Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Mat 2:1-2
We have, as it were, three classes gathered about us in this narrative, and the central figure of them all is Christ Himself. As we think of this story in connection with our Master, the first thought that strikes us is that we have here a distinct fulfilment of prophecy. It had been prophesied that to Him should the gathering of the people be. The Gentile and the Jew were found by His cradle; in Him all national distinctions are, as it were, wiped out; there is to be neither Barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free. Round His cradle are not only the representatives of various lands, but they are brought to do homage to Him as a Child. Out of the childlike King there would arise a childlike character of all His followers.
Turn next from the spiritual to the temporal king. When the news of the new-born Christ was brought to Herod, "he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." He feared for the stability of his throne. His heart was centred in the kingdom which he ruled, the possessions that were brought under his control. The man whose mind is fixed upon possessions as such is troubled at the thought of a righteous ruler. The man whose thoughts are fixed upon the abundance of things that he possesses, necessarily quakes when he thinks of Him whose return must strike every one of them into the abyss away from Himself.
Look at the character of the wise men. They were great men. But their greatness is magnified by the greatness of their faith and their moral courage. Faith is, after all, a kind of heaven-born insight. These men saw the star. There were thousands about them who looked upon the same star, and saw no meaning in it. It led them through the long desert to kneel before the Satisfier of their hopes. So it is with Christ’s children in this world. They see by an insight of faith what other men do not see. There is a light that others do not see, there is a hand that others cannot perceive, there is a voice that others cannot hear, that calls them to go forward.
(Bishop Boyd Carpenter, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 36.)
Turn next from the spiritual to the temporal king. When the news of the new-born Christ was brought to Herod, "he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." He feared for the stability of his throne. His heart was centred in the kingdom which he ruled, the possessions that were brought under his control. The man whose mind is fixed upon possessions as such is troubled at the thought of a righteous ruler. The man whose thoughts are fixed upon the abundance of things that he possesses, necessarily quakes when he thinks of Him whose return must strike every one of them into the abyss away from Himself.
Look at the character of the wise men. They were great men. But their greatness is magnified by the greatness of their faith and their moral courage. Faith is, after all, a kind of heaven-born insight. These men saw the star. There were thousands about them who looked upon the same star, and saw no meaning in it. It led them through the long desert to kneel before the Satisfier of their hopes. So it is with Christ’s children in this world. They see by an insight of faith what other men do not see. There is a light that others do not see, there is a hand that others cannot perceive, there is a voice that others cannot hear, that calls them to go forward.
(Bishop Boyd Carpenter, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 36.)
THE WISE-MEN FOLLOW THE STAR
The expectation of the advent of a great king was far-spread at the time of the Nativity. It was probably founded, so far as the East was concerned, on the prophecies of Balaam and Daniel. See Num_24:17; Dan_7:13-14. There are evidences of the same expectation in the classic literature of the West. Our Lord was the desire of all nations; and the corruption and anarchy of the Roman Empire made the longing still more intense.
God comes to men in the spheres with which they are most familiar; to Zacharias in the Temple, to the shepherds in the fields, to the Wise-Men by a portent in the heavens. He knows just where to find us. “Lift the stone, and I am there.” Be sure to follow your star, whatever it be; only remember that it must ultimately receive the corroboration of Scripture, as in the present case, Mat_2:5. A miracle may be wrought to awaken and start us on our great quest, but the miraculous is withdrawn where the ordinary methods of inquiry will serve. The news of Jesus always disquiets the children of the world; they know that it means division. (F.B. Meyer)
God comes to men in the spheres with which they are most familiar; to Zacharias in the Temple, to the shepherds in the fields, to the Wise-Men by a portent in the heavens. He knows just where to find us. “Lift the stone, and I am there.” Be sure to follow your star, whatever it be; only remember that it must ultimately receive the corroboration of Scripture, as in the present case, Mat_2:5. A miracle may be wrought to awaken and start us on our great quest, but the miraculous is withdrawn where the ordinary methods of inquiry will serve. The news of Jesus always disquiets the children of the world; they know that it means division. (F.B. Meyer)
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