Wise Men Follow the Star

Personal Matters

In praying about writing something Christmassy I have decided to focus in on one of the more neglected and misunderstood aspects of the infancy narratives. Living in Western Australia whilst power and population is concentrated on the other side of the nation, the term “wise men from the east” is often used sarcastically. This is surprisingly compatible with how the visit of the wise men to find the “king of the Jews” was treated by the power hierarchies in the religious capital of Jerusalem. The sages finding Jesus is preceded by dialogue with a king of a very different sort, Herod the Great, and terminates in the “slaughter of the innocents”, a massacre of all the baby boys in Bethlehem under 2 years old. This strange tapestry of wise men coming to find Christ as King in a situation of power, religiosity and human suffering holds a thread that speaks prophetically to our time.

Wise Men?[1]

In the context of first century Judaism these men had nothing going for them. The Greek term translated “wise men” is magi, from which we derive our English “magician” (Matt 2:1). They came from Babylon, that evil city where the Jews had been taken bound into captivity. Magi were a priestly class of astrologers, alchemists and occultists who were selfish, brutal and incompetent pagan opponents of the prophet Daniel (Dan 2:2, 10 etc.). Nevertheless, since there is no evidence of Jews following the “star of Bethlehem” it appears this sign was providentially sent just for them (Matt 2:2). It fulfils one of the earliest messianic prophecies, ““I see him, but not now; ““I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”” (Num 24:17). A remarkable aspect of this prediction is that it came through the pagan diviner Balaam (Josh 13:12), who hired to curse Israel instead speaks of a coming King who will destroy the enemies of the people of God. This atmosphere of prophetic revelation through pagans is perhaps unique in the Bible.

In their heathen naivety the “wise men” made their way to the palace of the notoriously cruel king Herod seeking information on “he who has been born king of the Jews” (2:2, 9). Prophetic agents they were, but the true nature of prophecy innocently escaped them. Jesus’ words about John the Baptist point out where the magi were confused; ““What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A weak reed shaken by every breath of wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces.”” (Matthew 11:7-8). Prophets characteristically image their message by a robust lifestyle of simplicity and self-denial that contradicts the self-indulgence found in the halls of power. Whilst the ignorance of the “wise men” to such things would lead to the slaughter of the infant boys in Bethlehem (Matt 2:16-18) God never held the magi responsible. There was however in Jerusalem a group whose sin is manifest.

Power Play

“Herod the king was troubled and all Jerusalem with him…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.’” (Matthew 2:3-6). Instead of excitement at the prospect of messiah’s birth the Jerusalemites are thrown into shock. The religious leaders confidently quote scripture concerning the messiah’s birth place but show no interest in joining the quest of the magi. If the error of the wise men from the east was to seek a deliverer amongst the portals of political power, the sin of the religious leaders was to treat salvation with indifference. The gentile visitors go on to worship Christ with their highest gifts, the teachers of Israel ignore him not interested to travel even the 8 kilometres from Jerusalem to Bethlehem (2:11)[2]. With Herod, God will hold these scripture experts responsible for their casual treatment of the prophetic star and the massacre at Bethlehem.

Herod and the religious leaders of the day shared the sin of loving power. The story of the star begins a trajectory in Matthew that culminates at the cross. Throughout the Gospel the powerful priestly class are presented as the enemies of Jesus and the instigators of his death (16:21; 26:3, 47; 27:1, 62 etc). Both the slaughter of the innocents of Bethlehem and that of the blameless Christ take place at the hands of a coalition of political forces (Herod; Pilate) and religious authorities devoted to preserving their power base at all costs. Jesus must die because he dared violate the priestly class’s control of the temple as Israel’s’ way of access to God (Matt 21:12; 26:61; 27:40). A temple ironically built by Herod the Great in his complicity to win the favour of the religious authorities of his own time. This thread holds a frightful message for our day; pagans may be closer to the kingdom than our priests.

Reflection

Many Australian Christians still anticipate that the bearers of revelation will come from some sort of muscular coalition of Christians in politics and religion. The story of the magi heralding the coming of Christ 2000 years ago makes it crystal clear that his coming in glory today will not be controlled by the gates of influence. Today’s bearers of revelation will be unlikely people from unexpected places who have long been considered opponents of God’s kingdom. The star will not arise from theological faculties, megachurches, plausible charismatic Christian personalities or heavily financed TV ministries. Such comfortable palaces cannot embody the message of the humiliation of the Son of God. To those with eyes to see it however the edges of revival are already touching our borders; many refugees, especially Iranians, are turning to Christ. The Lord’s Spirit is moving in his predictably unpredictable way amongst Indigenous people in the central deserts, amongst prostitutes, gays, drug addicts and the homeless. These are those pointing us to the star of Christ.

The strange message of the “wise men” calls us all to stop taking Jesus for granted, to turn from being knowledgeable and influential and to live a genuinely prophetic lifestyle outside of our material and religious palaces of comfort. Above all, if we would become like the magi we must recover a long lost innocence and naïve trust and simply follow the star wherever he goes (Rev 22:16).