Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet
"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
Mathew 2:1-6
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The following is based primarily on Matthew 2:1-18 and Luke 2: 1-20
Inspiration and Timing for Our Journey
Our journey from Persia, where the great Hebrew prophet Daniel resided many years ago, has been difficult. It was the Hebrew prophets like Isaiah, Micah, and others who inspired our journey. We carefully studied their prophecies about the coming Messiah, but it was the prophet Daniel who wrote of the timing of the Savior's arrival. It was going to be very soon! Micah disclosed the city of Bethlehem as our destination. But Daniel gave us the time of his arrival:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” Micah 5:2
“Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; Daniel 9: 25
We had a place and a start time for the clock of prophecy. We knew from the book of Ezra that the decree to restore and build Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes, the king of Persia to Ezra, the priest, in the fall of 457 BC. Our careful calculation to the Messiah starts here and moves forward 69 weeks. This is 483 days or years by applying the day-to-year principle as indicated by the other Hebrew prophets. The timing was tantalizing close to our time. To encourage us even more, we saw a star in the east that beaconed us to start our journey.
The People and Sights Along the Way
We have fought sandstorms, cold, and that never-ending heat! My back aches from the monotonous rocking of my camel's steps. It is like riding on a slow-moving boat pushed back and forth continually by repetitive ocean waves; perhaps another reason they call them ships of the desert. Despite all this, I am sure our inconvenience will be rewarded! We have put our hearts and time into this journey. We are certain the prophecies from the ancient scrolls are accurate.
The camels have done well, but like us, they enjoy the breaks we often take and the people we meet along the way. When we pass through the many villages, the beasts become the center of attention for the children who try to feed them hay and anything else they can find. (**See note at the end regarding the number of Wisemen)
The adults are filled with questions about our journey and our destination. They want to know where we come from. Their wide eyes reveal they are impressed with the distance we have traveled. We are glad to share with them the news of the Messiah and what we know from the ancient scrolls. Some consider us crazy, but many listen and wish they could go with us. They call it an adventure, but we know it is more...so much more.
Nighttime is my favorite part of the day because of the star's brightness guiding us and the peace that comes from the quiet, disturbed only by the crackling fire and the occasional snort of a tired camel. Our conversation around the fire is pleasant and lulls me into a deep sleep.
The star is a constant reminder of the accuracy of the scrolls and a confirmation of our journey. Many people we have met have seen the unusually bright star and wondered. They don't know what it means but are comforted by its beauty and marvel that its magnificence is not diminished by the light of day. When we started, it was low on the horizon, but it is rising and becoming brighter as we have drawn nearer to our destination, Bethlehem!
I lean back on the saddle I have used as a pillow and enjoy the warmth of the fire. I am warm and content. My journal and mind are filling up with my notes. I make this entry under the light from the twinkling star-lit night.
Now, we are only one day out from Jerusalem. We hope to visit King Herod and celebrate with him the coming of the Messiah. The town is surely busy with activity and celebration even though it has taken us many months to get this far.
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The Shepherds
Our anticipation grows so much that we wake in the star-lit clearness of the approaching new day. We desire to arrive in Jerusalem early in the sunlit morning to seek an audience with the king before we head off to Bethlehem, only about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) to the south of the capital city.
So I rise with the others, full of energy and anticipation of the journey ahead of us. We mount our ships of the desert, which match our excitement to start moving again. This is going to be a good day! I can feel it!
The early morning air is cold, and the star is brighter than ever! We hear music in the distance! As we approach the outskirts of Jerusalem, we are greeted by shepherds watching over their sheep. With wonder in their eyes, they run up to our caravan and ask us the usual questions: our destination and where we come from.
I tell them the story of our journey and our wish to see the new baby king. They are polite and respectful and let us speak first. When I pause my story, they begin to talk fast and together as if they will burst if their words are not heard. Wonder and curiosity force us to dismount our camels and gather around them. They calm themselves and begin to talk one at a time. Then begins their beautiful story of the events when the Messiah was born.
"We were in the field at night when we heard the sound of singing and joy, and there was light all around us that lit up the countryside like it was daytime....only brighter."
Then the next one speaks with equal intensity."We were afraid! I turned my eyes toward the ground."
A third young man, a little older, says, The brightness was coming from an angel who told us to
" fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
Luke 2:10
"The angel told us to go to the city of David where we would find Christ the Lord, and we would find a baby wrapped in *swaddling clothes lying in a manger."
Luke 2:12 (**See note at the end.)
Another one talks before the older one finishes, "The music continued, and many more angels appeared high in the night sky!"
It all is starting to come together for me. The older boy exclaims confidently, "That star you have followed are angels. They began to sing again as your caravan approached us."
The youngest one blurts, "After the angels appeared to us, we left our flocks and raced towards Bethlehem. There we found a woman named Mary and her husband Joseph, and there in a manger was the baby they call Jesus."
My heart pounds faster as I realize we now know the king's name! His name is Jesus! In Greek, it means "Jehovah is Salvation." The Hebrew name is Joshua. His mission is in His Name!
