The Star

                                     

My family and I  watched a DVD named The Bethlehem of Star.  The DVD gave me a lot to think about, but one thing that jumped out at me was Herod's reaction to the Magi's announcement which was written in Matthews 2:1-12:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
   for out of you will come a ruler
      who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

I had first noticed "When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him." when I was putting together my Christmas 2008 post and then it was highlighted again in the Star of Bethlehem DVD.   Why would King Herod & all of Jerusalem be disturbed?

First I wanted to look at, "Who was King Herod?"  I did some research and although by no means exhaustive, I built this thumbnail sketch. I'd remembered watching a program about him on the History Channel and I went to their web site to get some information as well as reading some of  Flavius Josephus' works.

Herod was born of Arab parents in Palestine around 74 B.C. and made king over Judea in 39 B.C.  Herod made efforts to ingratiate himself with the Jewish people and further promote his rule by marrying Mariamne, a princess from the former Jewish Royal Family and rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.  Herod undoes any goodwill he may have fostered when kills Mariamne, her brother and her sons after Herod suspects them of plotting against him.  Another action that put him at odds with the Jewish people is when Herod placed an golden eagle over the main gate to the Temple.  While Herod professed to being a follower of the Jewish religion, his actions and lack of knowledge demonstrated that he was likely a follower of that faith in name only.  He does have enough belief in the religion to call the religious leaders together to ask where the Christ, or Messiah, is to be born and to send the Magi to the location of Bethlehem and his future actions would denote that he took the birth of Christ seriously.

Herod would seem to do anything to protect his position as ruler and the status quo.  Was Herod and the Jewish people disturbed by the birth of Jesus a fear of losing position, power and wealth?

It would certainly seem so since Herod sent his armies into Bethlehem to kill all of the male children who were in Jesus' age bracket, to ensure a new king would not threaten his position and life style. (see Matthew 2:16-18)

What a contrast between Herod's response to Christ and the  Magi's response to Christ.  The Magi make the statement "We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."  They desired to worship Christ.  There's some speculation that the Magi were from the area of Babylon and if that is true, they would have traveled over 536 miles or 862 kilometers to reach Bethlehem. A camel caravan travels approximately 25 miles a day.  It would have taken the Magi around 21 days to travel from Babylon to Bethlehem.  The gifts they brought would have come at a great cost. Neither cost, discomfort, or fear from Herod's retaliation dissuaded them from reaching Jesus. 

When each of us is face with Christ and the sacrificial gift he has given us, do we push it away in fear of change to our lifestyle, family connections or position? Or as the Magi, do we seek to know more about him with a desire to worship him and accept his gift of salvation?

Merry Christmas 2008

 

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."    Luke 2: 8-12

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
"Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."   Luke 2:13-15

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.   The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.   Luke 2:16 - 20

 

 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi  from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 
" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
   for out of you will come a ruler
      who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

 Matthew 2:1-12

 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and if you haven't done so already, my prayer is  that during this season you will find the great gift of all, the love and salvation Christ has given us.

Our Walk

My son and his wife bought our little grandson a toy for his birthday which is a car that converts from a car that he can ride to a little walker that he can use to practice his walking.  My son is so patient, encouraging our little guy to stand up and move about the house.  But the car moves a little faster than our grandson can handle so he pushes it around on his knees.  I think that as our grandson moves around the house on his knees while he learns to get his center of balance and then he will be up on his feet before we know it.

We have another walk to share with our grandson as well.  This walk is a walk of faith in Christ Jesus & following Christ's commands.  In a letter to one of the elders of the church, John writes 2 John 1:

The elder,
      To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth - because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.

 

He goes on to write:

It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

In his writing John states, "I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning."  Christ himself was the original speaker of these words of love.  We read in
Matthew 22:36-40:

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

And John records in John 15:12-13

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

May all of you be able to experience Christ's sacrificial love this Christmas season and in turn may you be able to share that love with someone else.