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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 3, 2006 Troubled by Wise Men! |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, January 3, 2006 by Don Kress
Today’s scripture passage is the historical record of the coming of the wise men, and how their coming troubled Herod the king. There’s a lot that can be written and debated about the wise men. First of all, how many were there? I looked through the stack of Christmas cards we received this year, and four picture wise men on them – and all four picture three wise men. Then there’s that popular carol we sing: “We Three Kings.” So there must have been three, right? Who knows – the Bible doesn’t give a number; it just says, “…behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.” I don’t know how many there really were; there could have been thirty, or even three-hundred. However many there were, there were enough of them that their arrival created a real stir in Jerusalem.
They had been on the road for a long time, probably about a year. These wise men, who came from the East, probably came from different areas. They had been studying the stars, and when the new star appeared at Jesus’ birth, they set off to follow it, sure that it would lead them to Jesus. Their question upon their arrival in Jerusalem was not one of uncertainty: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star…” How did they come to associate a new star with a king, and how did they identify it with Israel? The people of the East had a prophecy given by Balaam (Numbers 24:17) which said, “I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” The wise men had that prophecy, and so they set off on a long, hard trip by camel to Jerusalem, seeking a king.
In Jerusalem they found a king – Herod the Great. Sometime when you have the time, get a good Bible dictionary and read about the Herod family. They were a real first-century mafia, and Herod the Great was the biggest scoundrel of them all. He was an Edomite who had bought his current position from the Roman Government, and the one thing he would not tolerate was competition. So, when this entourage of wise men arrived in Jerusalem asking, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” it’s no wonder that Herod was troubled. And if Herod was troubled, the whole city was troubled! He called all the Jewish religious leaders together and demanded them to tell him what their scriptures told of a Messiah. One of the things that amaze me is that they knew and were able to tell him right away, quoting the prophet Micah. They knew all about the coming of the Messiah. The problem is that it was academic knowledge that had no personal meaning for them. You’d think they would have excitedly gone to the wise men and said, “We know precisely where He was to be born. We’re looking for the Messiah, too. Let us ride with you and we’ll show you the way!”
I wonder how many of us are really looking for the Messiah. We study about His coming, and we talk about it and sing carols about it, but would we really like to see Him right now? If some wise men rode into our life right now and said “Let us take you to the Messiah,” would we gladly go with them? Or would we be troubled by their interruption and say, “You go on ahead. I’m busy right now. I’ll come see Him later.” Are we, like the wise men, willing to travel long, weary miles, in the hope of seeing Him and presenting our gifts to Him? Or are we content just to know the story?
Prayer:
Dear Christ Child, just as they did at your birth, wise men still seek you.
Help me to be one of them. I ask it in your name. Amen.
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