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Have you ever noticed how much kings feature in the stories about Jesus’ birth? They’re, in a way, “political.” I don’t mean political in our usual sense. I just mean, the stories of Jesus’ birth in both Matthew and Luke have a lot of political actors in them. Let’s look at what Matthew has to say today. If you want a refresher, you can read it here.
You probably remember the big players in Matthew’s Christmas story. There are Mary and Joseph, of course. There are the so-called Wise Men. And there is the evil King Herod. Jesus’ parents are by no means “big shots” in the context of the ancient world. But the Magi and Herod – well they are another story…
The Magi (that’s the word Matthew uses for them) are sort of mysterious figures and biblical scholars have for centuries tried to figure out who they might have been. It’s a fun rabbit trail if you ever have the time. One classic suggestion is that these Magi serve the role of identifying new kings in their own country. They were, at the very least, astrologers and dream interpreters who were very close to royalty. Take a look, for instance, at Herodotus’ Histories Book 1 Paragraphs 107-108. There the ancient historian tells us about an ancient Median King who turns to the Magi to interpret dreams. Think about what the Magi say, too, when they get to King Herod. Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.
The point here is that a visit from the Magi means something particular. It means that a new kingdom is happening.
As I said in the first installment of this little devotional, Jesus was all about the Kingdom of God. It was his big idea, his big bullet point, his primary preoccupation. It was what Jesus came to do. As it turns out, this was true even before he could speak. The infant Jesus was, from the day of the rumors of his birth, the Kingdom of God coming into the world.
This is what Jesus still offers us today: life in a new Kingdom, one whose king was once just a vulnerable baby born to parents of little means. It’s not the same as the other kingdoms of this world. If you want to see why that is, check back in next week…
As you look to your week ahead, today is as good a time as any to commit or re-commit ourselves to Jesus’ Kingdom. If you need some words for that, you can pray throughout your day this simple line from the Lord’s prayer:
Heavenly Father, may Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.