The wise men (magoi in Greek) were most probably Persian astrologers. Given that, it is equally-likely that these men would have been Zoroastrians (i.e., a pagan religion which was the official faith of the Persian Empire). In short, they were NOT the sort of people that any good Jew of the first century would have expected to seek the will of God—they didn’t even worship the right God!
And yet…there they were…travelling miles upon miles, at great personal cost, simply to seek out “the one born King of the Jews.”
Herod, by contrast, was the reigning king of the Jews. He was the official head of God’s “chosen people.” He was, theoretically, one of the principal leaders responsible for calling the nation of Israel to faithfulness.
And yet…he did not. Rather, he sought simply to secure his own power base. He was so devoted to this, in fact, that he was willing to lie to the wise men, and order the deaths of every male child in the region—just to make sure that he took care of his “baby Jesus problem” (2:16)
As you go through your week, remember that each and every person you encounter is created in the image of God. As C.S. Lewis said:
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.
People are still seeking the One born King of the Jews, and He is still ready to receive the worship of anyone who will come. So…Are you journeying to Bethlehem to worship, or simply to wipe out the competition? Are you encouraging all who will to come to the King, or only those you think are “worthy”?
-- Justin
We Three Kings
Where's that Lewis quotation?
ReplyDeleteIt was originally part of a sermon Lewis preached called "The Weight of Glory." The sermon was later published by Eerdmans and subsequent anthologies of Lewis writings usually included at least the quote I've cited.
ReplyDelete