After the birth of Jesus, Wise men came from the East. They specifically told Herod a new King had been born.This led to Herod attempting to wipe out his competition, as he had his own children.....but that is another story.
These wise men came from the east. We do not know how many they were, whether Joseph and Mary had moved to different quarters, as we know they were in Bethlehem at least some time; they had him circumscribed and presented Him at the Temple at the time for the cleansing of the mother.. so he was at least 40 days old.It does say the wise men visited them in a house. Tradition holds they were Chaldean. Specifically, they carried on the teachings of Daniel.For hundreds of years the magi had watched for the birth of the King to come.Jesus had gentile believers before his birth! They brought kingly gifts. Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh. Of monetary value, true. healing value, yes. and also used in burial.Jesus' life and death, mission and eventual status, all wrapped up on these three items. These items were easily traded or sold , making the escape to Egypt possible. It also allowed Joseph and Mary to return after Herod's death (at least one year possible up to 6 years from this point) and to set up house and work in Nazareth. They certainly could not return to Bethlehem, the City of David, with a priesthood alerted to this (possible) Messiah. They needed to raise him out of the public eye.Witness the murder of Simeon, the second leader of the church in Jerusalem a hundred years later, by the Romans, simply for being of the line of David. And imagine their horror when they go to the Temple when he is twelve,and they not only lose him, they find him with the learned ones in the Temple! Years of hiding....undone. I guess the temple teachers did not see the baby from Bethlehem as the boy from Nazareth. And one more point...these kingly gifts put paid to the notion of Jesus as "poor." His family had their needs met. Joseph worked and taught Jesus as was customary. Though not given the status and trappings of King hood,He was in fact prophesied as such, by Jew and Gentile alike.( Anna and Simeon in the Temple when he was presented, both prophesied over him.) When you give gifts this season remember the gifts of the magi.They celebrated and supported the life of Jesus Christ.Our reminders of God's love, and of ours, should reflect the awesome majesty of His birth. |
Faith and ReasonA grandma's perspective on a few things.. Archives
May 2020
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