The Ninth Day of Christmas
02/01/16 04:40
The stories about the birth of Jesus that are most often told in churches and other public places are usually composite stories taken from multiple Gospels. When one reads the Gospels individually, it is interesting to note what the individual Gospels do and do not say about Jesus birth. Matthew’s Gospel is the sole source of the stories of the visit of wise men from the east. That Gospel works hard to make several important points about the birth of the messiah:
First of all, the Gospel establishes that the Messiah was born into a Jewish family with a lineage that can be traced all the way back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Gospel begins with a genealogy that establishes the family of Joseph and Mary. At the same time, it isn’t concerned with Jesus’ genetics. It is clear, in the first chapter, that Joseph is not the biological father of Jesus. That poses no problem for the Gospel writer. Biology is not the critical defining factor of which family to which one belongs. Jesus is clearly of the house and lineage of David because of the genealogy of his father despite the fact that he is not the biological child of Joseph.
For Matthew, Jesus stands in the lineage of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob both because of the genealogy of Joseph and because of the fulfillment of the prophetic vision. He offers the quote of the prophet as the explanation for Joseph’s acceptance of his role as father. Once Joseph accepts that role, biology is no longer important. Jesus belongs to his family and his lineage.
The second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel is the only report of the visit of wise men in the Bible. Matthew uses a different anchor for the timing of Jesus birth than does the writer of the Gospel of Luke. Luke writes, “This was the first enrollment, when Quirin′i-us was governor of Syria.” Matthew says, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king.” Neither author engages in a debate about whose sense of timing is accurate, though people living in those times would have known that Quirinius was appointed governor after Herod had died. The point of neither story is not the establishment of a specific time and date for the birth of Jesus, but rather to establish that he came out of the dark days of Roman occupation and cruelty. Jesus is born to a family that lived among the people who were oppressed by an occupying government.
Matthew goes on to report the visit of “Wise men from the east.” It does not describe those scholars as “kings.” The royalty of the visitors, their clothing, and crowns, are all part of the traditions that have grown up in the telling of the story, not from the actual Gospel report. Perhaps they were called kings because they were accepted by Herod as peers. Their titles, and roles in government weren’t important to the telling of the story for Matthew. What is important is that they were from outside of the Jewish community. Jesus was born to a humble Jewish family, but his birth was recognized by those outside of the community. The birth of the messiah is clearly presented by Matthew as an event that is bigger than just an internal Jewish affair. It affects the whole world, and gentiles as well as Jews.
Matthew invests a significant amount of text to the telling of the conversations between the wise men and Herod and how they ended up not making a report to Herod on their return. In doing so, it is established that the messiah is a concern to the governmental leaders, but they are left in the dark about his birth. Humble Jews of the family of Joseph know about it. Wise men from the East know about it. Herod and his counselors remain in the dark. The messiah is not sent to the governmental leaders. In this unique twist of storytelling, the Gospel writer establishes that there are some people who recognize the messiah and others who do not. And it is the governmental leaders who remain the most clueless about this important, world-changing event.
I’m not sure how the tradition of calling those wise men kings was established, but I have a sense that despite the humble surroundings of the mother and father and baby in a common home in a crowded city, despite the presence of the manger and hay and commonness of the setting, there was something about the child that made the visitors feel special. Their gifts offered, they humbled themselves and worshipped. They had a very important experience.
Perhaps there was something about the child that made them feel like royalty.
I know that is the way I feel when I am honored by parents who allow me to hold their precious children.
Our whole family is gathered in our home. Our daughter and her husband arrived on New Year’s Eve and our son and his family arrived yesterday. As I sat at our dinner table, with all of the leaves in it, surrounded by children and grandchildren, I felt like the luckiest person in the world. No king or president or governmental official has it better than I. No one has greater privilege than I was experiencing as my family gathered and shared the laughter and joy of the children. We marveled at their intelligence. We laughed at their jokes. We smiled at their antics. It was such a feeling of being so fortunate to be in this place at this time. It doesn’t matter if others recognize royalty in my person. I felt like I had been treated royally by my family. They honored me with a visit.
