Christ
Church
Morningside
Epiphany Sunday
The story of the three wise men, the magi, the three kings… We know it so well. In fact we know the story to such a degree that we might very well have switched off during its reading this morning and not listened at all. I understand!
But do we know the story? Do we really know it? I bet I can name four things that we think we know about the account of the visit of the three wise men that we don’t actually know at all!
- In the first place there weren’t three wise men.
If you read the story carefully it doesn’t actually tell you how many wise men turn up at all. All it says is that these magi presented three kinds of gifts – gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. It was the Christian thinker Origen of Alexandria, writing in the third century that suggested that there were three visitors – presumably because there were three gifts. But, as my wife said when we were talking about this a few days ago, “there could have been a hundred of them and they all chipped in with the presents.” True. Just as an aside – if you want to go and see the reputed remains of the Magi then you can see them at the Cathedral in Cologne where they were placed in the Twelfth Century by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, after he had ‘lifted’ them from the Cathedral in Milan, whose clergy had taken them from Constantinople in the Fifth Century.
-
They weren’t kings
or ‘wise men’ they were magi – astrologers. Doing the same kind of
thing that the people who tell your horoscopes do. Astrology is
very popular today (horoscopes etc.), but in the ancient world it
was not only popular but also widely respected as a part of science
– and so the poor and wealthy, the unwashed and the highly educated
sought out the help and advice of magi on a regular basis – to
foretell the future, to interpret dreams, to help making major life
decisions.
-
Jesus was not born
in 0 A.D. If, as Matthew claims, Jesus was born during the
reign of King Herod the Great then he would have to had been born
before the king’s death in 4 B.C. In fact only Luke’s Gospel has an
account of the birth of Jesus at all. Mark and John start their
Gospel’s at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry – his baptism by
John in the River Jordan. And if you look carefully Matthew doesn’t
actually describe the circumstances of Jesus’ birth either – he
merely says that, “… she [Mary]… brought forth her firstborn
Son. And he [Joseph] called his name Jesus.” (Matt. 1:25)
- Which leads into the fourth and last item: That the visit of the Magi did not necessarily take place right after the birth of Jesus or in a stable.
The account of Herod killing all of the boys in Bethlehem under the age of two suggests that Jesus wasn’t a new-born infant at the time of the visit. Herod was cruel but it would seem unnecessarily harsh to kill so many children if he was just after an infant who was just days or weeks old.
And then there is the star. A great deal has been written and speculated about concerning the famous star of Bethlehem. There was a recorded sighting of Halley’s Comet in 12 B.C. The comet was seen all across the Mediterranean world. In 7 B.C. there was a famous conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. Having these two planets in very much the same location in the night sky his would have produced the effect of a very bright ‘star’ – again, a phenomena that would have been remembered.
As you know the earth ‘wobbles’ on its axis – for the wobble to make one full rotation takes approximately 26,000 years. This is called the Great Year. The signs or houses of the zodiac represent a ‘month’ of the Great Year or 2,200 years. It just so happened that 7 B.C. was the year in which one Great Year ended and another began – a cosmic New Year’s Day, if you like. Given the time-scale involved (26,000 years) this is the only time that this has happened in recorded history.
Was it that Matthew, writing some seventy years after this event conflated the timing of Jesus’ birth and the rising of this ‘star’ or was it was the birth of Jesus actually coincided with this astrological event – which would make for a more logical time-line?
i.e. Birth of Jesus 7 B.C. Visit of the Magi 6-5 B.C. Massacre of boys in Bethlehem 6-5 B.C. Death of Herod 4 B.C.
All these things are very interesting. Of course, the most important question remains to be asked. And it has nothing to do with the ‘historicity’ of these events at all. And that is, why did Matthew write down this story in the first place? In other words, why did Matthew record a visit by Eastern Astrologers to the infant Jesus? What is it all about?
First we need to remember that Matthew was writing his Gospel to a Jewish-Christian audience. In so doing he went to some length to present and interpret the life and ministry of Jesus within a Jewish context – addressing Jewish concerns such as issues of the religious Law, ritual purity, the fulfilment of ancient prophesy and so forth.
With this in kind we can see three distinct themes emerge in the story of the Epiphany. Themes that will reoccur time and time again throughout the gospel narrative:
-
Jesus’ Royal
lineage – the heir of King David – the true king of Israel
(contrasted with Herod and his heirs – even the Roman Emperors)
-
Fulfillment of
Prophesy – the fulfillment of the promises in Scripture and the
expectations of the people for the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed
One, the warrior-priest-king who would liberate Israel and usher in
the Kingdom of God.
- Jesus’ Divinity – in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is presented as the Son of the Most High, the Son of God. He is not only a figure in human history but also the Divine Saviour who has come to bring the world back to God, it’s Creator – to get us back to the Garden of Eden – where humanity was in perfect communion with God.
So where does all of this leave us?
Clearly the story of the Epiphany has more going for it than first meets the eye. It is a story that is rich in symbol and hidden meaning. But it was written for one purpose and one purpose alone – and that was to bring people to faith – faith in Jesus. Because Jesus is the fulfillment of and the answer to:
The promises of the ancient prophets
The hopes and dreams of an entire people – Israel
And can answer the deepest longings of our own hearts – our need for meaning, purpose and love.
And what Matthew is saying is that as the Magi left the comfort and safety of their homes and followed the star, their dreams, the hope of their faith – we too are invited to do just that – to follow the star of faith and to come and worship at the manger throne.
1st
January
2006