Have members of his own family killed, even his own sons.  

Matthew tells us that these astronomers, astrologers, and dream-interpreter wise-men had divined (determined) that a new king was to be born in Judea and so they came to pay their respects.  Naturally they went to the capital to call upon the country's leadership and to inquire of their knowledge of a new king.  While they may have been diplomatic and wise, they said the wrong thing to the wrong king in the wrong way.  They asked King Herod (the one who kills his own family members) if he knew where the king of the Jews had been born.  Herod, being the currently recognized King of the Jews, in his paranoia took this as a potential threat to HIS kingship and his family's legacy.  Kind of like going before Marlon Brando and asking Godfather, where is the new Godfather that has been born recently?  They might have gotten the kiss of death but for Herod's crafty paranoia.  

Herod's ancestry was that he was an Edomite (Idumean) and his ancestors had converted to Judaism.  Herod was neither fully Jewish, nor was he a descendant of David and was thus not genuinely qualified to serve as Israel/Judah's King.  Jesus, on the other hand was born of the line of David and had an ancestral right to the throne of David. 

The wise men explained to him the rational for their conclusions, reporting that they had seen the rising of a new star or aster.  Aster refers to a bright heavenly body other than the sun, that is visible in the sky.  The word is from were we get the words star, asteroid, astronomy, astronaut and more. From their calculations of this new aster they concluded that a new ruler had been born and that this new ruler would have been born in the region of Judea. That is as close as they could come.  It was kind of like "we calculated he was born in south-central Texas" but not knowing in which specific city region where he was born.  These government experts came to demonstrate the new king’s worthiness (to worship), for non-subjects recognized his birth from afar and came to confirm his claim was a matter of scientific observation.

Needless to say that Herod was seething at this potential challenge to his authority and power.  It shook him to his core, but this savvy politician figured out a way to turn lemons into lemonaid.  He pretended to be of assistance to them as he gathered his own wise men and inquired what they knew about the birth of a new king.  Note that it was Herod himself who inquired of the birth of the Messiah God's anointed one.  They concluded that God's Anointed One would be a Jew born in the region of Bethlehem.

This anointed one of God was held to be a wide variety of things.  Some expected a super-High-Priest who would dictate God's direction.  Others held that he would be a royal king and, like the other nations around them, return them to the world stage as significant political players as David had done.  Still others expected a mighty general would could/would miraculously overthrow the current occupiers and allow the Jews to be in control of the regions political power.  The prophet Micah foretold a future time when God would restore the people and give them a Ruler who would govern with great care and compassion and bring peace. The actual quote the religious leaders gave to Herod is from Micah 5:2, with the addition from 2 Samuel 5:2 at the end of the quote.

Next we will discover more about the duplicitous character of Herod is no different than many of our modern politicians.  His response to the wise men not returning to Jerusalem demonstrating his tyrannical, dictatorial bent towards staying in power.

Matthew 2:7-8,16-18  

7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”

16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:18 A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.

Herod feigned interest in worshipping Jesus, but only so far as he could more easily, and specifically, order an assisination of his perceived rival.  Herod was a complex man, capable of great political and military feats, but he was possessed by a paranoia so great that in order to protect his political position he would have people who he saw as a threat executed, including some of his sons and one of his wives. Using a play on words, the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus said of Herod, “I would rather be Herod’s pig [hys] than his son [huios].” So, Herod’s actions in this matter were in keeping with his character. 

Herod wanted to find out where and when this new King had been born, but secrecy may suggest he did not want to appear to be endorsing the wise men’s claim that the newborn child was the King of the Jews. We might say he didn't want the media to run with the story.

Herod died in 4 BC so Jesus’s birth had to have occurred before then. Herod’s order to kill all the boys in Bethlehem two years and younger suggests the wise men’s visit took place about one to two years after Jesus’s birth.  The wise men must have told Herod that they observed the rising one to two years prior to their visit with Herod. This leads some to estimate Jesus’s birth to have occurred around 6 BC.

Herod directed the wise men to carefully and throughly search for the child and report it back to himself when the child was found.  After finding the baby in Bethlehem, the wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they returned home by a different route. 

Herod, the deceiver, felt he had been deceived (tricked or made a fool) by the wise men. He, naturally for him, fell into a fit of rage and gave orders that all boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under were to be killed. Given the small size of rural Bethlehem, the number of boys two years old and under probably would have been fewer than twenty. Herod’s actions were in keeping with his character and penchant for executing those he saw as a threat to his throne.  Herod assumed that by massacring all the boys under the age of two he was sure to eliminate the one he targeted. 