Messiah is not king in the sense of government. Jesus’ reign over the world is not a matter of governmental authority. His authority comes from another source entirely. So call them kings if you like, or call them wise men. It matters not. What is important is not the title, it is the baby that made everyone feel the depth of God’s blessing.
First of all, the Gospel establishes that the Messiah was born into a Jewish family with a lineage that can be traced all the way back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Gospel begins with a genealogy that establishes the family of Joseph and Mary. At the same time, it isn’t concerned with Jesus’ genetics. It is clear, in the first chapter, that Joseph is not the biological father of Jesus. That poses no problem for the Gospel writer. Biology is not the critical defining factor of which family to which one belongs. Jesus is clearly of the house and lineage of David because of the genealogy of his father despite the fact that he is not the biological child of Joseph.
For Matthew, Jesus stands in the lineage of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob both because of the genealogy of Joseph and because of the fulfillment of the prophetic vision. He offers the quote of the prophet as the explanation for Joseph’s acceptance of his role as father. Once Joseph accepts that role, biology is no longer important. Jesus belongs to his family and his lineage.
The second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel is the only report of the visit of wise men in the Bible. Matthew uses a different anchor for the timing of Jesus birth than does the writer of the Gospel of Luke. Luke writes, “This was the first enrollment, when Quirin′i-us was governor of Syria.” Matthew says, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king.” Neither author engages in a debate about whose sense of timing is accurate, though people living in those times would have known that Quirinius was appointed governor after Herod had died. The point of neither story is not the establishment of a specific time and date for the birth of Jesus, but rather to establish that he came out of the dark days of Roman occupation and cruelty. Jesus is born to a family that lived among the people who were oppressed by an occupying government.
Matthew goes on to report the visit of “Wise men from the east.” It does not describe those scholars as “kings.” The royalty of the visitors, their clothing, and crowns, are all part of the traditions that have grown up in the telling of the story, not from the actual Gospel report. Perhaps they were called kings because they were accepted by Herod as peers. Their titles, and roles in government weren’t important to the telling of the story for Matthew. What is important is that they were from outside of the Jewish community. Jesus was born to a humble Jewish family, but his birth was recognized by those outside of the community. The birth of the messiah is clearly presented by Matthew as an event that is bigger than just an internal Jewish affair. It affects the whole world, and gentiles as well as Jews.
Matthew invests a significant amount of text to the telling of the conversations between the wise men and Herod and how they ended up not making a report to Herod on their return. In doing so, it is established that the messiah is a concern to the governmental leaders, but they are left in the dark about his birth. Humble Jews of the family of Joseph know about it. Wise men from the East know about it. Herod and his counselors remain in the dark. The messiah is not sent to the governmental leaders. In this unique twist of storytelling, the Gospel writer establishes that there are some people who recognize the messiah and others who do not. And it is the governmental leaders who remain the most clueless about this important, world-changing event.
I’m not sure how the tradition of calling those wise men kings was established, but I have a sense that despite the humble surroundings of the mother and father and baby in a common home in a crowded city, despite the presence of the manger and hay and commonness of the setting, there was something about the child that made the visitors feel special. Their gifts offered, they humbled themselves and worshipped. They had a very important experience.
Perhaps there was something about the child that made them feel like royalty.
I know that is the way I feel when I am honored by parents who allow me to hold their precious children.
Our whole family is gathered in our home. Our daughter and her husband arrived on New Year’s Eve and our son and his family arrived yesterday. As I sat at our dinner table, with all of the leaves in it, surrounded by children and grandchildren, I felt like the luckiest person in the world. No king or president or governmental official has it better than I. No one has greater privilege than I was experiencing as my family gathered and shared the laughter and joy of the children. We marveled at their intelligence. We laughed at their jokes. We smiled at their antics. It was such a feeling of being so fortunate to be in this place at this time. It doesn’t matter if others recognize royalty in my person. I felt like I had been treated royally by my family. They honored me with a visit.
Messiah is not king in the sense of government. Jesus’ reign over the world is not a matter of governmental authority. His authority comes from another source entirely. So call them kings if you like, or call them wise men. It matters not. What is important is not the title, it is the baby that made everyone feel the depth of God’s blessing.