Not kings and not three of them!
If we lift away the details added by legend and tradition, what remains and what can it say to us today?
As usual the sermon is available as a Podcast, no PDF notes this time but the text of it is pasted into this post.
The material is made available so that any may use it, preach it or adapt it.
The Three Kings
Matthew Chapter 2 verses 1 to 12
First some background, then some thoughts on what this could mean for me today.
1) Background
Not three and not kings!
Not three. We do not know how many travelled but know that trains of animals and vast retinues were the norm when wealthy and important people travelled. In scripture three gifts are mentioned so we have the legend of three kings.
Not kings or rulers but “wise” men or “Magi”. Astrological matters at this time were believed by most people to be reliable indicators of future events. The Jews were more cautious about this. To Jews the Gentile forms of astrology were blasphemous. The Jews did not believe that the stars should be used to predict the future. They preferred trusting in God and the prophets. See Luke 1:67; 2:28 for evidence of the prophetic being current then.
The word “Magi” is plural for “magus”, from which we get the English word “magic” in the. The mysticism surrounding the Magi and their profession would possibly have been seen as magic by the people of the time; many of the races that inhabited what was then considered to be the civilized world, including the Jews, were very superstitious by nature. At this time there was no clear distinction between astronomy and astrology. This was a superstitious time.
Several places have been proposed for their point of origin. In 614 AD, when Persian armies invaded the Holy Land and destroying Christian churches they came to the Basilica in Bethlehem. They refused to destroy it because of a mosaic depicting the adoration of the Magi. It turns out they recognized because of their dress that they were fellow Persians.
The origins of the Magi are not clear, but they are believed to have had their beginnings with the teachings of Zoroaster, sometime around 1000 BC. Zoroaster was a religious leader and teacher in the region of Persia where Magi were thought to have their origins. Zoroaster taught monotheism (worship of the God Ahuramazda), and taught that at sometime in the future there would arise a king, a descendant of Abraham, who would raise the dead and transform the world into a kingdom of peace and security.
This was the religion of Darius the Great who was served by Daniel.
Darius the Great:
Darius I (Old Persian Dârayavauš): king of ancient Persia, reigned 522 to 486. When he died, the Persian empire had reached its largest extent. He was succeeded by his son Xerxes.
From the inscription on his tomb at Naqš-i Rustam:
“A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many. I am Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries containing all kinds of men, king in this great earth far and wide…”
Magi were professional astrologers astronomers and interpreters of dreams. Magi were important members of royal courts. Persia was considered to be the centre of civilization so Persian Magi were held in high esteem.
At this time movements of constellations and stars, including the one known as the “Royal Star” was being interpreted as particularly significant by the Romans. If the Magi were seeing signs in the stars that a great king was rising, it would have been understandable if they, like the Romans, had assumed it was the emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus. The journey of the holy family to Bethlehem near Jerusalem, was to register their approval of Augustus’s elevation to supreme power over the Romans. This was the 750th priestly anniversary of the founding of Rome, and the year the people and Senate of Rome bestowed upon Augustus his supreme title of Pater Patriae (father of the nation). Events in the stars were interpreted as giving approval to his divine right to world sovereignty. There was partying in Rome.
Persian magi must have interpreted the stars differently. The Magi didn’t bother with Rome and its parties. They headed for Judea looking for the newborn “King of the Jews”.
What brought the Magi to Judea?
- The stars.
- The Zoroastrian expectation of a “Messiah” from the line of Abraham?
- The prophecies of one of their own - Daniel.
Daniel was a Jewish slave, who as a young boy, was captured by Babylonian soldiers and taken to Babylon, where he served the Babylonian and Persian kings. He became a Magi and was highly regarded by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, because of his ability to accurately interpret the king’s dreams and predict historical events based on these dreams. His reputation must have been known throughout the then western civilized world.
We are rightly amazed looking back at the accuracy of the prophesy made by Daniel when he predicted the coming of the Messiah. For those who were waiting it may not have seemed so exact. When Daniel prophesied (605 - 530 BC) he declared that Jerusalem would be rebuilt after the Babylonians destroyed it (in the 6th century BC) and that 490 years would pass from a command to rebuild Jerusalem until the messianic kingdom would appear in the region of Palestine. Daniel’s prophecy did not explain which command to rebuild Jerusalem was meant, nor whether his year-lengths were lunar or solar. Daniel did not indicate at what point in the life of the Messiah would be arrived at from the 490 year countdown.
Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived in the last part of the first century, mentioned a conviction among the Jews that this prophecy of Daniel would have its fulfilment within the first century. Josephus further stated that it was shown in the “sacred writings” that about that time one from their own country (Judea) would become governor of the habitable earth.
2) The Gifts
The magi made extraordinary prophecies in the their choice of gifts.
Gold for a king. See:
Revelation 1:4-6
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father, to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings- and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.
Revelation 19:16
On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.
Frankincense for God
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Myrrh for death.
Mark 15:37-39
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, Surely this man was the Son of God!
3) What could all this mean for me today?
The Magi were not of the covenant community, not Jews. Outsiders can receive from God!
See incident of Cornelius Acts 10:1-3
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, Cornelius!
Acts 10:30-33
Cornelius answered: Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.
I must enlarge my expectations
