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WISE MEN AND LOVE
Micah 5:1-5a
Matthew 2:1-12
December 20, 2009
Every Sunday in the season of Advent has a symbol and a theme. The themes are represented in the banners which surround our sanctuary. The first week the symbol was the Prophets, waiting for the promised Messiah; and the theme was hope. The second week the symbol was Angels, and the theme was peace. Last Sunday the symbol was Shepherds, and the theme was joy. The symbol for the fourth week of Advent is Wise Men, and the theme is love.
Now, wise men are also the traditional symbol for Epiphany, which is the twelfth day of Christmas, or January 6th. Why do the wise men get two weeks, and the other symbols only get one? Well, when we talk about Epiphany, or the manifestation of God with us, we like to focus on the fact that some people ‘get it’, and some people don’t. As we go through life there will always be people who hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and give him Lordship of their lives. And, there will always be people who hear the story and laugh at the Christians and their fairy tales. When we talk about the wise men during the season of Advent we like to focus on gifts.
Artwork, primarily drawings and paintings, has a huge impact on what we think we know. The three wise men come from the East looking for a baby. Except, the Bible never says there were three of them. The paintings of the wise men always depict three, because there were three gifts mentioned. If you paint two wise men, one of them is standing there with two gifts – making the other guy look cheap. If you paint four wise men, one of them has nothing to offer – again looking really unprepared, and cheap. There is a nice symmetry to three men, each holding a gift.
Where did the wise men come from? There are two good guesses. The first is from southern Arabia, and that’s because the Queen of Sheba came from southern Arabia. Isaiah and Jeremiah tell us that when she came to visit Solomon she brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Isaiah 60:6, Jeremiah 6:20). It seems a strange coincidence that the wise men would bring the exact same gifts, unless there was already a precedent. We know that Solomon shared the history of his people with the Queen, including the fact that they were waiting for a Messiah (1 Kings 10:1-13, Matthew 12:42). Her people would have been aware to wait and watch for the sign. The sign comes from a prophecy in the book of Numbers 24:17, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near-- a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” These men would have been looking for a star.
The second place the wise men may have come from, and this is more likely, is Persia – which today we call Iran. Our reading this morning used the word Magi instead of wise men. Magi is a Persian word for a wise man skilled in astronomy, and astrology. Men trained to watch the stars and interpret the signs. More than that, Magi were priests in the Zoroastrian religion. Zoroastrianism predicted that a king of kings would be born to the Jews, and would be heralded by a cosmic event. These men intentionally watched the stars waiting for the sign of the Messiah.
The wise men came following the star of the East, not a star in the East. If the star had appeared in the East, the wise men would have come from west of Israel; perhaps Rome, Greece, or Spain. It is called the star of the East, because the people living East of Israel saw it and understood its significance. Whatever they saw actually appeared in the Western sky.
What did they see? Was it a comet, or the super nova of an exploding star? That is possible, but unlikely. It would have taken the wise men some time to observe the celestial event, and interpret its significance. Then, they would have to make the trip from Persia to Israel. This process would take six to nine months. Both a comet and a super nova would have faded to blackness by the time the wise men arrived. Yet, the Bible is very careful to tell us the star was there when they arrived at Jesus’ house.
There is a theory gaining momentum that I like. In 1 BC there was an unprecedented alignment of four planets, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Venus. These four planets came together until they looked like one body to the naked eye. This would have created a ‘star’ significantly brighter than anything ever observed in recorded history. In addition, directly behind the conjunction was the zodiac sign of Aries, which the Persians associated with Israel. The Chinese recorded this same cosmic event, and they didn’t know whether to call it a comet, a star, or something completely new. Astrologers in Persia would have definitely noticed and predicted the coming conjunction. And, they would have known that it involved Israel. They would have had more than enough time to understand the event, prepare for and make the journey, and arrive in Israel just as it all came together. It would have been easy for them to arrive at Jesus’ house on the day the ‘star’ reached its absolute brightest.
Let me take just a second and address an issue. Could our God have created a brand new star, and put it in the sky over Israel, and left it there long enough for the wise men to see it and make their journey? Then, after the visit of the Magi could our God have taken that same new star back out of the sky? Yes, our God is that powerful. And, that may well be what happened. However, our God is also so powerful, and so infinitely knowledgeable, that he could have created the universe a million years ago, and started it spinning so perfectly that everything would line up just right, exactly on the day he wanted the Magi in Bethlehem.
