MAGI
The King Makers
The
darkness of the ignorance of God and His will permeates society to its
very core. God said in Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony:
if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no
light in them.” Jesus was born into the spiritual darkness created by
apostate Israel and the harsh, brutal paganism of the Roman Empire.
Almost every satellite province of the Roman Empire was ruled by a
terroristic despot who protected his own self-interests above the
welfare of his subject. In most of the provinces, the citizenship were
mere slaves of the Roman Empire taxed exorbitantly so as to provide for
the opulent and ostentatious lifestyles of their ruling despots. This
was the world into which Jesus was born.
“1 Now
when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the
king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying,
Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard
these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he
had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,
he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto
him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the
princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule
my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,
enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent
them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young
child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come
and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it
came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the
star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come
into the house, they saw the young child {not bref’-os, which is
translated ‘babe’ in Luke 2:12, but pahee-dee’-on, which is a ‘young
child’ or infant toddler} with Mary his mother, and fell down, and
worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures {chests}, they
presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And
being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod,
they departed into their own country another way” (Matthew 2:1-12).
Knowledge
of spiritual truth is intended to introduce the believer into a
spectrum of the experience of that spiritual truth. In other words, God
gives us a vision of spiritual realities about which we would otherwise
not be knowledgeable so that we can enter into that spiritual reality
in a very practical way through faith. This is true regarding
the birth of the baby Jesus. Understanding the spiritual depth of the
truth of the incarnation of Jehovah into a human body opens our
understanding of a spiritual reality into which we can enter through the
door of faith in the redemptive purposes of that union of God in man.
To be knowledgeable about the birth of Jesus is to know the practical
reality in the purposes of God in our personal salvation from our own
condemnation. With that purpose in mind, every person becomes
personally invested in knowing and appreciating the purposes of God in
the birth of the Saviour.
Knowledge of
the purposes of God in the incarnation of baby Jesus should result in
rejoicing and worship just as it did in Matthew 2:10-11 in the lives of
the Wise Men. If we have knowledge without rejoicing and
worship, we are in a spiritual vacuum that lacks the spiritual
experience of Who is before us in baby Jesus. I am afraid that much of
what is involved in the celebration of the birth of the Saviour is void
of the rejoicing and worship that should be the natural outcomes of that
knowledge. In such cases, we have removed a very special spiritual
truth regarding the Person of Jesus from the celebration we call
Christmas.
The baby Jesus was born into a
hostile and wicked world. The historical backdrop for the birth of the
Saviour was a particularly wicked time in Israel’s history. The King
of Judea was Herod the Great (47-1 BC). He was a Gentile (Edomite or
Idumean) appointed to power by Rome. He began his political career as
the governor of Galilee at the age of twenty-five years old. He was
appointed King of Judea because of his success in collecting taxes for
Rome.
The point is that the world,
and Satan as the “god of this world,” is hostilely opposed to
everything about Jesus, including His birth. In other words,
the satanic world in which we live is by the very nature of its
existence antichrist. We do not advance the cause and purpose of Christ
by simply pointing that reality out to the world. They could care less
if Christ has been taken out of the celebration of Christmas. They do
not want Him there in the first place.
The
people of this world do not want Jesus in Christmas because they do not
know Who He is and why He was born. It is not their job to keep Christ
in Christmas. It is the job of the believer. We do that by
living the teachings of Jesus every day of the year. We do that by
prayerfully seeking to bring people to know Jesus the way we know Him.
Perhaps this is the problem; we can only bring to people to know Jesus
the way we know Him. Perhaps our knowledge of Jesus is just so
superficial that the Christ-life is never reproduced in our lives so
that the world can see Jesus. True Christianity is always evident
Christianity!
At the time of the birth of
Christ, Herod the Great was in the declining years of his reign
(probably about 14 BC to 1 BC). Christ would have been born probably
about 2 or 3 BC. Herod the Great just had his two favorite sons,
Alexander and Aristobulus, put into prison because he believed they were
involved in plots to overthrow him. They were put to death by
strangling after a trial. Three-hundred other people, considered to be
their friends, were executed as well. The last years of Herod’s life
were lived in constant turmoil with his own sons because of their
attempts to overthrow him and take his place. It was into that
historical turmoil of Herod’s life that Jesus was born.
Modern Christianity wants to live without any theological tensions.