Matthew refers to Jeremiah, verse 17 as the prophecy of this event. In its original context, the verse describes the cries of the mothers of Judah as their children were being taken away into exile. Matthew uses it as a dual fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophesy, where the passage refers to events in the prophet’s own time but also foretell events that will occur at some future date.  Ramah was a city located five miles north of Jerusalem.  It was one of the first to be passed by the Jews as they were taken into exile. 

Finally, lets look at how the wise men worshiped Jesus when they found Him.

Matthew 2:9-11

9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The wise men left Herod to continue their search for the newborn King. All they knew at this point was that He was to be found in Bethlehem according to the Scriptures the chief priests and scribes had identified as foretelling the location of His birth.  Remembering that this was an agrarian, rural society, the baby might not have been IN Bethlehem proper, but "somewhere in the Houston area"  A large search area, so Herod allowed the scientists to do his work for him.

Seeing the star as they had first seen it, the wise men were overwhelmed with joy. The presence of the star told the wise men that after their long journey they would be successful in their quest of find the newborn King. 

Having arrived at their destination, the wise men entered the house where Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus were staying. At this point Mary and Joseph had not returned to Nazareth, but were still living in Bethlehem, perhaps in the home of a relative. Matthew does not indicate why they had stayed. But from here they would flee to Egypt after Joseph was warned by an angel of the Lord in a dream of Herod’s intent to kill their child. The term for child normally refers to a boy or girl of any age from an infant to before the onset of puberty. At this stage, Jesus was no longer an infant, but was anywhere from one to two years old. 

The wise men’s initial reaction to beholding the baby Jesus was to fall to their knees and worship Him. In this instance, the term describes more than merely showing respect. The offering of gifts when visiting royalty was a standard practice in the ancient world. Ambassadors brought valuable commodities from their homelands as gifts and/or as tribute when visiting the rulers of foreign countries. All three gifts were valuable commodities that could have helped the family financially and were associated with royalty and religious sacrifices. 

Gold was and is a universally precious metal. It was extremely valuable. Frankincense, and myrrh are both resins from certain trees in the dry regions of southern Arabia and northern Africa. 

Frankincense is a white, resinous gum derived from various types of Boswellia trees. It could be burned as incense during religious and important social events. It was used as perfume, for medicinal purposes, for anointing kings and priests, and in temple sacrifices. 

Myrrh is a resinous gum from the spiny Commiphora myrrah bush. It is a fragrant substance that was used as perfume, in anointing oil, and in religious purification rituals. It was also used as a spice on dead bodies at burial. 

One historical source from the 7th century attributes to the wise men: 

 

"what is the meaning of the gold, the myrrh and the frankincense, which you are offering in preference to all other gifts?  And they said: these are symbolic of Him, for gold, is the lord of the material world, and this prophet is the lord of the people of his time; and myrrh is used to heal wounds and sores and thus God through this prophet will heal the crippled and the sick; and the smoke of incense reaches heaven as does no other smoke, and thus this prophet will be raised to God in heaven as no other prophet of his time shall be."

History also records that Marco Polo visited the tomb of the Magi in the city of Saveh, in the modern-day Iran.  He records: 

"In Persia is the city called Saveh, from which the three Magi set out when they came to worship Jesus Christ.  Here, too, they lie buried in three sepulchers of great size and beauty.  Above each sepulcher is a square building with a domed roof of very fine workmanship. ... Their bodies are still whole, and they have hair and beards. ... Three days further on, he [Marco] found a town called Kala Atashparastan, that is to say the Town of the Fire-Worshippers.... The inhabitants declare that in days gone by three kings of this country went to worship a new-born prophet and took with them three offerings – gold, frankincense, and myrrh – so as to discover whether this profit was a god, or an earthly king, or a healer.  For they said: if he takes gold, he is an earthly king; if frankincense, a god; if myrrh, a healer."

The story continues with each king separately entering to present his gift to the prophet to find out which he was to be.  Each seemed to see a different appearance of the child that they had come to worship, so they all three resolved to go in together.

"So, in they went, all three together, and came before the child and saw him in his real likeness and of his real age; for he was only thirteen days old.  then they worshipped him and offered him the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh.  The child took all three offerings and then [the child] gave them a closed casket.  And the three kings set out to return to their own country."

The myth then goes on to tell a story of what they found in the casket – a stone.

"given to them to signify that they should be firm as stone in the faith that they had adopted.  For, when the three kings saw that that the child had taken all three offerings, they concluded that he was at once a god, and an earthly king, and a healer.  And since the child knew that the three kings believed this he gave them a stone to signify that they should be firm and constant in their belief."

The myth continues towards a conclusion not germane to this study, but the faith, and the conclusion reached by these men, truly make them wise men indeed.  They recognized that God has provided an earthly king (Jesus) to rule and guide our actions on earth; that he would indeed heal humanity from its death sentence initiated by Adam and Eve; and he is indeed a prophet bringing THE Word of God to humanity.  All we need do is choose.