The wise men are alone when they arrive at the home of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. They are exceedingly joyful to find the child, and they present to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Lets talk about the gifts. Both the Psalms (72:10) and Isaiah (60:6) prophesy that those are the gifts that will be presented to the Christ, by Gentiles. You may have heard that the gifts are recognition that Jesus will fulfill the roles of prophet, priest, and king. Gold is certainly the correct gift for a king. Only the king was allowed to have a large treasury, where stockpiles of unminted gold could be kept.
Frankincense was burned by the high priest in the holy of holies when he made the annual sin offering for the people of Israel (Exodus 30:34-38). More importantly, frankincense was never to be burned for the pleasure of man, but only for the pleasure of God (Exodus 3:34). That makes it an unusual gift for anyone but a priest. And, Myrrh was sometimes burned and inhaled by eastern religious men to put them in a prophetic trance. So, you can see the obvious association between the three gifts, and the three offices of Jesus as prophet, priest, and king.
You may also have heard that the gifts are a foreshadowing of Jesus’ suffering and death. There doesn’t seem to be a strong tie in between gold and frankincense, and Jesus’ death. Now, it is true that he was offered a drink of wine and myrrh on the cross as a pain killer (Mark 15:23). It would have been an anesthetic to numb his mind so he was unaware of the pain. However, the Bible clearly tells us that Jesus refused the offer. The more common use for myrrh was as a powerful perfume. In a place and time where people rarely bathed, rich people used myrrh perfume to cover up their offensive body odor. Even more importantly, it was one of the few chemicals strong enough to cover up the smell of a dead body. We know that Jesus’ body was anointed with myrrh when he was placed in the tomb (John 19:39).
However, it often strikes me that even in the midst of the miraculous, our God is highly practical. Frankincense was worth its weight in gold. That is, one ounce of frankincense was equal in value to one ounce of gold. Myrrh was worth seven times its weight in gold. We know that Jesus’ family is warned to flee Israel to Egypt in the middle of the night. Gold would allow him to pay off the rent on their house, purchase a donkey, a cart, food for the journey, and bribes for the border guards. Frankincense and Myrrh were very light, and very small. They were easy to transport into Egypt, and also easy to hide so the robbers wouldn’t know about them. In those three gifts Jesus’ family received the fastest and easiest way to get out of town, and live in a foreign country for two years, until Herod died and they could safely return. Very practical. Now, is our God so omnipotent that he can give practical gifts that also signify Jesus’ role as prophet/priest/king, and foreshadow his atoning death on the cross? Yes, he is.
The wise men arrive with three excellent gifts for the baby king Jesus. From that day on the rest of us have been trying to find the perfect Christmas gift. Isn’t that true? Don’t we strive to find a gift that says first and foremost, “I love you, you are important to me.” At the same time, our gift must be practical and useful. Most wives will not appreciate season tickets to the cowboys. It definitely says I love you, but it is not practical or useful. Most husbands will not appreciate Dr. Phil’s latest book on how to show her your sensitive side. Your children don’t want tickets to the Metropolitan Opera; parents don’t want tickets to the Jonas brothers. These gifts all say I love you, but they are not practical or useful. It’s hard to find the perfect gift.
On Christmas morning God gave the world the perfect Christmas gift; the life, death, and resurrection of his Son. Is it practical – of course! You don’t have to find a place to store it, it never wears out, it always works, and yet you take it with you wherever you go. Is it useful – of course! Without Jesus we would not spend eternity in heaven. When you look at the alternative it’s the most useful gift you’ve ever been given.
Does it say I love you – beyond all shadow of a doubt. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). As good as the wise men did at finding perfect gifts, the gift we have been given is beyond all others. I pray that on Christmas morning, as you enjoy your family and share gifts of love, you will take a moment to say thank you to God the Father, for the gift of God the Son.
J. I Packer and M. C. Tenney, Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1980), 38.
J. D. Douglas & M. C. Tenney, The New International Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), 612, 799.
Kenneth L. Barker & John R. Kohlenberger III, Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary: Volume 2 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), 11.