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The Wise Men
1When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem 2and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. 4Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”
5They told him, “He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,
6 ‘Bethlehem in the land
of Judea,
you are very important
among the towns of Judea.
From your town
will come a leader,
who will be like a shepherd
for my people Israel.’ ”
7Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. 8He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I also want to go and worship him.”
9The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10They were thrilled and excited to see the star.
11When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. 12Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.
The Escape to Egypt
13After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.”
14That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt, 15 where they stayed until Herod died. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”
The Killing of the Children
16When Herod found out that the wise men from the east had tricked him, he was very angry. He gave orders for his men to kill all the boys who lived in or near Bethlehem and were two years old and younger. This was based on what he had learned from the wise men.
17So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet Jeremiah had said,
18 “In Ramah a voice was heard
crying and weeping loudly.
Rachel was mourning
for her children,
and she refused
to be comforted,
because they were dead.”
The Return from Egypt
19After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph while he was still in Egypt. 20The angel said, “Get up and take the child and his mother back to Israel. The people who wanted to kill him are now dead.”
21Joseph got up and left with them for Israel. 22But when he heard that Herod's son Archelaus was now ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there. Then in a dream he was told to go to Galilee, 23 and they went to live there in the town of Nazareth. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Reflect
At the time when Jesus was born Palestine was part of the Roman Empire, and ruled by Herod the Great. Herod was an Edomite, and considered himself a Jew, but his commitment was disputed by the Jewish leaders, partly on the grounds of his lifestyle. It’s possible that Herod had up to ten wives and over 15 children at the time. Extra biblical sources note that Herod’s family wasn’t the most harmonious – there was lots of infighting, with executions, and siblings fighting for succession. So when some wise men show up in Jerusalem and ask the whereabouts of “the child born to be king of the Jews” one can understand why Herod was worried.
There are four prophecies and four dreams in this passage and they create an interesting pattern of confirming the Christ child’s identity and showing God’s intervening hand in keeping him alive.
In much art, Baby Jesus is often depicted as a cherubic, peaceful baby adored by all who behold him, yet even his mere birth destabilized the powers that be, and, because of Herod’s paranoia, caused the deaths of other baby boys. Jesus was both Mary and Joseph’s baby son and the Son of God. And he was born to be King of the Jews, a title by which he was declared on the day of his death.
I know that engaging in a relationship with Jesus has required me to expand my capacity for mystery, for prophecies and dreams. He’s both the baby in the manger and the King without an earthly throne. It is a matter of my own discipline to not limit my view of Jesus but to experience the breadth of who Jesus is so that the whole of me can become like Him and continue to search for him, just as the wise men did.
Respond
Lord God, Giver of eternal life through your Son, may I never see Him in just one way. In my ever expanding view of Jesus may there be an equally ever-expanding capacity in me to be like Him. In His holy name I pray, Amen.
Sarah Patterson
Sarah has loved Jesus since she was four years old and continues to be formed by her relationship with Him in her marriage, friendships, and as a godmother to six godsons. Sarah also loves her new city, St Catharines, Ontario, where her husband Rob pastors a Mennonite Brethren church, exploring the Niagara Region, and experimenting with various art mediums. Sarah gives spiritual direction to directees across Canada, including pastors, leaders and people living in small and isolated communities.