Matthew 2:1-8 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
We see in this account of the Magi and King Herod a recurring theme in the Bible: from insignificant sources and people God performs his work. In this scriptural focus we see Bethlehem, a somewhat insignificant village, is a place where the mighty shepherd of God will be born. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2) If we were God, we probably would have had Jesus born in Jerusalem, the city of God where the temple stands, but instead, Bethlehem was chosen as the divine place of birth. This theme of choosing the insignificant or the second best has always been part of the scriptures. We see Esau, Isaac’s firstborn, being lesser than his brother, Jacob. We see Joseph, the eleventh boy of Jacob, given the task to deliver the chosen people from a devastating famine. His action protected the seed (Jesus) promised to Abraham that would bless all nations. We see Saul selected as the first king of Israel, not from a big tribe but a small tribe. Saul considered his clan the least in the tribe of Benjamin. Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” (1 Samuel 9:21) Likewise, we see David, just a lad, selected over his older, stronger brothers. We see Gideon selected from the tribe of Manasseh, the least in that clan, and he the least in his family. Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. (Judges 6:15) Through Gideon, we see God defeating the Midianite hoards with only 300 warriors, once again protecting the promised seed (Jesus). This theme of the weak and insignificant protecting God’s covenant with Abraham is prevalent in the Old Testament. Always a remnant was saved to carry out God’s desire to fulfill his promise to Abraham. The biggest and greatest people were not given the task to bring Jesus, the Savior of mankind, into the world. As the saying goes, “Little is much when God is in it." Praise God!
In the New Testament, Mary and Elizabeth both represented unlikely candidates to birth a child: Mary a young virgin; Elizabeth old in body, incapable of having a child. Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, comes not from some great household but works as a carpenter in his village. Once again we see God choosing the weak and unprepared over the strong and worthy. Jesus selects as the leaders of his disciples unlearned fishermen with no qualifications to lead a movement of God. Mary Magdalene, a prostitute, others who have been healed of dangerous diseases such as leprosy become an integral part of Jesus’ ministry. Women, second-class citizens in a male dominated society, supported Jesus and his disciples as they moved around Israel for three years. Saul, a self-proclaimed chief of sinners, the last person who should have been selected to carry the Good News to the world, became the champion of the Good News in his ministry and in his letters to the churches. Throughout the Bible, God confounds the wise by using the insignificant, the despised, and the rejected to manifest himself to the world and to promote the message of salvation to all who will believe. Literally, God has turned wisdom and knowledge on its ear. Why would a God, if there is a God, have planned such a way to reveal himself to human beings? Humans would have a better way. They would choose the strongest, the best, the largest, the loveliest to reveal the Creator, but God chose the weak, despised, the unlovely to turn the world upside down in its rational thinking. Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Corinthians 2:20) Man in his rational thought, in his wisdom and knowledge, exclaims, I will not accept a God or a religion when I cannot rationally determine the direction and purpose of it. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 2:26-29) Why Jesus, why was He from a humble family? Why was He not born into royalty? Why was He not the son of a great king, philosopher, scholar, or the like? Many sons of important people are well-known in our historical accounts of the human race. Why such ignoble beginnings for the Savior of the world? Why Bethlehem, a city without note?
Jesus was of humble birth, born in a stable to a young virgin. Jesus arrived seemingly incognito, unknown as someone great, but the devil knew that the Son of God had come to Earth. When the Magi, the astrologers, reported to Herod that the King of the Jews had been born, their news activated an evil spirit in Herod, for the demons feared that Jesus would terminate their activity. So Herod encouraged the Magi to inform him of the child’s birthplace, so he could go and worship him. The Magi who came at Christ’s birth confirmed that even the stars proclaimed Jesus’ advent. A Savior had come to Earth: Immanuel, God with us. Because they knew of Herod’s true intentions, the Magi avoided him by going back to their own land a different way. We see in God’s protection of the newborn baby, just as we saw in Abraham’s call out of the land of Ur, God directly involved in setting up the salvation of humankind. In the time of Noah when he heard God’s voice, mankind was utterly lost: Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. (Genesis 6:11-13) Nonetheless, God provided an escape hatch from eternal termination through Noah and his family by having Noah build the ark and provide for the salvation of mankind and God’s creation. Noah does not appear to be a great man or a man of importance, but the Bible says he found grace with God, indicating he was someone God could trust to obey him by faith. Throughout the entire Bible, this has been God’s desire: obedience to his will towards the goal of intimacy with him. But God's plan of making children in his own image, to abide in his family forever, required a sustained and enduring faith in God the Creator, inspired by what we see and know by the Holy Spirit. Humans will always seek to find God in their own knowledge and wisdom. They view God in space and time, but these concepts do not describe God or his divine dominion or eternal existence. God chose the lesser things of this world to confound the wise. For the world unadulterated faith is nothing more than believing in Santa Claus. It is a child’s game to them, but to God it is the gate to eternal life. To God, the vehicle of faith means so much to him that He will intervene directly in the affairs of men to save his creation. He talked to Noah, Abraham, Mary and Joseph, Paul, and all who answered his call to perform specific deeds. He chose the least of these to hear his words directly. They praised God and carried out his will. In a new age of faith, consummated by Jesus coming to earth to give his life for our sins, we also live by the words of God. He is in us—we must endure to the end, avoiding the unbelief around us where people construct God on the foundations of human concepts, their awareness of life. We are new creatures birthed by a faith that surpasses all that we know or can conceive. Who can know God? Even the word, God, constrains his greatness. No description of him based on our understanding of existence can express him. But this wonderful God desires children in his intimate family. The way to find and to know God is through faith in Christ Jesus. Our faith in Christ is like a child’s faith: pure and great. A two-year-old basically believes his or her father can do anything. He is the answer to everything. As believers, our faith is placed in our Abba Father. He can do anything, He is the answer to everything. He can take the least, the powerless, the hopeless and make them his children, establishing an eternal home for them where peace and joy will exist; where anxieties, fears, and tears will be no more. Cast all your anxiety (cares) on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
No comments:
Post a Comment