So what do we know about these travelers? Matthew says they came from the East which means they most likely came from Persia, which is modern day Iran, and this means the Magi may have travelled up to a 1,000 miles to find Jesus. Now a journey this long would have taken several months, if not years, so again, the Magi would not have found Jesus at the stable and in a manger, and they would not have been surrounded by sheep and shepherds like we see in so many Christmas cards. What Matthew does say is that they find Jesus and his mother at a house in Bethlehem. Now as we have seen, if Joseph was from Bethlehem, this house would have been Joseph’s parents home which had now become their home. Remember, after a couple was married they would move in with the groom’s family until they had enough money to move out on their own, so it makes sense that the Magi would find Mary and Jesus living in the home of Joseph’s family in Bethlehem.
Another thing that Matthew tells us about these travelers is that they were Magi, which comes from the Greek word Magos and this doesn’t mean they were magicians but scholars and because they noticed a new star in the sky and understood that this star meant a new king had been born in Israel, we believe that the type of scholar they were was a cross between an Astronomer and Astrologer. In Persia at this time the scholars who read the stars were Zoroastrian priests. Part of the religious beliefs of these priests was that good words and good deeds were necessary in order to be happy, so when they see the sign that a king had been born, they would have wanted to welcome that king so they set out on the long journey to find him. Not being well versed in the prophetic writings of Israel, the Magi travel to Jerusalem because Jerusalem was the capital of Israel and if a king was to be born that was the most likely place to find him. When they arrive in the city they ask the religious leaders of Israel where the king was to be born and when they are told in Bethlehem they once again head out to make the very short trip to Bethlehem and as they make their way they once again see the star that had led them on their journey and the star stops over the place where they find Jesus.
One of the interesting things we see in this passage is that it’s when the star stops that the Magi are filled with joy. As a cross between an astronomer and an astrologer it was the stars that spoke to those men so when they see that the star has stopped they know they have found what they are looking for and even before they see Jesus, it says they are overjoyed. These men find joy in the journey they are taking and when they know they are close to finding what they have been looking for, when they know they are about to meet this amazing king whose birth is proclaimed in the stars, they are filled with joy. Sometimes I wonder if we are filled with joy on our journey of faith. Are we ever overwhelmed with joy just by the thought of being in the presence of Jesus? If not, why? Why does the thought of God in the flesh, or a savior, redeemer and king present with us not move us the way it did these Magi, or the shepherds, or the angels?
One of the common themes we see in the Nativity story is overwhelming joy. The message that the angel gives to the shepherds is good news of great joy and it is so great a joy that as soon as it is spoken all of heaven breaks into songs of joy. Once the shepherds see Jesus for themselves they are filled with joy and go away glorify and praise God and now these Magi are overwhelmed with joy even before they see Jesus because they know that he has to be something special for a star to announce his birth.
Since today is a day for New Year’s resolutions, how about we make a resolution to be a people filled with overwhelming joy? Let’s resolve to be a joy filled church and we can do this because joy isn’t an emotion that we feel when things are going well joy is the byproduct of committing ourselves to walking with God and keeping ourselves in the presence of and staying connected to Jesus. It was the journey that helped fill the Magi with joy, so we need to commit ourselves to our own journey of faith in the New Year.
Walking with God and being in the presence of Jesus calls us to be in prayer and in the word of God on a regular basis and for joy to be sustained we need to worship together and work together in mission and ministry. Joy comes in our journey of our faith – it is not an end result of faith. Let me say that again, Joy comes in our journey of faith – it is not the end result of faith, isn’t that what we see here. The Magi were filled with joy before they ever saw Jesus, but they were on their way – joy came to them on their journey. The shepherds grew in their joy as they first heard the good news and then travelled to find the baby and then shared the good news with others. Joy grows and was sustained on their journey and joy for us will grow and be sustained on our journey and so to be a people of overwhelming joy we need to be people committed to the journey of faith. Maybe that should be our New Year’s resolution, to be people committed to travelling together on our journey of faith.
There is one more thing to note about this story of the Magi and that is what it tells us about God. By placing a star in the sky at the birth of Jesus, God spoke to these foreign men in a way that they could understand. As astrologers or astronomers, they understood the message of the stars so God spoke to them through the stars and God guided them in life and to faith through the stars. What this says about God is that God is willing to use any and every means available to proclaim his message about Jesus. To shepherds God used angels, to Magi God used a star, to us today God uses people, books, songs, movies, nature, science, the internet and all sorts of means and media to share his message with us and the reason God does all of this is because God wants us to find him.
The star in the sky and the journey of the Magi shows us that God wants to be found not only by his people, but by all people. God doesn’t hide from us and he doesn’t hide his truth from us, God reveals himself to us and to the world because God wants us all to find him and follow him. Through the prophet Jeremiah 29:13-14 God says, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by declares the Lord. While God wants to be found by all people and as we see with the Magi God reveals himself to all people, even a group of Zoroastrian priests in Persia, we also see from this story that not everyone finds Him.
The Magi search for Jesus and find him because they were open to God and searched with all their heart. They wanted to know God more and even wanted to worship this new born and divine king. Herod, on the other hand, did not find Jesus. Herod was also an outsider who heard about the work of God and I believe God wanted Herod to come to him as much as anyone, but Herod was not open to God. His heart was closed and his only interest and passion was self preservation. Herod only cared about Herod, so instead of finding Jesus – which he easily could have done because Bethlehem was just a few miles from Jerusalem, he closed his heart toward God and never found him. So in the Nativity store we see God revealing himself to everyone, a faithful couple, Jewish Shepherds, foreign priests and even a ruthless king, and those who were open and wanted to find God found him. Those who closed themselves off from God did not.
There is a lesson for us here as we enter into the New Year. It’s not enough for us to know that God reveals himself to us and wants to be found by us, we also have to be willing to search with an open heart. We have to want to know God more and that is my prayer for all of us, that we would have a desire to simply know God more, because that desire will move us to seek God and when we seek God with all our heart – when we joyfully follow the light of the start - we will find Jesus.
Next Steps: (A New Year Resolution)
To be a people filled with Joy and since Joy comes in the Journey of faith I will seek God this year with an open heart.
In 2012 I will:
Connect with God through…
Weekly Worship and Daily Prayer
Serve God through…
Monthly ministry in the church and mission in the world
Grow in my understanding of God through…
Personal Bible Study, Small Group and/or Sunday School Participation