Modern Christianity wants to give Christ a makeover that will somehow
make the message of redemption more palatable to sinners. The satanic
obfuscators of the Gospel want to take away the offensive nature of the
Gospel in that the true Gospel of Jesus exposes sinners to their own
corruption and therefore their own condemnation. The good news of
Christ is pointless if it is not applied to the reality of a sinner’s
sin and condemnation. There are none more hostile to the Gospel than
those thinking they are good enough in themselves and have earned
eternal life. These are the type of people that crucified the Saviour.
They crucified Him because the messages He preached offended their
self-righteous opinions of themselves.
“13 But
woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither
suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence
make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and
land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold
more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matthew 23:13-15).
The
point in the narrative of Christ’s birth is to expose the hostility of
this world to the cause and purpose of Christ’s birth. In this
historical narrative, we see the satanic influence of worldliness being
used in a very evil manner trying to thwart the purposes of God in His
provision of redemption through His promised Redeemer. This
certainly manifests the futility of the foolish attempts of creatures,
even fallen angels, to think they might somehow keep God from doing what
He says He will do.
From Matthew 2:1-12, we
can understand that hundreds, if not thousands, of infants born in
Israel were slaughtered by Herod’s minions of evil during this two-year
span of time. It is difficult even to comprehend such evil and such
selfishness. Yet, we live in such a world today where women without
consciousness of their own evil can murder their unborn children. The
evil is that we have a society that condones such wickedness.
Shortly
before Herod’s death (about 1 BC), the Magi came to Judea searching for
the new born King of the Jews. These “wise men from the east” carry
further historical significance to Herod’s slaughter of the innocents
(Matthew 2:16). The Magi were originally a hereditary priesthood who
offered animal sacrifices to an un-named god. They believed in God, but
were not privy to the revelations of Himself through the Scriptures
given to Moses and the prophets. The natural tendency for people
without theological anchors to the inspired Words of God is for their
beliefs about God to morph into various level of abstraction.
The words “wise men” in Matthew 2:1 are the translation of the Greek word magos
(mag’-os), from which we get the English word Magi. These men were
Gentiles whose religious practices intermixed and integrated various
forms of paganism. Although occultist in their practices of divination
and Astrologists, they were essentially monotheistic and many of their
beliefs and many of their religious practices paralleled those of the
Jews. By the time these men appear on the pages of sacred history, the
Magi had evolved into a very powerful group of men. They held leading
positions in a constitutional council known as the Megistanes whose
duties included the election (or deposition) of a monarch. Therefore,
they were considered to be divinely appointed king-makers. Uniquely God
used angels to announce the birth of Messiah to the simple Shepherds
and the simple Shepherds to announce his birth to the rest of Israel.
God used Gentile king makers to announce the birth of the King of the
Universe to the king of Israel and to the rulers of Israel. God’s ways
are beyond our understanding. He always seems to work outside of the
ways we might think He would work.
Their
coming in search of this new born King of the Jews must have struck fear
into the heart of the corrupt, wicked, and vile King Herod the Great
who lived in constant fear of being overthrown. They would have come
with all the pomp of their position, traveling with a large armed force
to protect them. Had Herod tried to take them on in battle, he would
have risked war with Parthia. Instead he took his usual avenue. He
just decided to eradicate the opposition by having all the children
under two years old who had been born in Bethlehem slaughtered.
Apparently
about two years had gone by since Herod’s initial contact with the Magi
(Matthew 2:16). That is why he had all the children two years old and
under, “according to the time” (Matthew 2:16) that he had talked with
the Magi. In Herod’s corrupt, arrogant heart lay the pride of power.
He would do anything to protect that position of power, even to the
extent of having his own sons killed. He certainly did not see a
problem with murdering hundreds of babies to insure his reign would not
be interrupted. From Matthew 2:1-12, we see two extreme examples.
* We see Herod the taker.
* We see God the giver.
All sinners are takers by nature. It
is part of our fallen natures. From the degree of our corruption in
this area of our character will flow the degree of our selfish demands.
The idea that it is “more blessed to give then receive” (Acts 20:35) is
foolishness to the corrupted mind of a taker. The spirit of Christmas
is giving, but that seems to degenerate more each year into a season of
getting and taking.
The so called Christmas spirit is merely normal Christianity.
Focusing on God’s example, the example of giving, Christmas is the time
of the year we celebrate the birth of the Saviour. We cannot separate
the word Saviour from the love of God and the giving of God out of that
love. The purpose of God gifting His incarnate eternal Son to humanity
is substitutionary sacrifice. This complete act of selflessness
epitomizes the meaning of the word love defining it in ways never before
imagined.
