In our family, part of our celebration of the twelve days of Christmas is to read and discuss a verse from the story of the Wise Men in Matthew each day from December 26 until Epiphany on January 6. Twelve days, twelve verses. It works. I thought I'd share that tradition here.
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
(To see the whole passage go to: Matthew 2:1-12
The first thing that strikes me about this verse is that it talks about after the birth. We tend to prepare for a long time and then celebrate for a day. But most births are celebrated after they occur. The medeival church considered Christmas so important that they celebrated for twelve days after the Feast Day. These feasts could get excessive, to be sure, and eventually were banned by religious leaders. But maybe, the Church back then was on the right track...
Another thing I notice is that this verse is one of those which establishes Jesus birth firmly in history. We are told the exact town in which he was born, and narrow the time down to one Hebrew King's reign. This just doesn't happen in myths. I mean what story tells us precisely when Athena sprang from Zeus' head?
This verse also makes me wonder about the Wise Men. Who they were is hard to determine. Various translations call them Magi, Wise Men, Kings or astrologers. That they came from the East is definite, but precisely how far they traveled or what country they came from is not mentioned in the passage. Scholars think that they were most likely from Persia. Ancient Persian scholars contributed significantly to the bodies of knowledge in the fields of mathematics and astonomy. They also followed a form of astrology based in the Zend-Avesta the text which Zoroastrians hold sacred. They would have been diligently watching the sky for both scientific and religious reasons.
It's worth noting, too, that we aren't told how many there are or how they traveled. Also, they went to Jerusalem, the seat of government and religion in Isreal, not to Bethlehem. So they had some information about the birth, but not all.
Whoever they were, these wise men let us know one thing: Jesus birth was for more than just the Jews. God came to earth for everyone. He makes that known right from the start.
Small verse, seemingly simple. But it tells us a lot, for all that.
Merry Christmas!!
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
(To see the whole passage go to: Matthew 2:1-12
The first thing that strikes me about this verse is that it talks about after the birth. We tend to prepare for a long time and then celebrate for a day. But most births are celebrated after they occur. The medeival church considered Christmas so important that they celebrated for twelve days after the Feast Day. These feasts could get excessive, to be sure, and eventually were banned by religious leaders. But maybe, the Church back then was on the right track...
Another thing I notice is that this verse is one of those which establishes Jesus birth firmly in history. We are told the exact town in which he was born, and narrow the time down to one Hebrew King's reign. This just doesn't happen in myths. I mean what story tells us precisely when Athena sprang from Zeus' head?
This verse also makes me wonder about the Wise Men. Who they were is hard to determine. Various translations call them Magi, Wise Men, Kings or astrologers. That they came from the East is definite, but precisely how far they traveled or what country they came from is not mentioned in the passage. Scholars think that they were most likely from Persia. Ancient Persian scholars contributed significantly to the bodies of knowledge in the fields of mathematics and astonomy. They also followed a form of astrology based in the Zend-Avesta the text which Zoroastrians hold sacred. They would have been diligently watching the sky for both scientific and religious reasons.
It's worth noting, too, that we aren't told how many there are or how they traveled. Also, they went to Jerusalem, the seat of government and religion in Isreal, not to Bethlehem. So they had some information about the birth, but not all.
Whoever they were, these wise men let us know one thing: Jesus birth was for more than just the Jews. God came to earth for everyone. He makes that known right from the start.
Small verse, seemingly simple. But it tells us a lot, for all that.
Merry Christmas!!
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