Matthew 2: 1- 23

Theme: Providence

We don't know much about the Magi. There may have been three because of the number of gifts but Matthew does not tell us that there were three. They probably were not kings. The word "magi" referred to men in the middle east who were experts at reading the stars and who were often of a priestly class and thus were considered wise. In the book of Daniel, wise men or Magi were summoned to interpret dreams. In fact, in that society, Daniel may have been considered to be a Magi. Matthew said that they came from the east. They may have come from the area of Iran or Persia, from the land where Abraham was born.

Why would such men go in search of a baby? There was a great deal of anticipation about a world ruler being born around the time of the Birth of Jesus and many anticipated that he would be born in Judea. Two Roman historians, Suetonius and Tacitus, wrote of various Messiah figures who tried to get a following.

The Magi rode into Jerusalem and began to inquire, "Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him." What kind of star did they see? It is known that in B.C. 7, May, October, and November, there was a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the Constellation of Pisces, a sign sometimes associated in ancient astrology with the Hebrews. Maybe they saw this sign, a sign of an impending birth of great importance in Judea. Others have suggested that the star was a supernatural event that cannot be accounted for. For whatever it was, they saw the star and they came to Jerusalem.

When they came to Jerusalem, they came to Herod and Herod was troubled and so was all of Jerusalem. Herod the Great, as he was called, had survived several power shifts in Judea. He later became aligned with Rome and got himself declared king of Palestine. Herod was also an evil man. He was hated by the Jews for he had slaughtered many of them. In 20 B.C., he began to rebuild the Temple. But to make sure that he was mourned for at his own death, he commanded his army to kill 1200 Jewish leaders so that there would be mourning when he died. It was a command that was not carried out.

So, we can see why all of Jerusalem was troubled when the Magi inquired, where is he who is born king of the Jews. Unlike the wise men, Herod feared him and instead of worship, he sought to kill the baby. He instructed the Magi to return to him when they found the baby so that he might worship the child. But we know that he sought to kill him.

The Magi came over a long distance through hostile territory. Having seen that star, they determined that they would find this one who was born king of the Jews and worship him. Worship can be a dangerous thing. For the wise men, it could have cost them their lives.

The wise men came to a house and found Jesus. They saw the child and, they worshiped and they gave gifts. They brought expensive gifts worthy of a king. Gold, frankincense, and Myrrh. These were all expensive gifts to be bringing to a child if he were only an ordinary child. Some have suggested that the gifts had symbolic value: gold suggesting royalty, incense suggesting divinity, and myrrh suggesting the Passion and burial.

The Magi returned home by another way to escape Herod. Herod went on a rampage and killed all the boys two years and younger in and around Bethlehem. But, Mary and Joseph escaped with Jesus to Egypt as instructed in a dream.

We can dwell on Jesus’ family and their faithfulness to God and we would learn much. We can dwell on the evilness of Herod and be warned about others who may be like him. Most often we dwell on the Magi and talk about how wise and brave they are. But, it dawns on me that this text is not about Mary and Joseph or the Magi or Herod. It is about our powerful God who cannot be foiled or frustrated. God is in control.

I wish we did not live in the world that we have. I wish that everything was perfect. I wish that evil did not often win. I wish that we never got sick or that we grow old and die. I know that deep in our hearts we long for a world where we would be right with God and with the world and with each other. But, we don’t, do we. In our world, our dreams often die on the vine. We suffer so many ignominious miseries. Bad things happen to us, bad things happen to those we love. We often have to settle for second best. And sometimes we have to do without. In such a world it is hard to find comfort and peace. And we often wonder why all of this madness and what was God thinking.

We know in our intellect that all of our suffering and misfortune is the result of a sinful, fallen world. But, in our hearts, we have a hard time accepting it and feeling any comfort. We groan with groans too deep for words. We know that our struggle is with the Fall.

The word "fall" is an apt word. It is like we were going along the high road and we fell headlong down the mountainside. This is not how we wanted to go on the journey of life. And there is no way to go back up. We are now on a different road and we travel with great peril. That is our fallen history. And while it seems that we may never arrive at a proper place, God is in control and he will bring us home.

Once we started on this terrible journey that we chose for ourselves, God has not changed the route. Once we started this way, there is no turning back. Of course an all-powerful God can do as he pleases. But instead of starting us over, or putting us back on the old Eden road, God chose to join us in our journey and suffer with us. That was God’s plan all along. By joining us, God tells us three things. One, we do not suffer alone or without meaning although we may never understand it in this life. Two, God will redeem us as he has promised. Three, in his providence, God will bring history to its proper and joyful conclusion.

This text is all about God’s providence. Providence is God sovereignly working out his will in the universe so that his purposes of glory and goodness will be achieved. This means that no matter how evil and how bad things become, God’s purposes will not be defeated. He will bend history in order that his purposes, his promises to us, will be carried out. Small-minded Herod thought he was killing a rival king. God bent history because he had something far greater in mind. God was not just interested in delivering Jesus, he was interested in delivering Jesus for the higher purpose of dying at the right time for our sins. God immersed himself in our darkness, into the quagmire of humanity so that he might deliver us from the inside out. God was not protecting Jesus, he was protecting us.

Many think that God made the universe and then sat back to watch it go wherever man takes it, never interfering with it. Others are fatalistic and think that whatever is going to happen will happen. We have no personal choice in the matter, we are subject to fate, Que Sera Sera. Yet, others teach that everything is left to chance, it is just good luck when good things happen and bad luck when bad things happen. They are all wrong. God is actively in control of human history. He did not sit back and watch it happen, he got involved. Neither are we subject to fate. Providence does not deny our human freedom, but we understand that there is a higher purpose alongside of it. And finally, history is more than chance, it has a purpose, a direction and a goal. God will bring us safely home.

We are often tempted to look at life and despair, to be swamped by the darkness. But Jesus is our light and we need to stay focused on him. The darkness cannot stop God. Even a king like Herod was but a whiff of smoke compared to the power of God. God still controls history. And he has promised us that "Where I go, I will come again and receive you unto myself so that where I am you may be also."

As we end the old year and begin a new one, let us not be focused on the dark things in the world. Let us look to Jesus who will see us through.