Let’s take a quiz!

1. The angel gave the shepherds a sign to find baby Jesus. What was the sign?

2. What animals were in the stable?

3.  How old was Jesus when the wise men found him?

4. How many wise men searched to find the the newborn king of the Jews?

These and other questions were asked in our Sunday School class last Sunday. The quiz reminded us that we often assume incorrect info about the Christmas story. For instance, many will answer #1 by saying the sign was a star. No, no. The Magi were the ones who followed the star. It was the shepherds who were told they would find the baby in the town of  David (Bethlehem) wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

And #2, what animals would they find in the stable? Sheep? Or maybe a cow might be a good guess, but we are not told whether there were any animals.

#3. If you watch many Christmas scenes, you might assume the wise men arrived shortly after the shepherds to peer in the stable. But Matthew reports that “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.” Matthew 2:11

Surely we will get #4 right. THREE wise men, of course! Well, three gifts were presented to Mary, but we really don’t know that three men brought them. Instead, Jesus was a child in a house, not a baby in a manger.

Perhaps you think, “What does it really matter?” Perhaps you’re right, but let’s be as true to the Word as possible when we are given information.

Let’s check out old King Herod. When the Magi reported in, asking where they would find the new born king, Herod was “disturbed.” He called together “all the chief priests and teachers of the law” wanting to know where “the Christ” (the Messiah) was to be born. Some King of the Jews he was and didn’t even know this well known information. So the teachers had to tell him the prophecy from Micah said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the town of David.

Herod secretly called the Magi back in and questioned when this star had appeared to them. We don’t know their response, but when he didn’t hear back from the travelers later, he gave orders to kill all male babies in Bethlehem, two years and under.  We can surmise that Jesus was maybe one to two years old. This prompted an angel to appear again in a dream to Joseph and tell him to escape with Mary and Jesus to Egypt.

Herod died in 4 BC. This is when an angel appeared again to Joseph to tell him it was safe to bring Jesus and Mary back to Israel and they went to Nazareth.

I often wonder about these men of the East. Star gazers they were. Perhaps studying star formations. Perhaps knowing something of the formations that designate Jewish figures. During the Babylonian captivity they may have had contact with Jewish scholars who knew of prophecies that might be predicted in the heavens.

Rermember that Moses had lived in Midia for a time. Maybe some Jewish conections there. Magi from the east can cover a lot of territory. Some think that more than one area was represented by these Magi. Whoever they were, they seemed to be divinely appointed. All the more reason for Mary to continue to ponder these things in her heart.

With that, I wish you a Happy New Year.

~ Joyce ~