The Wise Men . . . Illustrious Seekers

Week Seven
The Wise Men
Illustrious Seekers
Matthew 2:1-12
The Visit of the Wise Men

Shalom, my friends,
I greet you
in the name of
our great God, Adonai.
My name is Mishael.
In the Holy Scripture,
in the Book of Daniel,
it means,
“Who is what God is?”
I love my name,
for no one is what God is,
for God is One,
and no one is like Him.

(You may know
the mighty young man,
Mishael,
when he was taken
captive along with
his faithful friends
after the fall of
Jerusalem,
was given a vile
Babylonian name,
Meshach.
referring to one
of their false gods.)

I, myself, am one of the Jews
who somehow
never made it home
to Jerusalem
after the exile
in Babylon.

I have a mighty,
an inspiring story
to tell you today.
My story is not about me.
It is about my masters,
for I am a steward
who has served
these years three
of the Magi,
Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar,
all men who sought
after God in their
study of the stars.

These men were so caught up
in their studies of the stars
in the heavens above,
and even of our own
Holy Scriptures,
they lived together
in a grand house
with an observatory
on the roof
and an extensive
library of scrolls
in a large room
on the second story.

Some nights they asked
me to come up on the roof
and to tell the stories
of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Moses, David,
and Daniel, along with
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

They were fascinated by the stories
of our people and our God
who cared for individuals
and called them to faith
and obedience in Him
even as He used them
to mold and shape
history around them.

 

One night while I was with them
they saw the star which
inspired us to begin
our long journey to Jerusalem
and then to Bethlehem.

My masters,
Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar
exclaimed one after the other.
as the star appeared.

”God is at work.”

”This is a mighty sign.”

”A King of Kings is born.”

That very night they decided
to put together
a caravan
so they could travel
safely and comfortably—
and, praise be to God,
they included me.

I had never traveled
so far before.
I was the household steward,
not one to accompany
them on their travels,
but one to keep
their household and their
servants in order.

It was not only a long journey,
but it was a hard journey.
Some nights were cold.
Many days were hot.
Sandstorms were too
common for my comfort.
And riding a camel
has never been
my choice—
all that rocking
back and forth.

But eventually
we did make it through
the gates of Jerusalem.
My masters assumed
any king born
in Israel would
be born in the
famous home
of our Holy Temple.

When they saw King Herod,
he seem surprised
by their question:

Matthew 2:1-6

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?
For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him;
and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people,
he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
(Micah 5:2)

************

We quickly learned how my people
in Jerusalem feared Herod.
He had a murderous reputation.
When he was worried about news,
everyone in Jerusalem
grew nervous.

He was obviously ignorant
of our scriptures,
so he had to summon
the chief priests and scribes
to ask them where
such a child-to-be-king
would be born.

(I was a bit embarrassed.
myself, because
I did not know
of this particular
prophet, Micah,
and this prophecy.
To be honest
I had not even
heard of Bethlehem,
even though
it was the birthplace
of King David,
our greatest king.)

Luke 2:7-8

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly
and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,
“Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him,
bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

************

Anyway, Herod got his answer.
Then he called my masters
to him for a private meeting.

He told them about the birthplace,
Bethlehem, and asked them
to go and find this child
so that he might
go and worship him also.

Well, my masters
knew people, and especially kings,
better than that—
they did not take Herod at his word.
And besides, we had all heard
around Jerusalem
about how feared he was.
But they wisely said nothing
about their doubts
to the king.

Matthew 2:9-11

After listening to the king, they went on their way.
And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them
until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother,
and they fell down and worshiped him.
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts,
gold and frankincense and myrrh.

************

As soon as we left Jerusalem
for the short journey to Bethlehem,
no one could miss the star
which not only shone
over the town of Bethlehem,
but obviously
pointed to the exact
place in Bethlehem
where the child-born-to-be-king
was lying.

Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar
hurried into that humble place
and found the Baby and His mother
and her husband.
My masters did not hesitate.
They fell to their knees
and worshipped him.
As scholars
they were able to speak
to them in Aramaic
to express their praise
for this Mighty One
now so small,
but destined by our God
to do mighty things
in for God’s people,
and indeed,
for the people of the world.

My masters had carefully
selected gifts which
spoke of the worship
they offered the King.
The gifts had cost them
each much gold,
but they were
filled with joy
to offer Him
such treasures
as a fitting
tribute to the One
they knew
would be the King of Kings.

Also as Magi,
in their wisdom,
they wanted to express
their own
expectations for the roles
He would play.
So, Melchior
presented Him with gold,
as He would
certainly be King.
Caspar presented
Him with frankincense,
for he would
also be God’s Priest
to bring many
to worship
God in Heaven.
And Balthazar
presented Him
with myrrh,
for he would live
as a man
who would suffer
death for many.

And my masters not only
gave Mary and Joseph
these gifts,
but they shared with them
their doubts
about Herod—
that he was certainly
one to be feared.
They explained how he
had asked them to
come and tell him
where the Holy Baby
could be found.
Then they assured them
they would do no such thing.
They would go another
way, avoiding Herod
and Jerusalem
altogether.

Matthew 2:12

And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed to their own country by another way.

************

And God confirmed their wisdom
in a dream, and with great joy
and excitement
we began the journey home
taking the long way
around Jerusalem,
and every night we sat
under the stars
as we found ourselves
worshipping
the God of Heaven
who had sent to live
among His people
a mighty King
to bless the world.

Adonai, receive the glory.
Adonai, receive the Honor.
Adonai, receive the Praise.