1 Royal Watchers
One historian (Joe Moran) claims that Elizabeth II’s 1953 Coronation is the day that changed television (Radio Times, 2013-06-02): “Around 20.4 million people watched at least half an hour of the service, nearly double the radio audience, … Since there were only 2.7 million television sets, that meant an average of seven and a half people to a set, excluding children, who were not counted in the statistics.” Apparently, the global audience for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth’s son King Charles III in 2023 was about 2 billion! And these days there are people who make their living as “Royal Watchers” and royal-watching paparazzi! Can you imagine a royal birth or a royal coronation today when the media personalities didn’t interview people outside and paparazzi didn’t stake out the building for days to take photographs and videos of the event?
The reading we just heard is about two sets of “royal watchers” — one from the newborn king’s homeland and another from a foreign country. And this is where we find the twist in this drama. Which of the ancient royal watchers actually go and “pay homage” to the newborn “king of the Judeans”? It is not Judeans but the foreigners from the east (from Syria, Iraq or Iran). Can you imagine if the only people to pay homage to a newborn British king today were tourists from Iran? The “wise men” were Magi. Originally, Magi were Iranian priests but by Jesus’s time the word was used more generally to refer to Middle Eastern astrologers. The wise men receive their announcement of the royal birth through God’s creation (read Romans 1:19–20; 2:14–15), and they recognise the significance of the star:
“Where is the child who has been born king of the Judeans? For we observed his star at its rising, [fn]and have come to pay him homage.” (Matthew 2: 2)
They have seen the star, but full understanding of the king can only come through the special revelation of God, and before they can find the king and pay him homage, they need to learn of God’s plan of salvation that is found in the Bible. Only God’s word can give them the information they need to accurately program their GPS. So, they come to the spiritual and the political leaders (“chief priests and scribes” and “King Herod”) who have the Old Testament books of the Bible and can answer the wise men’s question. They are told:
“In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet [Micah]: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah [which in Jesus’s day was called “Judea”], are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2: 5–6, quoting Micah 5: 2)
2 Friends and Enemies
You may have noticed that in TV and movie mysteries it is usually the person who appears to be least likely to be the villain who turn out be the murderer. Here the plot is the other way around. The suspected villains turn out to be the heroes. Both the spiritual and the political leaders, who don’t need a star because they have the Bible, and who can read what the prophets have said, reject the king they have been waiting for and refuse to pay homage to him. On the other hand, the wise men, who at first had only the star, accept Jesus, pay him homage, and bring him coronation gifts! Herod tells the wise men to “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage” (verse 8). But, as we will see next week, Herod even tries to kill him (read Matthew 2: 13–23). Herod was not the murderer (at least not of Jesus, he murdered plenty of others, including one of his wives and three of his sons!) but it wasn’t because he didn’t try. Of course, that is probably the only reason Herod was doing any royal watching! The point here is that the people who were supposed to be the king’s friends were his enemies, and those who were supposed to be his enemies were his friends!
Matthew, who reports this event for us, seems to have noticed that what happened at Jesus’s birth often happened during his life and even at his death. During Jesus’s earthly life there were two reactions to him — acceptance or rejection. Jesus proclaimed the good news (= gospel) of God’s “kingdom” or royal rule (read Matthew 4: 17). Some accepted Jesus (for example in Matthew 9: 9; 15: 21–28). Others rejected him (for example, in Matthew 11: 16–24; 13: 54–58).
In chapter 8 of Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus heals the servant of a Roman Centurion — notice, another foreigner! — he promises:
“I tell you, many will come from east [like the wise men] and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom [that is, those who should have been heirs, people like Herod and the chief priests and scribes here] will be thrown into the outer darkness …” (Matthew 8: 11–12).
Later, in Matthew chapter 27, we read about the crucifixion of Jesus. Matthew tells us (in v. 1) that,
“When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death.” (Matthew 27: 1)
And when the soldiers led him away to crucify him (in v. 37) we’re told that,
“Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Judeans.’” (Matthew 27: 37)
Where Herod had failed, they succeeded! At least that’s what they thought. The events celebrated at Easter — Jesus’s death and resurrection — tell us a different story!
3 Consider Christmas
Can I suggest four things for us to consider about the events of Jesus’ birth:
1 Two Reactions: As we have seen, during Jesus’s earthly life there were two responses to the claim that he is God’s king, even when he was only a baby — acceptance or rejection. We should not be surprised that it is the same today.
2 Unexpected People: The people who are open to accepting Jesus are not always the people we expect, in fact, often they are the people we would least expect to be open to the good news about Jesus which begins with the events celebrated at Christmas. If you are a follower of Jesus, are you looking out for and praying that God will lead you to the people in your life who are open to learning about Jesus, whoever they are?!
3 The Star and the Bible: Many people are open to learning about Jesus but often they have only seen “a star,” if I can put it that way, they haven’t read “the prophet.” They still need God’s plan explained to them from the Bible before they can fully understand who Jesus is and commit their lives to him. We should be studying the Bible not just to grow in our own faith and understanding — although that is essential — but we should also be studying so that we can explain God’s message to others (1 Peter 3: 15–16). That doesn’t mean you need to be able to answer every question, but we want to be as well-equipped as we can (2 Timothy 3: 14–17). So, when you’re studying a passage of the Bible, individually or together with others, it’s good to ask questions like: Is this a good passage to help people to read with people who don’t yet know Jesus? And how would I explain this passage to someone who doesn’t yet know Jesus?
4 Consider Christmas: For those who don’t yet recognise Jesus as God’s newborn king, today might be the day to begin considering the message of Christmas. Have you read the Bible reports of Jesus of what Jesus said and did for yourself? We have free copies of The Gospel of Luke in the foyer for you to take away. Have you ever asked someone to explain their message for you so that, even if you reject Jesus, at least you will have seriously considered the message that it is still changing millions of lives 2000 years later? Perhaps it’s a good idea to make sure you have the right information before you program your spiritual GPS?