east side wise guys

this year for CHRISTmas, i received a gift from my two boys (as well as my third one, who was unable to participate on account of he hasn't arrived yet!).  it was a book entitled "the revelation of the magi".  in this book, the author translates as well as provides commentary on an ancient manuscript, dated somewhere between the 1st and 3rd century after Christ's birth, that goes into more detail concerning the magi from a mystical eastern land that are talked about in matthew 2.  it has been a fascinating read, and while i would not hold it anywhere near as authoritative as the Bible, it is interesting to get a glimpse into what might have been the untold story of the magi.  matthew's gospel is very cryptic concerning the magi, or wise men, as some call them.  all we know, from matthew's account, is that they came from the east, following a star that led them to Jesus' house, and caused quite a stir in jerusalem, especially among the ruling authority, herod the great.  we also know that they brought gifts:  gold, frankinscence, and myrrh.  that is as far as the story goes.  many have speculated as to where they were from, some saying persia, others babylon, and some even saying the far east.  many also like to say that there were three of them, hence the three gifts.  however, we do not know how many there were.  although, for them to cause such a stir in jerusalem, there must have been more than three, for a small band of three travelers would hardly have been noticed.  however cryptic the story may be, the truth is in the details. 

first, we know that they left everything to follow a star for years that was to lead them to the Christ.  whether or not they knew his name, we do not know.  we do know that they had faith in Him before they had even met Him.  as Jesus once said, those who believe without seeing are more blessed than those who have seen and believe.  in "revelation of the magi", the magi were not astrologers or kings, as many hymns and CHRISTmas pageants make them out to be.  instead, they are direct descendents of seth, adam's and eve's son, who are watchers for the prophecy that was given adam when he was expelled from the garden.  they go on to say that there was another prophecy, not mentioned in the biblical account, given to seth by adam, to look for a star signifying God's birth in human form.  whether or not this is true, is for an outside discussion.  however, we can look at the faith of these men who made an extraordinary long journey just to worship the King of Kings, born to a teenage girl and a middle class carpenter.  many of us could do well to learn from them.  we find it a burden (and yes, i myself sometimes fall into this category) to get up and get our households dressed and out the door and drive in traffic 15 minutes to church. 

another detail is in the gifts given by the magi.  first, is gold.  gold was a gift that was given to a king.  they recognized this Baby they had never met as King, regardless of how he appeared to them in His infancy.  second, is frankincense.  this was a gift given to a deity.  in the holy of holies, the priest would burn frankincense as a scent offering to Yahweh on yom kippur, the day of atonement.  these first two gifts, gold and frankincense, He had been offered before.  gold was used in the construction of the ark of the covenant, as well as in the construction of solomon's temple.  however, the third gift, myrrh, is the most intriguing.  myrrh was a spice, and had two purposes.  the first was in burial.  they recognized the purpose of this Baby was to die.  today, we have turned Jesus' cross into an accident, pitying Jesus suffering and dying on it.  we view it as a cruel punishment brought on by the corrupt Jews and the power hungry Romans, and "poor Jesus" was murdered on it.  however, this is as far from the truth as it can be.  the devil and the world WANT us to pity Jesus.  for when we pity Him, we deny His power and His purpose.  He came FOR the cross, the cross didn't come for Him.  was it horrible?  yes!  was it torment?  yes!  was it injustice?  absolutely!  but was it avoidable?  NO!  interesting that of all trades, Jesus was fathered by a carpenter!  He knew of His destiny, long before crosses were even used.  there are countless prophecies of the cross, hundreds of years before Jesus was even born.  He came to die.  which brings us to the second use of myrrh:  analgesic.

out of the three gifts Jesus was offered, only one would be offered again to Him during His time on earth:  myrrh.  when He was dying on the cross, myrrh was put on a sponge and offered to Him to dull His pain.  the romans liked to keep their victims alive and alert and did not want them passing out in shock from pain.  myrrh was used in His burial. 

one day, He will be offered gold and frankincense again.  we can see that in the book of revelation.  however, today, most of the world would rather deny His deity and His royalty, in the same way that herod did.  herod the great was known for his ruthlessness, even going so far as to having his wife and sons killed so that no one could lay claim to his throne.  he feared this little Baby so much, that he had every child two and under in his kingdom murdered.  imagine laying in your bed, and soldiers coming to your door demanding your 18 month old son, and them taking him out into the street and beheading him right in front of you.  many today are just as threatened by this Baby that was born 2000 years ago.  amazing that people aren't threatened by any other ancient religious leader.  oh sure, people are threatened by mohammed, but not so much the man himself, but his evil murdering followers.  why the fuss over a peasant Baby?  it's because if He truly was who He said He was, then they know that they have a lot to answer for.  they also know that He threatens their rule over their own respective worlds.  but mostly, they know that the day is coming that they will stand before Him and then they will know that He truly is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Mighty God. 

what is your view of Jesus?  is He a threat to your world?  is He still in the manger?  as a popular movie once said, "i like the CHRISTmas Jesus!  little baby Jesus in the gold diaper. . ."  is He still on the cross?  do you still feel sorry for Him when you look at a crucifix or watch "the passion of the Christ"?  or is He the RISEN Jesus, who is sitting on His throne in heaven and will one day come back as the Conquering King, with fire in His eyes, and a double-edged sword in His mouth?  choose well, for the difference between the choices is eternity!