“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).
We
cannot separate the word Saviour from the love of God and the provision
of the free gift of salvation to “whosoever will.” The purpose of the
birth of Jesus is the sinless life of Jesus the God/man.
“For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him (II Corinthians 5:21).
The
purpose of the sinless life of Jesus is the sinless sacrifice of Jesus
to propitiate God for our personal sins and the sins of the whole world
(I John 2:2). The purpose of the propitiation of God for our
sins is so that God can gift God-kind righteousness in the justification
of the believing sinner as the gift of salvation.
“8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast”
(Ephesians 2:8-9).
Therefore, the
spirit of Christmas is the spirit of extreme self-sacrifice (love and
giving). The spirit of Christmas is the desire to be a blessing to
someone and is about being others-minded. The Magi brought
their “treasures” to baby Jesus and gave Him “gifts” (Matthew 2:11).
Before they gave, these powerful men (who caused kings to tremble)
humbled themselves (“fell down”) and “worshipped Him.” Their gifts were
mere tokens to express the sincerity of their worship. What gift can
we give to God from the things He has created or we have created? They
understood that this little baby, lying in the animal’s feeding trough,
was God’s gift to the world - a Saviour. The only gift that is
acceptable is to humble ourselves before Him in adoration and genuine
worship.
“8 And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory
of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And
the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11.For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”
(Luke 2:11).
“For unto you” is the
fulfillment of Isaiah 9:6; “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace.” I find it remarkable that of all
the people to whom God could have sent “the angel of the Lord,” it was
simple shepherds. In framing a mental picture of the event described in
Luke 2:9-11, it is not that the “angel of the Lord” simply appeared in
the physical world. What took place was a momentary window of sight and
sound into the realm of God’s glory. “The “glory of the Lord” is the
visible Shekinah of God that lit up the night with an unimaginable
brightness. The shepherds were told they would find their redemption
gift all wrapped up in “swaddling clothes” and lying in a manger.
“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).
What
a remarkable place to find the greatest gift ever given to anyone. The
eternal Son of God was not only born into a hostile world intent on His
death. He was born in humility and poverty. The God Who owns the
cattle on a thousand hills, and gives of the abundance of His love, took
on Himself a body of flesh and was born in humility and died in
humility. He did this to give us the gift of salvation and to teach us a
new way of life - giving of ourselves. Once we understand
this, every believer should sing at the top of our lungs from the roof
tops with the chorus of “heavenly host” to the glory of God. Through
that open window of sight and sound to the eternal realm of God’s
existence, the shepherds heard the angels in Heaven lift their voices to
God’s praise.
“13 And suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”
(Luke 2:13-14).
Jesus is the personification of God’s “good will toward men.”
If we really understood the magnificence of the gift of God in Christ
Jesus, our song services would be filled with joy and rejoicing. We
would shout out “glory to God in the highest” from the bottom of our
hearts overflowing with gratitude. The songs of praise would burst
forth from our hearts through our mouths directed to the glory of God.
Often
we sing words put to music with little praise from our hearts and even
less comprehension of the wonders of God’s grace in Christ Jesus. If we
really understood our dilemma, without God’s gift of a Saviour, we
would better understand the wonders of that gift.
“6
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).
“While
we were yet sinners,” prideful, hostile, God hating, takers of whatever
we wanted without any consideration of the consequences, “Christ died
for us.” The little baby boy, born in a manger, was born to
die for us, to be our Saviour and to be God’s gift of salvation. In
that gift are many gifts.
- In God’s gift of salvation, the sin penalty (death) is fully paid.
- In God’s gift of salvation, the believer is restored to a position of righteousness before God.
- In God’s gift of salvation, the believer is “born again” of the Spirit of God, removed from the condemned family of Adam and becomes a child of God.
- In God’s gift of salvation, He promises resurrection and glorification to all believers.
The key words here are gift and believe.
Salvation is free to anyone willing to put their faith in what Jesus
Christ accomplished through His death and resurrection and acknowledge
His Lordship (Romans 10:9-10).
“24 Martha saith
unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the
last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou
this” (John 11:24-26)?
“Believest thou this?”
God gave from His heart the most precious of gifts. He gave His only
begotten Son. He gave because He loves us. He gave His best. He gave
Himself. You can be saved if you will trust in the finished,
substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. “Believest thou this?”
Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at: http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/
Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.
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