Last week, we talked about a young working couple who — obeying the law of their faith — came to the temple to offer their baby’s life to the God who gave him life.
At the temple was an elderly priest, who served others while he waited for the promise of God to send a Messiah to save Israel, and a very old widow who spent her days in the temple worshipping, fasting, praying, and watching for the Messiah.
They all were members of the Hebrew “anawim,” the invisible people, the poor, the ordinary, the unimportant, and the taken-for-granted people who are simply faces in the crowd. But they were obeying and waiting and watching for God to keep his promise of a Messiah!
“Soon afterwards, some men who studied the stars came from the east to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him.’” — Matthew 2: 1-2
Now we’re changing directions as we talk about the “magi,” the visible people, the rich people, the extraordinary people, the important people, and the nevertaken- for-granted people. These were wise men or scholars from the east who studied the skies as astronomers or astrologers who saw a new star in the sky meaning someone important had been born.
Imagine walking through the woods with a small flashlight, it won’t light up the forest, but it will light up a narrow path in front of you, just enough to find your way through the darkness. So, they followed the only light they had.
“ When King Herod heard about this, he called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, ‘Where will the Messiah be born?’” (Matthew 2: 3-4)
Now we’ve talked about the difference between the Bible story books and the Bible. The Bible story books say there were three wise men, the Bible says there were three gifts.
The Bible story books say the star led them to the manger in Bethlehem. The Bible says they asked in Jerusalem, “Where will the Messiah be born?”
But what amazes me most is the Hebrew scholars all knew where the baby was born, but not one made the short trip to Bethlehem. The wise men from the east had one tiny star and followed it to Jesus, but the Hebrew scholars had thousands of years of prophecy, the testimony of the “magi,” and now the star.
Think about it: The wise men traveled a great distance to see Jesus. The Hebrew scholars never left the temple!
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga. With wife, Mary Ella, they are missionaries to the Navajo Reservation.
