It was just another night. For these men however, unlike the shepherds mentioned in my previous post, this was just another night in the comfort of their lavish royal tower or cozy observatory. They were the educated, well respected, and according to some early traditions even royal men who interpreted through the presences of a star that something great and out of the ordinary was about to take place.
Here it seems appropriate to take a step back and ask whom exactly these guys were. In Matthew 2, they are called “wise men from the East” which would indicate that they were perhaps astrologers, scholarly and religious scientist who were believed to be able to make futuristic predictions based on the stars. Some early Christian traditions claim that these “wise men” were actually kings, which would be in keeping with the prophecies that declared the messiah would be worshiped by kings (see Isaiah 60:3, Psalm 72:10, and Psalm 68:29). Regardless of who these guys were, we can rest assured that they were “merry gentlemen” and men of high society who were thought very highly of in their ancient culture. Actually, the “wise men” possessed pretty much the opposite social position of the shepherds who were the unclean and unwanted outcasts. Everyone liked these wise men or kings, and they knew it.
So before we look at the account found in Matthew, lets paint this picture. The wise men, or kings—we’ll just call them Maji, were a big deal. These guys were accustomed to being praised by others, looked up to for their knowledge, and lived lives of privilege. It really doesn’t matter if they were or were not kings because either way the Maji would have had a place in the royal courts throughout the known world and when they traveled, it would have been with their own entourage of supporters and protectors supplying them with countless words of affirmation. Imagine that then as we look to the book of Matthew. These guys are a big deal, and they roll deep.
“When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:9-11 NRSV).
What I love about this story is the immediate transformation that seems to have come over the Maji when they met Jesus. Again, these guys were a big deal, and the entourage they brought along with them would be the first to say so. While they were typically on the receiving end of praise and adoration, all this changed at the presence of Jesus as Matthew tells us they “knelt down and paid him homage.” In this moment, the Maji forgot all about their own identities, their social standing, or their entourage, and they instantly became the entourage of Jesus. They laid all of their worth on him, and found something bigger.
We really don’t know what happened to the Maji. Luke tells us the shepherds, upon leaving the baby Jesus, “returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20). While we’re not sure, I think we can probably say the same about the Maji. Both groups, coming from two completely different backgrounds, experienced the same thing at the manger. Some were rich and respected while the others were poor and unwanted. Both exchanged their identities at the manger for that of Jesus’. It seems from that point on, nothing else mattered.
I think a lot of us can relate to the stories of the Maji and the shepherds. Some of us come from great backgrounds and life for us has been a piece of cake. For others, like the shepherds, life seems to have dealt you a bad hand. The good news of the gospel is this: when we encounter the living God through Jesus, all things are made new. Our lives are literally exchanged for his, and his past becomes our past and his future is ours too. We come to the manger with our own entourage, perhaps good or bad. At Christmas, the season we celebrate the birth of Christ, we rejoice for he has taken our life and entourage, and replaced it with his own. Glory to God in the Highest!
“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Nations shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your dawn.” – Isaiah 60:1-3
“I have been crucified with Christ.
My ego is no longer central.
It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you.
Or have your good opinion.
And I am no longer driven to impress God.
Christ lives in me.” – Galatians 2:20-21, The Message
ACG
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