Those Who Seek Him

25 Dec

Those Who Seek Him

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are you not the least among the princes of Judah. For out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel.’ Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found Him, bring me word again that I may come and worship Him also.’

When they had heard the king, they departed and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, fell down, and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:1-11).

When the heavenly star appeared at Jesus’ birth, the Wise Men of the East were already searching the skies, learning all they could about the worlds around them. Imagine their excitement as they suddenly saw this bright beacon of hope appear in a sky that was so well known to them. They had probably studied the heavens all their lives, part of a highly-regarded academic think-tank, and now they were seeing a fulfillment of something they had apparently known in advance. Their interest was more than mere scientific discovery; their interest also involved a personal faith in God because that is who they were seeking on their journey.

Which raises significant questions about them:

1. Who were these Wise Men? They were, evidently, considered of royal stature since they seemed to have no compunction about talking directly to Herod without subservience, nor did there seem to be any question about their right to do so. They were scientists, apparently specializing in astronomy; but they were also scholars, having had at least some contact with ancient Jewish prophesy. Since most of the Jews who were taken captive to Babylon remained in Persia when the Jewish remnant returned to Jerusalem, these men could have been of Jewish ancestry and had full access to scrolls written by Jewish prophets both before and during the exile of Israel, like the book of Daniel.

2. What prophecy or sacred writings might have reached them in their far country? Judea was part of the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus’ birth. The Roman Empire extended all the way around the Mediterranean Sea at its height, but not much farther east. Trade from the Far East via the Silk Road was not well-established until more than a century later so whatever religious, philosophical, and trade-related commerce between Judea and Babylon was most likely a trickle at that time. The prophetic books were already there for these men to study. Their most likely source was the Book of Daniel, written in Babylon during the captivity. But there were other scroll that had been carried to Babylon that Scholars would have studied. Jeremiah 23:5-6, for instance, might have been the seed that lead them to further investigation: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is His name whereby He shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.” That they did not know specifically that Bethlehem was their destination narrows the field of Scripture they had access to.

3. When did they see the star and how long did it take them to get to Bethlehem? Earlier this week we saw the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, called by many the “Christmas Star” and visible on the shortest, darkest day of an already dark year. Speculation about this conjunction with a third planet thrown into the mix, gave rise to rumors that this was how the Star of Christ’s birth happened. It may have been what caught the attention of the Wise Men in the first place, but the planets all continued to travel in their individual orbits and quickly dispersed across our skies again. The star that the Wise Men followed, lead them to Judea and ultimately rested above the place where Jesus lived in Bethlehem, a miraculous intervention of God into the world of science (which He created so He’s allowed to change the rules for the occasional miracle).

Given the time necessary to prepare a large retinue for travel in the first century AD, the Wise Men did not leave right away, but months later. There were no Holiday Inns and very few oases along the way so they would have had to carry their tents, most of their food and water, and every other necessity of life with them. The known world was very much smaller then than we now know it to be. Rome seemed to have no idea that China existed even though a Han Dynasty consensus placed the population of China at around 57.5 million people in 2 AD. The farthest East that was recognized at the time was India. At its height, the Persian Empire (550 BC-330 BC) stretched some way south of the Indus River into modern-day India.

Camels can travel 25-30 miles per day, so the trip of up to 3000 plus miles would have taken, at the very least, some 100-120 days. But then you have marauders on the way, broken equipage, and nomads with strict norms regarding appropriate guest behavior and stay-times. So the trip could have actually taken twice that time, eight or more months..

4. Where did these Wise Men come from? They had to have traveled a far way for two reasons. First, they didn’t know where to go except to the king of the region, information they would have known if they were from within the Roman Empire. Second, Herod followed up by killing boys aged two and under, indicating the Jesus was probably about two years old when the Wise Men arrived so they had to have traveled from far away. Since the Persian Empire at its height extended all the way into modern-day India, these men could have come from as far away as three thousand miles. My calculations would be off by thousands of miles if, indeed, these scientists were from China where science was a highly developed field already when Jesus was born. However, they would not likely have had access to Jewish Scripture in China.

5. How had they heard of the birth of Messiah when Herod, living only a short way from the event, had no clue? At some point, copies of prophetic books of the Old Testament had fallen into the hands of these Wise Men. They understood and believed the Messiah was coming and they were looking for some sign of His arrival. Were they part of some far flung remnant of the tribes of Israel? We don’t know. Yet here they were following up a lead from Jewish prophesy in full belief that this Scripture was something to celebrate for themselves as well as for the world. I believe the Holy Spirit prompted them to search further. God choreographed Jesus’ birth in such a way that the angels, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna in the temple, and later, the Wise Men, came to worship in the absence of worship by those religious leaders who should have been at the front of the line. The religious elite who should have been in the vanguard of worship, were tasked with studying and teaching Scripture from the beginning of Israel. They were not spiritually where they should have been and so missed the message of Scripture, failing to look for the promise of Messiah. I am reminded of Jesus’ comment in Luke 19 that should mankind fail to worship, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

In conclusion, then, those who seek Him, no matter where on earth we are or how far away from the center of religious activity, are those who will find Him (Luke 11:9-10, Heb. 11:6). Jesus is Lord of all and is worthy of our deepest, most humble praise and worship.