Their eyes are bright, and they all nod their heads in agreement when the older shepherd boy slows down his words and says with tears in his eyes. "Our hearts are changed! We can't stop talking about that night and the baby Jesus. We have told everyone! Even Mary rejoiced at our story!"
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Disappointment in Jerusalem
The visit with the young men has inspired and energized us! We have also learned the name of the mother and father! It is an easier climb back on my camel. Our strength has been renewed, as well as our urgency to get to Bethlehem. The music and praise in the heavens grow louder and brighter even as the yellow and orange of the sunrise pushes us toward Jerusalem and King Herod.
We arrive in Jerusalem by mid-morning. The angel star is quiet. The smell of food awakens our hunger. But, we greatly desire to see the king as soon as possible. It overrides all our growing hunger and thirst.
There is a crowd to meet us. It is easy to notice they are not like the excited shepherds. They are curious and seem afraid and worried. Maybe it is our large caravan and the way we look. Our skin and clothes are different.
We finally arrive at the king's palace and request an audience with him. To my surprise, we are immediately invited in. A few of us go, and the others mix with the growing crowd outside, telling them of our journey and the new story from the shepherds that they had already heard. And, of course, the children ask many questions and try to feed the camels.
We wait for a long time before we are welcomed into the king's presence. King Herod reflects the same aura as the people outside. He looks concerned. For a moment, I wonder if we made a mistake coming here.
I am the first one to speak. Excitedly, I blurted out words without considering that I was talking to a king.
"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."
Although we knew of Jesus' birthplace, surely He is somewhere in the big city by now. I began to think this was not a good question and statement...asking a reigning king about a king that would rule the Jews in the future. The king struggles to stay polite and excuses himself. We can hear him calling all his wise men and priests together, standing nearby. He tries to whisper so we can't hear, but the cold palace lets his voice carry easily through its halls. Well, we didn't get off to a good start.
He is angry and demands they tell him where this Christ would be born. We hear them quote the same scrolls we studied before and after we left on our long journey. We hear the Scribes read from the Prophet Micah. The same place that the scroll of the prophet told us where He would be born:
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Michah 5:2
We look at each other with the same surprise. They have taken the words of their ancient prophets so lightly. I feel foreboding and regretfulness rising up within me as the king invites us back into his private chambers.
A forced smile appears on his troubled face. He apologizes for not being more hospitable and invites us to have some food and something to drink. I am uncomfortable. The meeting is uncomfortable. We politely eat some of the food even though our hunger is different.
He asks about our trip, and we tell him about our long journey, the star in the east, and the shepherds we met just outside town. We sense we should not tell the king anything more and look for an excuse to leave quickly.
Then, he asked us a question he was eager to know. It seemed to be the main reason for his talking with us, which hinged on this question.
"When was it you first saw the star and began the journey ?"
Reluctantly, I tell him it has been almost two years. The king is attempting to determine the age of the Child. He then says in almost a whisper and an evil voice,
"Go and search for him, and when you find him, bring him here to the palace that I might worship him too."
With a jump and quick turn around, he immediately leaves us and disappears into the palace. He is no doubt trying to use us to locate the Child.
The attendant escorted us back to our caravan and the growing crowd. We never expected to have such a greeting. I, along with my friends, have become suspicious and concerned. We are glad to get back on our camels and back to following the star, which has turned us south towards the sleepy little village of Bethlehem.
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Bethlehem
The sun has risen fast. It waits for no one. We continue our journey toward Bethlehem. It is a short distance, but we travel slowly, enjoying the final leg of our journey. It will be starting to get dark before we arrive.
The excitement of seeing the new king of the Jews returns to our hearts as we travel along silently, contemplating the events of last night and this morning. The crowds have disappeared.
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There before us lies the twinkling lights of the little city of Bethlehem! The star is just above the peaceful town, shining its clear light and casting shadows on the surrounding hillside. How beautiful it is! We feel great joy and express our congratulations to each other. A journey of hundreds of miles has brought us to this moment! A small group of citizens comes to greet us at the entrance to the village. We ask for Mary and Joseph.
The star is almost directly overhead as a sweet girl escorts us to a tiny house near the edge of town.
Dismounting our camels, we hear the music again far up in the night sky. Mary greets us at the door as we crowd into the small, clean home.
Jesus!
We feel the presence of royalty as the young toddler Jesus walks into the room. Emotions overcome us, and we fall on our knees and worship the child we know to be the fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy. We have seen Him in all the scrolls of the Jews many times. The face of God is in his brown eyes! We can sense a power that searches our hearts. Many of us weep and then gather ourselves to give our gifts.
We bring in our offerings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and we celebrate our gift of time with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. They make our visit enjoyable and pleasant. We spent the night laughing and playing with little Jesus. I take him up in my arms and show him the camels. They are calm and peaceful as Jesus reaches out and touches them. He wants to touch all of them! Never before have I seen such a face as the One who looks at me. The others demand their time to hold Him, so I pass Him to the other men. I still feel his warmth in my arms and on my chest. The journey has been worth every step and more. My heart wants to burst with joy! I feel alive!
