January 6, 2008 "The Two Kings"

Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

"In the time of King Herod", after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea, magi from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the
child who has been born "king of the Jews"? For we observed his star at
its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When "King Herod" heard
this, he was " frightened", and all Jerusalem with him; and calling
together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of
them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of
Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ "

Then "Herod secretly" called for the magi and learned from them the
exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem,
saying, "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."
When they had heard "the king", they set out; and there, ahead of them,
went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over
the place where "the child" was. When they saw that the star had
stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering "the house", they
saw "the child" with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him
homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And " having been warned in a dream" not
to return to "Herod", they left for their own country by another road.

Now after they had left, "an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph" "in
a dream" and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to
Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search
for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and
his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there "until the
death of Herod". This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord
through the prophet,

"Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi he was infuriated,
and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were
two years old or under, " according to the time that he had learned from
the magi". Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the
prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

"When Herod died", "an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt" and said,

"Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel,

for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead."

This is the story I want to talk to you about today. Someone sent me an
email about a New York City native who was on a business trip down
south. In a small southern town there was a nativity scene that
indicated great skill and care in its creation. The New Yorker related
his experience: "One small feature bothered me though. The three wise
men were wearing fire fighter’s helmets. Totally unable to come up with
a reason or explanation, I left. At a "Quik Stop" on the edge of town, I
asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. She exploded and
yelled at me, "You darn Yankees never do read the Bible!" I assured
her that I did, but I simply couldn’t recall anything about firemen
coming to see Jesus in the Bible. She grabbed her Bible from behind the
counter and ruffled through the pages and finally jabbed her finger at a
particular passage. Sticking it in my face she said, "See, it says
right here, ‘Three wise men came from afar.’"

There has long been confusion about the so called wise men or kings.
Many people are surprised to learn that, according to Matthew’s Gospel,
we don’t know exactly how many visitors there were from the east and
contrary to most crèches and popular carols, they never appeared at the
manger. The folks from the east arrived quite a while later, perhaps
even two years later. Mathew 2:11 says, "Upon entering" the" " house",
they saw "the child" with Mary his mother." The Greek word for child or
toddler, not the word for baby is used. The holy family is in a house,
not in a stable and manger of a crowded inn.

There has been a lot of legend laid onto these visitors. In popular
tradition, they are three rich, wise, men. But the Greek word "magi" or
"magus" doesn’t necessarily mean a "wise" person as we understand wisdom
today. Magi may refer to an astrologer, diviner, interpreter of dreams
or even a magician. Many people picture them as kings although there is
nothing in the gospel that says they were. I don’t mean to ruin your
image of these people, but if these guys were actually so rich and wise,
how could they have acted so foolishly? How could they have made the
mistake of alerting King Herod to the birth of Jesus, which led to
Joseph, Mary and Jesus fleeing for their lives as refugees into Egypt
while King Herod ordered the slaughter of who knows how many children in
and around Bethlehem?

A plain reading of the text without all the layers of reinterpretation
and carols and Christmas pageants which have been put on it reveals the
key action of the magi is anything but wise and has tragic consequences.
It was the magi who told King Herod about the birth of King Jesus. We
may also miss that the court theologians told Herod " where" the birth
was to take place (Matthew 2:4-6). The magi tell Herod "when", the
theologians tell him "where". Star gazing, unbiblical religion lends
itself to Herod’s plans; and so does the biblical scholarship of the
priests and scribes who cooperate with and serve the King in power in
exchange for the access and the privileges they receive.

"Christian and Church tradition turned this scripture into a story of
"three kings," when the Gospel itself says this is a story of Two
Kings". "TWO kings" "receive that title: Herod and Jesus". By shifting
the focus of Matthew’s story from the Two Kings to the magi, traditional
interpretation has shifted attention away from the conflict between
Herod and Jesus, which is at the heart of the story. "In the time of
King Herod", after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the
East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been "born
king of the Jews"?" "In the time of King Herod magi came saying,
"Where is the king?" Doesn’t that sound a bit odd?

What if it read, "In the time of President Bush, ambassadors came to
Washington from the Middle East asking, "Where is the new president?
We’ve seen his star rising and we’re here to worship and serve him."

You don’t just walk into the corridors of power and say, "Where is the
new president, where is the new king who is going to take your place?"
This was the time of Herod the King. This was his show. Most of us
wouldn’t want Herod the Great as a Jeopardy category so let me tell you
a little about him.

Herod was half Jewish and half Idumean. He became governor in 47 BC and
in 40 BC he received the title of king. By the time the magi arrived he
had been in power for around 40 years. He was known as Herod the Great.
He was great at keeping order, a great builder – including the Temple in
Jerusalem, and a great manager – he supplied resources from his own
reserves to help the Jewish people in famine. But Herod was also a man
of great suspicion.

He became a murderous old man. He murdered his wife (Mariamne), his
mother (Alexandria), and three of his sons (Antipater, Alexander, and
Aristobulus). The Roman Emperor Augustus once said it was safer to be
Herod’s pig than Herod’s son. It was during the time of this king_
that the so-called wise men came to the capital asking, "Where is the
king of the Jews?"

