What prompted Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar to leave their kingdoms, travel to Bethlehem, and place precious gifts by the manger in which Jesus lay? In the Gospels, Matthew records that they stopped along the way to ask, “Where is the child who has been born King of the Jews? We observed His star, and have come to offer precious gifts, and pay Him homage.”
Hearing of these wise men and fearful that his throne might be usurped by this “King of the Jews” to whom they referred, Herod sought to deceive them, and said, “When you find Him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay Him homage.”
In a dream, the magi were warned not to give Herod the requested information. Upon learning that they followed a different route homeward, he was furious and sought to eliminate this perceived usurper by having all babies in Bethlehem killed, but the evil plan was foiled when Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus escaped to Egypt.
The divergent paths of the wise men to and from Bethlehem provide a clear message for those who find joy in Jesus’ birth. The Son of God came to earth, took on human flesh, and by His love, and through agonizing pain and suffering on the cross, offered redemption for the sins of those who accept Him as Savior.
Like the wise men, the mortal journey of Christians consists of two paths: the sinful one prior to accepting the King Incarnate, and the path of discipleship, spreading the “good news” announced by an angel in Luke, Chapter 2: “Fear not, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.”
In his poem, “Journey Of the Magi,” T. S. Eliot delineates these two paths. He points out that the wise men were tempted to abandon the journey, to remain in their lives of luxury, ruling over sinful lands: “There were times we regretted the summer palaces … the silken girls bringing sherbet.”
Those they questioned along the way had no interest in the world-changing event the wise men described, and when the weary travelers stopped at an inn to rest, the poem depicts mankind’s sinful nature: “Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver, and feet kicking the empty wine skins….”
So, the kings continued, led by the star. Upon arriving, the poem describes their death as sinners, and rebirth as followers of Jesus: “I had seen birth and death, but had thought they were different; this birth was hard and bitter agony for us, like death … our death.”
When they returned to their kingdoms, the poem’s closing lines confirm that they could not meld back into the sinful society from which they departed: “But no longer at ease here, with an alien people clutching their gods.”
By accepting the One born on that greatest of days, and being delivered from a hopeless previous existence, Christmas begins for followers of Jesus what it did for the wise men: the final journey.
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
What prompted Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar to leave their kingdoms, travel to Bethlehem, and place precious gifts by the manger in which Jesus lay? In the Gospels, Matthew records that they stopped along the way to ask, “Where is the child who has been born King of the Jews? We observed His star, and have come to offer precious gifts, and pay Him homage.”
Hearing of these wise men and fearful that his throne might be usurped by this “King of the Jews” to whom they referred, Herod sought to deceive them, and said, “When you find Him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay Him homage.”
