Joy to the World - Pt 9

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:1–6 ESV).

There are so many stories that have grown from the visit of the “wise men” in our reading today. It is of interest that, unlike Luke, Matthew does not tell us about the shepherds coming to visit Jesus in the stable. His focus is immediately on foreigners coming from the east to worship Jesus. This omission is important to not. It is central to Matthew’s purpose in writing his gospel account. Matthew portrays Jesus at the beginning and ending of his Gospel as a Messiah for the nations, not just for Jews. Here the first worshipers are court astrologers, or wise men, not from Israel but from the East. They were probably from Babylon. This meant they were Gentiles. And, further it meant they were unclean. I think it is critical that we understand that all men, Jew and Gentile, were then and are now in need of a Savior. We are sinners. The Apostle Paul cannot make it any clearer when he writes to the Romans: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). To see this confirmed in the visit of the Magi and the acceptance of their gifts is an incredible point of the story. It is quite interesting that the Church has found a way to exclude people based on their current prejudices since the beginning. We have turned people away because of color, gender, position, and political positions for millennia. I might remind us here that at the end of Matthew, the last words of Jesus are, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” This not only opened the door for the Gentiles to rejoice in the Messiah, it added proof that he was the Messiah. Because one of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come to him as the ruler of the world. For example, the prophet wrote: “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:3). The real “joy to the world” is that it is indeed joy to the world! Perhaps we should taken inventory of our prejudices and realign ourselves with the desire and purpose of God this Christmas.