Verse 3 says, "When Herod heard this he was "frightened "and all
Jerusalem with him." Herod may have wondered, "Who was the latest
challenger to his throne? Where was this person who sought his royal
power and control? Who did he need to eliminate?" He was frightened by
the coming of Jesus. While it may sound strange, in the responses of
King Herod to the birth of King Jesus, we may see part of our own
response to Jesus at different points in our life.

There is a part of us that may be frightened by the idea of Jesus being
king of our life. What would it mean for us if Jesus had full authority
and control over our decisions? Herod was a frightened, suspicious old
man but when threatened he knew how to respond politically. He learns
from the chief priests and scribes that the Messiah is to be born in
Bethlehem and from the Magi he knows the time is now.

Herod becomes the "Deceiving King". He secretly calls in the magi who
act more like astrologers, absent minded professors or the Marx Brothers
than wise men. Maybe it was inhaling all that frankincense, but they
naively tell Herod everything they know including the exact time the
star appeared. Deceiving them to win their confidence and cooperation,
Herod gives them the final destination for their search and sends them
off to Bethlehem with the ominous words, "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."

While we may not want to confess it, there can be a Herod part of
ourselves that can deceive others into thinking we’re truly interested
in finding and worshiping Jesus when the truth is we have our own
motives for wanting others to think we’re seriously interested in
worshiping Jesus the King but we don’t honestly plan to worship and
serve him.

One of the aspects of this story that is puzzling to me is the total
indifference of the chief priests and scribes who apparently thought so
little of the magi’s appearance, story, or credibility that they didn’t
even send a representative with them to see if their story was true.
Herod also doesn’t seem to have sent an assassin to trail the magi just
in case they find the child. I wonder if in their arrogance and
self-importance Herod and the religious leaders didn’t really believe
God would reveal something as important as the birth of the Messiah to
foreigners of questionable backgrounds rather than to powerful,
important people like themselves.

For all their shortcomings, the magi’s sincere attitude of worship
before King Jesus is manifested in their generous giving. "Gold", the
most precious of metals, is a gift fit for a king, but Matthew is
introducing a king whose will is expressed not by a golden crown or the
accumulation of wealth but by a crown of thorns and giving up all the
richness he possessed to be a servant of all. "Frankincense" is a
perfume used in Temple sacrifice. It is a gift for a priest. Matthew is
introducing us to Jesus who will be a priest who can identify with us
because he was tempted in every way as we are and who rather than
offering sacrifices in the Temple, he offered the sacrifice of himself,
laying down his own life for the sins of the world. Which is why the
third gift offered is "Myrrh" – a gift for one who is going to die. In
John 19 Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came to Jesus’ tomb bringing
spices including myrrh to anoint Jesus’ body. Myrrh is a gift for a king
who doesn’t murder the members of his own family or innocent children.
It is a gift for a King who will lay down his life for his friends.

Herod is an earthly political king who will do anything possible – lie,
deceive, or kill to retain power and control, thinking only of himself.

Jesus is the king of heaven who does everything possible to empower,
heal, help, teach, forgive, encourage, serve, save, and love others.

Jesus is the kind of king worthy of our worship, service, and discipleship.

The magi were not wise enough to figure out what Herod was up to, so God
had to tell them in a dream not to return to Herod, and "they left for
own country by another road." Especially around Christmas you often see
the phrase "Wise men still seek him." Just once I’d like to see the
bumper sticker, "Wise men always go home by another road."

Even though the magi make numerous errors and there are things they
don’t understand, God’s grace leads them to Jesus because their hearts
are sincerely set on finding and worshipping God’s King. That is
comforting to me because most of us make numerous errors and there are
things we don’t understand, but if we truly and sincerely want to find
Jesus and worship and serve him, God will graciously let us find him.

And what about Herod – this is after all a Herod story. Herod the
Deceiving King is deceived himself. The Magi go home another way and
don’t return to Herod. Faithful Joseph is warned by an angel in a dream
to take his family and flee to Egypt under cover of darkness because
Herod is about to find and destroy Jesus. Joseph for a second time is
obedient to the voice of God in a dream and they run for their lives
into exile in Egypt.

Herod the Deceived King becomes a vengeful king ordering without mercy
the murder of innocent children in a horrendous and failed attempt to
kill Jesus before he can become king. It remains a sad truth that the
rulers of this world will still kill the innocent or anyone else they
perceive to be a threat to their power. While Herod inflicted great
grief on many families because of the information he got from the magi,
he would die never having seen or heard the King before whom every knee
shall bow in heaven and on earth.

It is part of the hardship of living in this world that often good
people are killed before their time by violent, frightened, deceiving,
vengeful people. It is in part due to the oppression, agony, and grief
of evil power taking the lives of the good and the innocent that God
came to earth in the form of a defenseless baby, who grew into a child
and then a servant king.

In the time of Herod the king, magi came to Jerusalem signaling that
Herod’s time was up. In King Jesus a new era has begun. Even though evil
still reigns and the innocent are still slaughtered, that will not be
the final word. Those who will search diligently for God in the midst of
our violent world will find a living King Jesus, although not
necessarily where we expect. The new King comes humbly as a child. Jesus
is the King of glory who demands everything we have – our worship, our
service, our resources, and our lives – but only because he has given us
everything even his life so that we may be forgiven, healed, whole, and
so we may rejoice in his presence.

Jesus is the King of undying love and we can all use a King like that.