Matthew
2:1-12 (NRSV)
The Visit
of the Wise Men
2In the time of
King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, ‘Where is the
child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its
rising, and have come to pay him
homage.’ 3When King
Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all
the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the
Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, ‘In
Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land
of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you
shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my
people Israel.” ’ 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time
when the star had appeared. 8Then
he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and
when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him
homage.’ 9When they
had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that
they had seen at its rising, until
it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the
star had stopped, they were
overwhelmed with joy. 11On
entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt
down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him
gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And
having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own
country by another road.
A reflection, based on Barclay, on the
Epiphany ...
In more recent times it has become commonplace to dismiss
the event of the magi visiting the infant Jesus as ancient myth and legend and,
like much of the rest of the New Testament, to dismiss it in the same way as we
dismiss other fairytales and stories. But this does not mean that there were no
magi at the time and while the New Testament writers might have been writing in
an idiom that is no longer fashionable, and foreign to the modern reader, this
does not alter the fact that it could have happened. The magi might not have
been kings, there might have been more than three; but these and other details
are really irrelevant. What matters is that, at the time, there was an air of
expectation that something great was about to happen. This is evident in the
writings of many of the secular ancients including Suetonius, Tacitus,
Josephus, Seneca and Virgil. This ‘expectation’ was not only for the Jews which
was something that Matthew needed to stress as his Gospel was written primarily
for a Jewish audience. William Barclay in his commentary suggests:
There is not the slightest need
to think that the story of the coming of the Magi to the cradle of Christ is
only a lovely legend. It is exactly the kind of thing that could easily have
happened in the ancient world.
Having said this, it could have been added by a later editor
trying to meet the needs of a different historical context – but again, I
suggest – that getting stuck on the so-called ‘problems’ of the text tends to
make us miss the point and in the process rob us of the wonderful blessing that
we can share at the time of this lovely festival.
As with much of the Scriptures, it is rich in symbolism. The
gifts brought by the magi stress that the infant Christ child was a king
(gold), that he was the perfect priest (frankincense) and that his life and
death would be sacrificial (myrrh). The ‘fact’ that gentile wise men came to
acknowledge this is a wonderful reminder that Jesus came for all people without
exception. Historically, it is most probable that they came from Persia , and so
we need to be reminded that, today, it would have been Muslim wise men coming
to acknowledge the Christ. It is also all too easy in these difficult days to
forget the Jesus is of great significance in Islam. Matthew’s readers might
have been shocked that the Messiah was for others as well and not only for
them. Does this say anything about how we ought to relate to others who are not
like us?
William Barclay, writing specifically about the visit of the
magi, adds:
There is poetry here, and we must
not turn lovely poetry into crude and lifeless prose.
I have referred to J C
Ryle’s commentary for the rest of this reflection ...
No one knows who these
people were or how many of them were part of the party; all we do know is that
they came from the East. But none of the fine details in this respect matter,
as J C Ryle writes: “The point which concerns us most is the rich instruction
which their history conveys.”
Firstly, these verses contain an important truth and that is that there may be true servants of God in places
where we should not be expected to find them. The grace of God is not
limited and it is not up to us to judge anyway. I work among people where 15 %
are Hindu, and 5% Moslem and 5% Sikh – and they are lovely people. In fact, the
Hindus see Jesus as a special avatar and an incarnation of the divine. Many of
them also reveal the love and grace of God in their lives; some Sikhs being
especially gracious. I am unashamed about what I believe, especially at times
of great festivals like Christmas and Easter, but I leave the rest up to God.
Secondly, these verses reveal that it is not always those who have most religious privileges, who give
Christ most honour. One would probably think that the religious leaders’ of
Jesu’s day would have been the first to make their way to Bethlehem when there
was a rumour that the saviour was to be born there – but this was not the case.
This was left to unknown strangers from a foreign land. Sadly, this can be true
even today: for there are many gracious and godly people who are neglected.
This also suggests another danger and that is the way one can begin to neglect
the precious things of God because we become too familiar with them. I can
remember a number of occasions when I have attended worship where this is
obvious – even in Cathedrals – where I have been given the impression that I
have merely been taken through the motions. A few years ago Gareth and I visited Coventry Cathedral. We
rushed there to be in time for the Act of
Reconciliation at midday. There were only three of us in the congregation
and the priest who led the short service never made contact with any of us at
all, not even to greet us. It was a special time, but it would have been so
much better (for Gareth particularly) if there could have been some informal
contact as well. They conduct this short service every day and it is times like
this that familiarity can be a real problem. (Perhaps this was an ‘off’ day for
the priest – we all have those so I don’t want to appear too hard on him!) But
the women at the reception desk and in the cafeteria were wonderful and helped
to make it a really special day for us.
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