How much trouble did you go to in finding the perfect gift for a loved one last Christmas?
Perhaps you found that it was very time consuming, not to say stressful. John Lewis’s Christmas advert for 2024 was entitled “The Gifting Hour.” It follows Sally as she looks for the perfect gift for her younger sister Lauren. Along the way she remembers life events that define their relationship. Of course, she fails to find the perfect gift until she tries John Lewis, where she finds just the thing.
Some of the best gifts are those that seem perhaps a little disappointing at first, but go on to get better and better with use. We may even grow to wonder how we managed without them. These gifts show that the giver really understands, and has taken time to
choose carefully.
At Christmas God gave a gift to the world. He understood now as he knows today, exactly what the world needs. So He sent … His son. A baby. Born to an unmarried, teenage girl in the humblest of circumstances, in a village just outside Jerusalem, itself a backwater on the far eastern edge of the Roman empire. Added to this, the mother, and her fiancé, lived in Nazareth; an insignificant town, in an insignificant region of an insignificant country in the great Roman empire. As gifts go, you don’t get much more ordinary than that!
A short time after Jesus was born, though, he had some more visitors. In Matthew 2:1 we read, “wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.” We know almost nothing about these wise men. We don’t know how many there were, though we normally guess at three because they brought three gifts. We don’t know where they came from, though it’s likely they were from Babylon or thereabouts, their interest in the stars supports this. We do know why they came though, Matthew 2:2 tells us that they “… saw his star when it rose and [came] to worship him.”
These wise men were astronomers, they studied the stars, and noticing an extra one they believed it indicated the birth of a king for the Jews. Again, Matthew tells us that they came asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” We should not be surprised that God announced the birth of Jesus to them in a language they understood. Not the whole story, but enough to pique their interest. So, they got their gifts together to give to the new king and set off to find him. But how would they find him? Where should they look?
First, they believed this was king for the Jews. The Jews live in Israel, so that’s a good start. Now, surely any king would be born in the capital city. So, they made for Jerusalem. Next, kings are born and live in palaces. So, they set off to find a royal palace, in a royal city in Israel. And they ended up in front of Herod ‘The Great’. Herod was ruthless in grabbing and clinging to power. Despite being Jewish, he was a collaborator with the gentile and oppressive occupying Romans, and he made a plan (v7-8). He “summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.” Of course, he had no plan to worship this new king, but to kill him. All Herod could see was a threat to his own power. And that could not be allowed. Later realising his plan had failed, Herod went to great, and drastic lengths to kill Jesus, ordering all the boys in Jerusalem under two years old to be killed. Even though he should have known the Scriptures, he was blind to what God was saying.
Now, don’t miss the irony here. God had spoken to the Wise Men in a way they understood. They were gentile outsiders. Yet they were open to hearing and obeying God. Herod was a Jewish ‘insider’, but he was only interested in himself. He was not open to God, rather he was opposed to Him. It was the gentile outsiders that found Jesus while the Jewish insider, Herod, did not. Finding Jesus is not about who you are, in terms of race, or position but about believing in God’s message. It’s about what you do with the information you are given. The Magi believed, sought for him, looked in the right place and found him. (Matthew 7:7).
The understanding and reasoning of the Wise Men, though, could only take them so far. They needed specific details if they were to find the king. Herod knew where to look. Matthew 2:4-6 tell us that he “assembl[ed] all the chief priests and scribes of the people,[and] he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” And when they looked, they found this, “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” 700 years earlier Micah the prophet had said: in a small village called Bethlehem, just outside Jerusalem a shepherd ruler will be born.
So, the Wise Men went, and they found Jesus. Just as Micah had said. An ordinary child, yet God’s gift for everyone who will seek him. Jew and gentile alike. Jesus may be the Jewish Messiah, but He is the Saviour for all people. This is Matthew’s point here.
In looking to for the perfect gift, there are two vital pieces of information you need: first, where to look, and second, what you are looking for. So, what is it that this rebellious world is looking for? What about: freedom from guilt, an end to suffering, pain and sadness, real hope for the future, or simply knowing that you are not alone? All these things Jesus came to offer. So where do we need to look to find Jesus? Like Herod before the Wise Men, we need to find God’s special revelation, the Bible. The general revelation offered by nature, conscience, morality and felt needs, can only lead so far. They may stimulate the start of a journey. But special revelation, the Scriptures, and an openness to it, is required for the journey to reach its proper destination.
At the start of the year, I hope you start this journey towards the best gift you will ever be able to find.
_____________________
Mark Lucas is the Rector of St Botolph's Church, Kettering, and a Trustee of the Latimer Trust
Views expressed in blogs published by the Latimer Trust are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Latimer