THE VISIT OF THE WISE MEN, Jan van’t Hoff
The four gospels in the New Testament are not simply biographies. There is more to them than “the life of Christ.” They are histories and more. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John constructed their documents in ways to convey meaning beyond plain facts. They were free to use the facts to highlight theological content and significance. A clear example is John placing the so-called “cleansing of the Temple” in the early days of Jesus’ ministry while the other three gospels have it in the last week before Jesus was crucified. John had a reason to do that (probably to show that Jesus was the true temple, God dwelling among us in the flesh, per the first chapter, instead of in a building). All of the gospel writers had more than historical facts in mind when they wrote about people, events, and conversations. We do have to be careful. We can’t just “spiritualize” those historical facts into devotional and inspirational meanings that strike our fancy. One of the worst examples of doing this which I have seen (and I probably have done) is to use the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection to teach that God helps us get through difficult experiences.
Context is critical for understanding Scripture, including the four Gospels. Part of the context of the people, events, and conversations is the world around them. Regarding the birth of Jesus, we can see the meaning it had for what was going on in the world at the time. Matthew and Luke write about the rulers of the time: King Herod and Caesar Augustus. While they were running things their ways, a new king arrived.
Matthew 2:1-18 is the story of the Magi coming to find “the one who has been born king of the Jews.” Rome had conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC; in about 40 BC the Roman Senate appointed Herod the king of the Jews, a vassal of the Empire. He became known as Herod the Great, primarily for his building accomplishments – several fortresses throughout the country, the harbor in Caesarea Maritima, and rebuilding and expansion of the Temple in Jerusalem and mountain on which it set. Herod was in every sense of the word a tyrant. He played politics intensely, trying to win the favor of his Jewish subjects but mostly that of his Roman masters. He took violent revenge on people who opposed him or attempted to thwart his rule. Among the many he had killed were family members: in-laws, two of his ten wives, and three of his sons. Roman author Macrobius wrote of him: “When it was heard that, as part of the slaughter of boys up to two years old, Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered his own son to be killed, he [the Emperor Augustus] remarked, ‘It is better to be Herod’s pig than his son’.”
When Herod heard that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, “he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under” (Matthew 2:16). The meaning of this action was Herod was essentially saying, “I run Judea and no one else will.”
Luke 2:1-4 explains how it was that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
Augustus (original name Octavian) was the founder and first emperor of the Roman Empire. When Julius Caesar was assassinated, Octavian joined forces with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus to defeat Julius’s opponents. Eventually Octavian eliminated his two partners and became sole Emperor. In 27 BC, the senate titled him “Augustus” – the illustrious one – a title of religious authority to accompany his political and military control. He ruled over what is now most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, and North Africa. Historian H. H. Scullard wrote that Octavian’s power was based on the exercise of “a predominant military power and … the ultimate sanction of his authority was force, however much the fact was disguised.”
The census which Luke tells us about was an expression of Augustus’ authority and power. The meaning of this action was Augustus was in a sense saying, “This is my world and everyone who lives in it belongs to me.”
These two kings ruled with force: manipulation, revenge, violence, and selfish pride.
But there is Christmas. There is a nativity. There is a birth. There is a new king in town. The true king of the Jews. Indeed, the true king of the world.
Humans were created to rule, to have dominion over the world, as partners with our Creator. Instead of continuing to rule the world which God had made as partners with him, humans went our own way. We sinned and corrupted the world. We sinned and brought chaos. We sinned and brought death. We started running the world by force, but running the world by force is just the opposite of the way God intended it to be.
And instead of being partners with God, that rebellion made us partners with the Ultimate Sinner. Jesus called him “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). He’s the one who leads the whole world astray, that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan (Revelation 12:9). The world was under the dominion of a being who intended to rule forever in rebellion against God and who was quite satisfied for humans to keep on doing things their way because that meant they were really doing things his way.
So Jesus took on those kingdoms of force in his own way. Without violence. Without force. With sacrifice. He put himself in their hands for them to have their way, yet God was using it for his way, to bring rescue and redemption to the world. Jesus gave his life. He took the sin of all people as his own. He took the rebellion of all humanity to himself. And because he took the sin and rebellion he had to take the consequence, and so he died.
The Jewish Law-enforcers condemned him but he didn’t stay condemned! The Roman political/military establishment killed him but he didn’t stay dead! He has risen! He knocked the prince of this world off the throne by breaking the hold of sin and guilt. He took our sin to himself and left it in the grave. He took our rebellion as his own and left it in the grave. The enemies were conquered and Jesus became King. The apostle Paul put it this way: “Having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us, he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:14-15). Jesus is King and so, God’s Kingdom has come into the world.
Jesus did not become King by force and he doesn’t rule by force. Jesus and his first followers knew that even though he is King, opposition and rebellion will continue; force will still be used to run the world. They taught that the Kingdom takes root in individual hearts and that it spreads slowly and gracefully. It’s like a gentle stream of water that soaks dry ground instead of a raging river that washes everything away. A gentle stream can be dammed and diverted. The Kingdom and the King can be refused and rejected. But the King has promised that his Kingdom will never end and eventually the glory of God will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea.
Jesus picked up the pieces of the kingdom that God’s original sons and daughters shattered. He brings God’s rule, God’s way, back into the world. Love. Peace. Joy. Redemption. Healing.
Restoration. Hebrews 2:10 talks about God “bringing many sons and daughters to glory” through the suffering of Jesus. This is right after saying, “In putting everything under them (humans), God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor…” Humanity’s glory was being God’s images ruling over his creation. By disobedience we abdicated that glory. Jesus brings us back to that glory. He restores us to the identity and destiny that God intended for us from the beginning. This is his gift to us.
There are Herods and Caesars and Napoleans and Hitlers. There are authorities ruling by force: Russian, Chinese, Israeli, American, etc., etc. There is also Christmas. An anonymous church leader in China explains: “Christmas is not merely about celebrating Jesus’ birth; it reminds us that Christ came into a dark world, bringing hope and light. Jesus’ humble birth in a stable reflects God’s will to bring comfort and redemption amid worldly challenges. Since Christ was born amidst crisis and persecution, the worldly powers will always oppose the true King. Regardless of external circumstances, Christ’s life has brought salvation, and God’s kingdom will endure and ultimately triumph over all secular authorities.”
There is Christmas. There is a new King. Joy to the world!