Friday, December 23

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Friday

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”  Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”  After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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 and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.   – Matthew 2:1-12

How did the Magi find the Christ child?  My guess is that you probably answered b saying that they followed the star, but this is only half right. There’s a great deal of discussion over this star, some scholars believe it was an ancient appearance of Haley’s comet, some claim it was an unusual alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, others claim it was a supernova in about 11 B.C., but as far as I can tell, this account gives me the impression that whatever it was, it was a miraculous occurrence.

It seems evident from the story in Matthew that this star was a miracle, because a star that was seen in the sky in Bethlehem would be seen in the same way in Jerusalem or any other town in the region of Judea, for they were so close together.  But apparently they could sense that this star was moving, and they could sense when it came and stood just over the place where the young child was.  So evidently it was a very low-moving star, something very unusual. 

The star of Bethlehem does play an important role, but it does not bring the Magi all the way to Jesus.  We tend to think of the Magi as just traipsing along through the desert following a bouncy bright star in the sky.  But a careful examination of the story in Matthew will help us see it a bit differently. 

Notice what the Magi actually say to Herod, they say that they saw His star in the east, but they do not say that they have been following the star.  Additionally, the Magi show up first in Jerusalem (not Bethlehem) and ask where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?  If they had been following the star all along, why wouldn’t they have just followed it on to Bethlehem?  Finally, when the Magi ask where the child is, Herod has to ask the Jewish scholars and priests, and they go to the Word of God for the answer.

In his commentary on Matthew called The Christ Book, Frederich Dale Bruner puts it this way, “The star brings us to Jerusalem; only Scripture brings us to Bethlehem.  Creation can bring us to the church; the church’s Bible brings us to Christ.  To be sure, the star reappears, but, significantly, only after the Scriptures say ‘Bethlehem!’  God’s revelation in creation raises the questions and begins the quest; God’s revelation in Scripture gives a preliminary answer and directs the quest toward the final goal.  Finally, God’s revelation in Christ satisfies the quest.”

For this reason, when the star reaches the place where the child is, it stops.  It stops right there, and its history ends, for it has reached the Lord Jesus.  When the star reaches Bethlehem, when it has brought a man to the place of Jesus Christ, then its ministry is over. It does not go beyond Christ, and it does not reappear in the story because once it has brought them to Christ, it has fulfilled its divine purpose!

Jeff Frazier