Matthew 2:
The Wise Men who would travel from the East believed that a
great King would soon be born.
They would arrive in Judea . . . following a miraculous sign in
the sky . . . looking for a newborn baby who would change human history . . .
and change the world.
When did they start their journey?
Did they, as Elizabeth, know before Jesus was conceived?
Did their distance from Bethlehem require that they travel for
months . . . to be able to arrive at the proper time?
How did they learn about the coming birth of the Messiah?
I don’t think they figured it out . . . or saw it on their
astrological star charts . . . or wised it out from their powerful intellects
and minds.
I don’t think they knew about the birth of Jesus because they
were students of the Hebrew scriptures.
It is true that they reveal that they had knowledge of the
prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. The Hebrew Prophets preached
about God’s Promises to send a specially anointed King/Priest. They even said
that He would be born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem. He would be born
from the lineage of King David.
But apart from these specifications . . . an exact date and time
is not revealed (in my opinion). Some Bible interpreters believe that a passage
in the book of the Prophet Daniel (chapter 9) indicates an exact time . . . but
I am without faith about that interpretation.
How did they know?
It is simple to me.
It is my personal opinion that the mystical men from the East
found out the same way that Zachariah did . . . the way that Mary did. The way
Joseph did and the way that the Shepherds did.
The Angel Gabriel probably paid them a visit.
I do not have great confidence in the wisdom of men . . . and I
do not think that God does either.
The Old Testament scriptures strictly forbid consulting the
stars and the planets in an effort to discern God’s will or the future. The
practice is clearly condemned and has no favor with God. It is NOT one of the
tools or methods that He employs, encourages, or permits. God is the Director
of the heavens . . . and I do not believe He would have permitted even a CLUE
about what He was planning for Judea to be painted among the celestial bodies.
But what about the STAR that led the Wise Men to Bethlehem?
The bright body that appeared to the Wise Men (as recorded in
the Gospel of Matthew) and led them to Jesus’ birthplace is clearly described
as an illumination that was within the bounds of Earth’s atmosphere . . . not
in outer space.
The bright phenomena “went before them.” (Matthew 2:9)
True celestial bodies cannot be described as moving in any
direction that would prescribe a journey (movement from a place on Earth to a
destination).
A single celestial body cannot be used to pinpoint a singular
position on the globe. Using two
stars or planets, or a planet and a star . . . a navigator can triangulate a
position on the earth (the two celestial bodies plus the point on the earth),
but this is not what the story of the journey of the Wise Men describes.
Then there is this information recorded by Matthew. The Wise Men
lost sight of the miraculous light. They couldn’t see it. It disappeared from
view.
A heavenly body in outer space is either there . . . or it is
not. It is either in view at a particular time (cloudy skies aside), or it is
not. It doesn’t come and go.
When the Wise Men lost sight of the light they stopped in to
visit with King Herod, the ruling Monarch of the Land of Judah to see if he
could help them apart from the star. Apparently these men were not particularly
wise. “Hello King of the Jews . . . we’re here looking for a baby who was born
King of the Jews . . . your replacement. Can you help us?”
“No, I can’t,” said the madman, “but good luck and let me know
what you find out!”
King Herod couldn’t see the star.
The Elders of Israel that Herod consulted could not see the
star.
But suddenly, the Wise Men could see it again (though,
apparently Herod nor the Elders never
did) and it “went before them” and led them specifically to the house where
Joseph, Mary, and the child Jesus were living in Bethlehem, perhaps a year or
more after the baby’s birth.
Matthew reports that the star “stood over the house” where Jesus
was . . . bodies in the heavens do not do this.
This was not a conjunction of starts and planets . . . it was
not a super nova . . . it was not any comet, asteroid or other heavenly body.
It was a special, miraculous, leading sign from God that cannot be explained as
a natural physical phenomenon.
Isn’t it strange?
The Wise Men had great faith . . . enough to compel them on a
long, arduous, and dangerous journey.
King Herod believed. He was so strongly convinced that his faith
led him to order the slaughter all of the babies in Judea up to two years of
age.
The Elders of Israel believed that the Wise Men . . . and their
insane King . . . were correct.
The primary actors in this drama . . . Zachariah and Mary . . .
had difficulty believing . . . but the Wise Men, Herod, and the Elders believed
without hesitation or debate.
Such, I have learned, is the nature of Faith . . . and the
nature of the will and working of God.
Some fail to believe . . . they might be convinced and grow in
their faith . . . others believe so effortlessly. The faith of Herod and the
Hebrew Elders was not blessed by God . . . but the persistent faith of the Wise
Men brought them to Jesus.
