Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him

 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

- Matthew 2:1-12

Yesterday, we read that when the Sabbath was past just after Jesus' death on the Cross, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  We begin reading Matthew's Gospel today, beginning with this second chapter and the visit of the wise men to Christ.  These wise men are also called the magi.  They come from the East, most likely Persia.  They were the scholars of their time.  My study bible says that in the Old Testament, Balaam (Numbers 23;24) is one of their predecessors, a Gentile who anticipated the Messiah.  The wise men, all foreigners, prefigure the Church, in which membership is determined by faith and not by ethnic lineage.  The star proclaims the extraordinary birth of Christ, and is possibly a visibly brilliant alignment of planets of which these wise men would have been aware.  To the ancient pagans, says my study bible, a star signified a god, a deified king (Numbers 24:17).   It says that Christ being born under this star fulfills the prophecy in Psalm 110:3.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"  Herod is Herod the Great, also known as Herod the Builder for his ambitious projects (notably the expansion of the Second Temple, among other projects).  He was also known for his extreme ruthlessness, even by the standards for rulers of his time.  According to Wikipedia, he has been described by various scholarly sources as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis", "the evil genius of the Judean nation", and "prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition."  Herod was known as a person who would murder anyone even rumored to be scheming for his throne.  He was the ruler of Judea under Rome.  My study bible says that he had to summon the Jewish leaders because he knew little about the Messiah and was afraid of losing his throne to this newborn King.  The chief priests were the political and religious leaders of the Jews, and the scribes were high cabinet officers.  These men versed in Scripture and tradition knew where the Messiah was to be born -- but, my study bible points out, in spite of all the signs being in place, they had no idea He had come (see Jesus' remark in Matthew 16:3).   They quote from the prophecy of Micah 5:2. 

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.   My study bible says that whereas the Jewish shepherds worship the Savior in the cave on the day He was born (Luke 2:8-20), the Gentile magi came to worship Him sometime later (as they come into the house to meet the young Child and His mother).  By then, a note says, Joseph and Mary had found a house in which to dwell.  It's an indication that Christ first came to the Jews and then afterward was worshiped by Gentiles, a pattern that is established right from the beginning in Matthew's Gospel.    The significance of the gifts is noted in an Orthodox hymn sung at Compline on the Nativity: "Gold is for the King of ages.  Frankincense is for the God of all.  Myrrh is offered to the Immortal One, who shall be three days dead."

Who knows?  And who doesn't?  These are questions that swirl around the birth of the Messiah.  Yesterday, the lectionary gave us the final reading in Mark's Gospel.  Jesus glorifies everything around Himself by His very presence.  The lectionary has skipped over the Nativity (see Matthew 1:18-25), and we are brought directly to these wise men, the scholars of their time, who are aware of what is happening -- that a great king is being born.  The text tells us not just that they come with gifts but that they "fell down and worshiped Him," telling us that they know what is appropriate to the Christ, although just a babe.  We know the humbleness of His circumstances, and that the wise men know who He is despite the humble setting.  And related to that, immediately we see a kind of war with worldly power in the person of Herod, known as a very bloodthirsty and ambitious leader of his time.   Herod learns directly from the wise men why they have come, but he has no idea of prophecy and does not know who the Child is.  And sadly, the religious leaders know all about prophecy and the minutiae of Scripture and tradition, but no idea that the time is now.  A pattern, as my study bible pointed out, that will continue throughout the story of the life of Jesus.  The wise men ask, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" and we remember also the charge laid against Jesus, mounted on the Cross, THE KING OF THE JEWS.   There is myrrh given at His birth, and myrrh at His empty tomb brought by the women for anointing -- the first to be told news of the Resurrection.  So here's the key:  how do we know?  What is it that gives us wisdom?  How can we tell the holy in our midst?  Do we understand the light of Christ, and of the Spirit, that gives everything beauty and significance?  Christ Himself is Wisdom; we must be able to worship to share in it.  The key seems to be the question, what do we value?  What's in our hearts?  Christ is present today, the Holy Spirit is "everywhere present and filling all things" (according to a traditional prayer of the Orthodox Church that begins every service).   The empty tomb in yesterday's reading, the Cross upon which He was crucified, even the Babe in today's reading with His mother, worshiped by the wise men -- all is given power and meaning because Christ is there, holy power is there, the Spirit is at work.  This is the way we must see everything in our world as touched by Him and His presence, the effect of His work and mission, the Spirit He leaves to us that anoints the whole of the creation.  In yesterday's reading, the disciples did not believe those who had seen Him, until He appeared to all of them.  So the question is again, who knows?  Who has wisdom?  Who sees and understands?  Here we are, in a humble place in Bethlehem, and He's already being pursued, but already known and worshiped by the wise.  Let us be among them and do as they do.