Monday 1/5/15

This week’s Monday Morning Bible Breakdown is on the Gospel from last night: Matthew 2:1-12.
 

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod, 
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled, 
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, 
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, 
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly 
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word, 
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, 
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures 
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, 
they departed for their country by another way.

 
The story of the magi is one that we have heard so many times that it is easy to assume that we know it and miss some of the neater parts of the story. There is a lot of politics going on in the passage which can easily be lost in the shuffle.
 
Let’s start with Herod. Herod was not a Jew. Herod was actually a Roman who had been put in place by the Romans to rule over Jerusalem and the surrounding lands. That is why King Herod was troubled by the arrival of the magi and their message about a new king. They were basically telling him that his reign would soon come to an end. The time has come for Herod to move on, but like so many of us, he is unwilling to give up his power. Instead, he resolves to do a terrible thing just to maintain his power: find and kill Jesus. Like so many of us, Herod is willing to make moral concessions to get and keep his way.
 
Another interesting political point was that the magi came out of the east. Matthew was a Jew, writing for other Jews. In ancient Jewish tradition, the east was often looked down upon. Whenever trouble arrived, it came out of the east. When Adam and Eve were banished from paradise, they settled in the east. It seems strange that a Jew would write about the magi coming from the east. Paper was very precious in the ancient world. As a result, writers did not include any unimportant details. If Matthew took to space to include that the magi were from the east, it must have been important. It is important. Matthew, more than any other evangelist, focused on the teachings of Christ. Christ taught that salvation was for all, not just for the Jewish people. By including the fact that the magi were from the east, Matthew is reminding his readers that many of them had rejected Jesus at first, and that it was the outsiders, like the magi, who recognized the Lord. He is reminding his audience to be humble and accept others.