Matthew 2:1-12
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Happy Epiphany Sunday! I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently where we noted that while society seems to be celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier each year, when December 26 comes around, the holiday cheer is often packed away with the ornaments and decorations. Throughout much of history, Christmas wasn’t a day, but a season lasting from December 25-January 5. Rather than one day of Christmas, there was a 12-day celebration of Christmas. Presents were exchanged each day and common meals were shared. This practice is the reason behind one of our modern Christmas carols, “Jingle Bells.” No, “The Twelve Days of Christmas!”
Then, on the 12th day after Christmas, we celebrate Epiphany. Epiphany is the celebration of the first recorded interaction between God Incarnate and the Gentiles, Jesus and the Magi. Epiphany literally means “a revelation;” we hear people use this word when some idea finally comes to them or makes sense. It is when the lightbulb goes on and you say, “Now it makes sense. I’ve had an epiphany!”
On that first Epiphany, God was revealed to the Gentile Magi, the Wise Men, and they bowed down before him, and worshipped him.
What I want to do today is look at this well-known story, maybe debunk a few of the things you thought you knew about these Magi, and focus on one of the many things we can take from this passage. That point is, don’t be a tyrant.
After that introduction, you may be wondering how we know that the Magi showed up twelve days after Christmas. The truth is that they probably didn’t. The reason we celebrate Twelve Days of Christmas is because in 1582 the church went from using the Julian Calendar, which was based on the lunar cycle, to the Gregorian Calendar, which is based on 30, 31, and 28-day months, and adds a 29th day of the second month every four years. Which makes me wonder how bad the Julian Calendar really was. According to the Julian Calendar, Christmas fell on what we know as January 6. On the Gregorian Calendar, Christmas is celebrated on December 25. This change was orchestrated by Pope Greggory XIII, and not all Protestants wanted to change. So some Christians celebrated Christmas on the 25th, others on the 6th or 7th. I assume some peacemaker probably came along and said, “Let’s just celebrate Christmas the entire twelve days.”
To this day, Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th, and many traditions observe “Old Christmas.” This all comes back to the calendar change and whether or not these groups saw the Pope as having the authority to make such a change.
So when did the Magi arrive? Maybe as much as two years after Jesus was born, which is why King Herod will later command that all boys ages two and under be killed. However, I don’t think that it was two years after the birth of Jesus until the Wise Men arrived, because Joseph probably needed to get back home to Nazareth after a few months to care for his business and to build a home for his new family. The star could have appeared before Jesus was actually born, and the Wise Men may have arrived on what we call January 6. We simply cannot know. Furthermore, I love a good nativity scene, and no nativity scene is complete without Wise Men! But Mary and Joseph were probably not living in the stable when the Wise Men arrived. Verse 11 says, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary…” They had probably moved from the stable to a relative’s house, but they were still in Bethlehem.
So we don’t know when they arrived. We don’t know how many there were, though we assume there were three because they brought three gifts. I’d be the one who showed up and as everyone else gave their present, I’d be like, “Gifts? Nobody said anything about gifts. Is it too late to put my name on the card?”
There is no reason to believe that they were kings. That tradition comes from Psalm 72:11, “May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.” And we don’t even know if they were all men. The fact that they stop for directions suggests otherwise.
What we do know is that these were Persian (probably) men who studied the stars to determine the future. They were likely a part of a religion called Zoroastrianism, which still exists today. In fact, I recently heard that Freddie Mercury’s family practiced Zoroastrianism and he had a Zoroastrian funeral.
The reason this matters is because it is the outsiders who seem to get it, while throughout his life, those closest to Jesus seem to miss who he is. Matthew is the only one to include the story of the Magi in his gospel, and Matthew’s gospel is written to a Gentile population. It is like he is saying, “Look! Gentiles, outsiders like you, have come, met, and worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ! Come and pay tribute to your savior.”
When I look at this story, I see two different approaches to Jesus. I find King Herod, a Jewish man, and the Magi, Gentiles, reacting in vastly different ways to the news that the one born king of the Jews was now among them.
The Magi, rich, powerful, perhaps even kings their selves, travel from afar to give gifts to Jesus. The bring him gifts because it was common to give something to a king as a way of recognizing their authority and power. In 1 Kings chapter 10, we read that the Queen of Sheba comes to visit Solomon. Verse 2, says, “Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind.”
Some commentators mention that the “spices” the queen gave to Solomon may have included things like frankincense and myrrh.
We are never told that the Magi see Jesus as a threat to their power or status. They never try to flex their muscle or intimidate Jesus or his family. Never do we get a hint of jealousy.
Then we have Herod. Herod was Jewish, but his ancestors were converts to Judaism, which means he didn’t have royal blood. He was placed as king by the Roman Senate. Herod couldn’t trace his genealogy back to David. Therefore all of the prophesies from the Hebrew scriptures about the messiah and about how God would cause a descendant of David to sit upon the throne forever didn’t apply to him.
