The Empowering Epic of the Birth of Jesus—Part 3

The Empowering Epic of the Birth of Jesus—Part  3

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV)
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 have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.' "
Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."
When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen 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 exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.”

            The Gospel of Matthew gives us all the Holy Spirit-inspired information we have on the Wise Men (Magi) who came from the east seeking out the Son of God.  We don’t know how many came.  We don’t know their names.  We don’t know their ethnicity.  We don’t know that they were Persian astrologers.  Most of us don’t know that they did not come on the night Jesus was born.  Most definitely, most of us don’t know the Bible history behind their coming.

            We have forgotten or, possibly, have never learned about the Babylonian and, later, Persian captivity of the Jews during the lifetime of Daniel.  For many, our Biblical knowledge does not include the historical accounts of Ezra and Nehemiah when only part of the Jews returned to Israel from Persia during the reign of Cyrus. In the Book of Acts 2:9, we find that Jews identified as Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, heard Peter’s sermon on Pentecost.  Parthia, Media and Elam were in ancient Persia.  Descendents of the Jews who remained in Persian are still living in Iraq and Iran today. 

           

Perhaps the wise men were not Persian astrologers or 3 kings from obscure countries to the east.  Perhaps they were Jews who had found favor in Persia as wise men just as Daniel had.  Perhaps they came not only to seek out the King of the Jews but also to celebrate one of the feast days in Jerusalem.

            Our study of the wise men must also include the prophecy of Balaam:  Numbers 24:15-17 (NKJV)
^“So he took up his oracle and said: "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.” 

            The wise men knew that the star indicated the coming of the conquering King of Israel. Therefore, they had to have been familiar with Hebrew prophecy.  They also knew about when to look for the star.  Daniel 9:24-27 indicates that there will be 69 X 7 weeks (years) from the command to leave Persian and rebuild Jerusalem until the time for the Messiah to be “cut off.”  History indicates that it was 483 years from the time the Jews left Persia to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem until the Crucifixion of Jesus.  Seeing the star was a sign to the wise men that the Messiah had come to earth.

            The wise men asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”  They did not ask where he had been born. Perhaps they were familiar as well with the prophecy in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

            Herod asked the priests and scribes where the Christ was to be born.  Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem.  In Bethlehem, they again saw the star. In my heart, I believe that in Bethlehem, they bowed down and worshiped their King and not just one that they recognized as a king.

            Are we, too, wise men?  Have we studied Bible prophecy and Bible history?  Do we accept Jesus as our King?  If we do not recognize the epic spiritual encounter of His birth, we relegate history to an insipid myth of a changling child surrounded by the creatures from the fairy land.  Let’s not forget Who Christ is, why He was born, and the climax of the epic story:

Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV)
^“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

O  come and adore Him.