Six Miles From Christmas

Sometimes the things that bother me remind me I’m getting older.  One of those things is the crazy reliance on GPS navigation systems to get somewhere.  Not long ago I phoned someone traveling to my home to ask, “Where are you?”  The response?  “I don’t know – I’m just following the directions on the GPS.”  Whatever happened to maps?  How can someone head out on a journey with absolutely no knowledge of how to get there except for their reliance on some often-fallible electronic device?

Over two millennia ago some wise men, or magi, took off on a long trip with no knowledge of their destination, but were guided by something a bit better than a GPS system.  They were, of course, being directed by the Star appointed by the Creator God to guide them to His Only-Begotten Son.  What was the star?  That’s not critical to the story.  But there are certainly lessons to be learned from the journey of these travelers from the East.  The story is only recorded in the gospel of Matthew:

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.”…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.  (Matthew 2:1-2;9-11)

You know the story as you’ve seen it portrayed in countless Christmas pageants.  Three young guys dressed in bathrobes and paper crowns presenting gifts to the baby in the manger, surrounded by shepherds, angels, and anthropomorphic animals.  Though the scene doesn’t jive with the actual account, it all fuses into an amazing story of worship.

So were there three wise men?  The Scripture doesn’t say.  Three gifts mentioned gave rise to that idea.  Some middle-eastern church traditions say there were twelve.  Did they have names?  I’m sure they did, but we don’t know them.  Where were they from?  The word in the Bible literally says “from the rising of the sun”.  Somewhere in the east, most likely Persia or Babylon or even Yemen.  Their knowledge about the coming King was no doubt influenced by the Jews who were held captive in the region 500 years before.

But getting back to the stellar GPS they followed, I must ask, “Why did the magi stop in Jerusalem?”  They had followed the star for nearly 1,000 miles, yet they stopped in Jerusalem instead of following it all the way to Bethlehem where the Child was born.  After traveling that far, they stopped SIX MILES short of their destination!  How does that happen?  By taking your eye off the star.  They had “seen His star” but there they were, asking directions from the wicked king, Herod. When they looked again, there was the Star to guide them to Jesus.

This Christmas, make sure YOUR spiritual GPS is fully functioning.  Your focus should be on the Star of Christmas, the Bright and Morning Star[i].  Don’t stop short in your search for Christ this holiday season.  It would be a terrible shame if you, like the wise men, stopped short just six miles from Christmas.

Jacob

---

[i] Revelation 22:16