Herod was jealous, and Herod felt threatened. So what did he do? He lied to the Magi, saying, When you find the one born king of the Jews, let me know so I can go worship him, too! Matthew tells us a few verses later that he was not interested in worshipping Jesus, but instead was willing to go to great lengths to do away with this threat to his power, his empire, and his social status. We are told that Herod would kill every child in Bethlehem age two and under in an attempt to wipe out this perceived threat.
While the Magi paid tribute to Jesus, Herod acted like a tyrant.
I’ve never been tempted to commit genocide, but I think I understand how Herod was feeling. I know what it is like to feel threatened and to wish bad things upon other people. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not evil. I don’t wish for pain or suffering for others, I just don’t want them to be as successful, as well-liked, as attractive, or as smart as me. Far too often I spend time look for and pointing out the flaws of other people because, like Herod, I feel threatened by them. Let me share a few stories that you might be able to connect with.
When I visit other churches, one of the things that I find difficult is entering into a time of worship without being critical of the person who is preaching. I’m always picking them apart, from their theology to their presentation and style. And that’s a problem, but it is a part of my training in critical thinking. But the real issue is when I feel I need to say something to others, pointing out flaws of other preachers so that I look better.
Recently, one of my friends, a fellow pastor who will remain anonymous, was interviewed for a project that he is working on. And I’ll be honest with you, he is doing something that I’ve thought I could do and do well. But I’ve never had the courage to actually do it, and he is. One of our local newspapers picked up on this (I’m trying to be vague. Please forgive me.) and ran an article on the event, which he shared on Facebook.
This friend and I are pretty unalike in a number of ways and our theology differs greatly. And of course I think my theology is right and his is wrong, or at least my theology is better than his, you know, in my humble opinion.
At his last gathering, my friend held a discussion on the work of the Holy Spirit. It is a public forum with the opportunity for questions and answers, and it isn’t held in a church, but instead where people who might not be comfortable coming to church would feel more welcome. In the newspaper, the reporter quoted from my friend’s talk, writing, “He said that two different schools of thought exist about the Holy Spirit: the group that believes the Holy Spirit does not do anything in the modern era and the group that believes he does move, and when he does then his moving in the modern era trumps what the Bible says to do.”
My first thought was, “Oh, those are the only two schools of thought on the Holy Spirit? The Spirit either does nothing, or tells us to do things the Bible doesn’t say to do? That’s simplistic, that’s reductionistic! And oh, so subjective!”
I’ll admit, I had thoughts of attending one of these events solely to participate in the Question and Answer time to point out flaws like the false dichotomy in the newspaper quote. I had to catch myself, because sometimes I just need to stop thinking like a tyrant, an oppressor, or a bully. Even though I’m not looking to kill infants, am I looking to hurt someone because of my own jealousy or lack of self-confidence?
Here’s something that I have learned and am trying to implement in my own life. Call it a New Year’s resolution, if you will. I’ve realized that there are a couple of ways to make yourself look better. One: you can work hard to make yourself into a better, more Christ-like person. Or two: you can tear other people down to make yourself look better in comparison. One is a lot easier, and the other requires a significant amount more work. I want to be the person who puts in the extra work.
Think about it like this. The easiest way to look better is to hang out with ugly people. I may not be Brad Pitt, but at least I look better than this guy!
Hopefully nobody here chooses their friends based on how good looking they are. But I think that some form of this exists all around us.
I’m losing my hair, but at least I have more than that guy!
I may not be perfect, but at least I didn’t do what Fred did!
Did you hear about Jed and Ethel? I hear that they aren’t even sharing a room anymore?
You could try to improve your intellect through studying and reading, or you could just point out when someone else does something stupid, making a big deal about a stupid question they asked or a mistake they made.
We could educate people about political decisions and foreign relationships, or we could just mock the other political party and take the things they say and do out of context. I list these things not as hypothetical issues, but as real struggles in my own life.
I understand being competitive at sports. I understand that when you are interviewing for a job that usually only one person can get it. But when it comes to relationships, why do I get competitive to the point where I try to make others look bad in order to make myself look good? Do I really feel so threatened, or lack self-confidence to the point I just want to take others down with me? That’s what Herod did. That’s what tyrants do.
No, I want to encourage you to be a wise man or woman. I encourage you to pay tribute to others. To pay tribute means to show respect and offer congratulations to others. The Magi payed tribute to Jesus in a very clear way, bowing down before him, offering him gifts fit for a king. And we are called to pay tribute to Jesus and one another.
We pay tribute to Jesus when we bow and worship him, but we also pay tribute to Jesus when we show him the respect that he deserves. And a part of showing Jesus respect is following his teachings, teachings like loving your neighbor and your enemy. Teachings like “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
He’s the point: when we show respect for others and treat them how we want to be treated, we are simultaneously showing respect for Jesus.
Don’t be a tyrant. I get it, I want to tear others down out of a perceived threat to my masculinity, to my power, to my intellect. But instead, pay tribute to Jesus by showing love and respect for all.
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