The rest of the night is spent talking and eating. Too soon, our time with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus is finished. Before we leave, we ask for permission to anoint Jesus with more gifts we brought. It is a special moment when we place the sweet smell upon the head of Jesus as he sits in his mother's lap. We are content and feel the presence of God in the room and in the sparkling eyes of the Little King.
No Ordinary Child
I wonder why more people do not understand that here before us is Immanuel (God with us)!
Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
This little boy will grow up to save the world from eternal death! He will pay the penalty we deserve and teach us spiritual things about the kingdom of God! It is all in the ancient scrolls! My mind goes to the scroll of Isaiah 6:9
For unto us, a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 6:9
He is "Mighty God," Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!" My breath is taken as I consider who we stand before! This is no ordinary child!
We wish to stay but feel we must begin our journey back. We promise to return when the child is older. We know from the writings of the prophet Daniel that the young child will live to be only about 33 years old, and then he will sacrifice himself for the people's sins and rise on the third day to show his power over the clutches of the grave and death.
Our wish is to return when he is older, but in the meantime, we pledge among ourselves to share, in our homeland, the good news of the birth of Jesus. The beginning of eternity and our hope are standing right behind those innocent brown eyes! We will begin to tell our story with those we will meet along the way back to our home in the West.
We say our goodbyes to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and head north through back through the city.
A Detour Home-Danger!
I am stopped in my tracks as I begin to consider our strange visit with King Herod.
A man appears to me and tells me to take a different path home and head east instead of retracing our journey. The king is up to some evil, and we don't want to help him in any way. We probably made a mistake visiting him and giving him information about the approximate age of the baby Jesus. It is an unfortunate turn of events. We are going to miss the young shepherd boys on the way back. I was looking forward to telling them of our visit.
The star is gone as we begin our travel home. We stop to rest when we feel we have put some distance between King Herod and us. Around the fire, we talk about our great journey and look again at scripture. We come across a disturbing message from the prophet Jeremiah:
"Thus says the Lord:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.”
Jeremiah 31:15
Soon, the voices and the fire go out, and we sleep...exhausted from excitement and the sleep we missed, I can feel the warmth of my camel next to me. The trip home will be long, but it will go fast as we tell the wonderful story of Jesus along the way.
Later, the next day, we hear the news and fulfillment of that passage in Jeremiah that troubled us. King Herod had all the male children 2 years old and younger killed. What a cruel and foolish man!
We also got the news that Joseph was warned of Herod's intention, and our friends Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus escaped to the safety of Egypt.
Later, we would learn Joseph took his family to a little town called Nazareth after Herod died.
More fulfillment of the ancient scrolls:
"And out of Egypt, I called my son."
Hosea 11:1
Our journey to find Jesus was long and difficult, but we have been transformed by it. The scrolls, the star, the shepherds, and even the evil King Herod have made us wiser. But most of all, it has made us believers in Jesus.
We will continue to study the ancient scrolls because now that we have seen Jesus ourselves, we can see Him in every story told there.
So many scrolls to read, so little time.
And ye shall seek me, and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13
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My friends, join me in a Christmas worship of the One who gave all that we might have all. Let us fall on our knees this night as we think about the birth of Jesus and the visit of men who were seeking Him. They found Him! Have you?
Click here for a beautiful video and song:
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Footnotes:
*Only three Wisemen are traditional and unverifiable. The number is likely based on the three main gifts given to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph ( gold, frankincense, and myrrh.-Matt. 2: 11). For such a long journey and the importance of the journey, there was likely a caravan of camels and support people. But, again, unverifiable. )
**Swaddling clothes were strips that were often used to prepare the body for burial. They would wrap (swath) them in linen and then add strips around the head and feet (See John 20:7- Jesus and John 11:44- Lazarus). Jesus, at birth, was wrapped in the cloth for dead people. His mission from the start was to die!
Meaning of the Three Gifts of the Wisemen
Gold is associated with royalty and was a gift given to kings around the time of Christ's birth. The wise men's first gift of gold symbolized Jesus' role as the King of Kings. Jesus' family may have used the gift of gold in their flight to Egypt and after leaving that region to return home.
Frankincense was a type of incense burned as a sacrifice and used by priests during the sanctuary services at the time of Christ's birth. The wise men's gift of frankincense symbolized Jesus' priesthood. Jesus' family may have used the gift of frankincense for practical purposes, such as during prayer, or given some to the temple priests as a sacrifice.
Myrrh: During Christ's birth, myrrh was used as an embalming ointment when preparing bodies for burial. The wise men's gift of myrrh prophetically signified that Jesus was born to suffer and die while also symbolizing his burial. The gift of myrrh also had a practical use, as Mary, Jesus's mother, may have used the myrrh for both Joseph's and Jesus's burials.