1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, "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." 3When King Herod heard this,
he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all
the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where
the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for
so it has been written by the prophet: 6`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.'" 7Then Herod
secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time
when the star had appeared. 8Then 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." 9When 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. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed
with joy. 11On 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.
12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left
for their own country by another road.
Step 1--Initial Diagnosis: Astray
The text begins with the Magi, the scientists of the day, in search of
the "king of the Jews," that is, in search of a reliable authority upon
which to base their lives. How they are like us post-moderns-- looking
and grasping for certainty. What makes them even more like us is that in
their quest, they are led astray not by the star or even their "science"
(that is, their observatory skills), but by their bias. They assumed
that reliable authority was "gentile" authority, authority based on the
big stick, "authority over" (20:25). They could not even imagine Jesus'
"Jewish" kind of authority as a reliable: the power to "turn the other
cheek" (5:39), to be a slave for others (20:27). Can we? No wonder they
ended up far astray from where God was leading them--in Jerusalem, and
not in Bethlehem.
Step 2--Advanced Diagnosis: Defiant
Far worse than the Magi's Jerusalem bias is Herod's outright defiance of
the "king of the Jews." Notice that this defiance is only magnified when
the Jewish Writings, which Herod supposedly honored, confirmed the Magi's
quest. To Herod, Jesus' Jewish kind of authority was simply a rival to
his "gentile" kind of authority--a rival to be eliminated. To be sure,
Jewish authority does rival gentile authority, but not simply. The two
authorities can co-exist, though never as equals, nor forever, as the
Magi's eventual "homage" to Jesus indicates. All authority is ultimately
subject to Jesus. But by defying Jesus' claim and authority, Jesus'
credibility as the "king of the Jews," Herod ironically undermines his
own authority and credibility. His rule is thus characterized inwardly
by his fear and outwardly by his (murderous) attempts to eliminate all
competitors.
Step 3--Final Diagnosis: Excluded
The irony--indeed, tragedy--in all this is that God finally gives Herod
his way. Jesus' rule is excluded from his life, not because of Herod's
cunning, but because God tells the Magi in a dream to go home another
way, effectively cutting Herod out altogether (2:12). The full extent of
this exclusion is evidenced a few verses later. There it is revealed
that Herod has died and his son (no better than he) now rules in his
place. This is not simply a matter-of-fact reading of historical
developments. As the drama reveals, this is God's judgment--God wielding
gentile kind of authority better and more justly than the gentiles, like
the law and the prophets do (5:17). What Herod never realized is that
gentile rule also belongs to God. Do we? That being the case, the
question is "how to change the terms of engagement coram deo (before
God)?"
Step 5--Advanced Prognosis: Delighted
The rule of God is not without its immediate, personal effects. Indeed,
the whole message of Matthew's gospel is that the reign of heaven is
effectively among us in a way that makes a difference in our lives now.
That difference which the Kingdom makes in us is what Jesus calls "faith"
(15:28, 8:10, 9:22). Faith is the in-breaking of the rule of Christ. It
is having what he gives. It is the end of defiance. In the story of the
Magi, this faith is expressed as sure delight. "They were overwhelmed
with joy" (v. 10). This joy, of course, is not simply an optimistic
outlook or a spirit of positive thinking. Quite unlike these solipsistic
philosophies that delight in delight itself, the joy that the Magi
expressed is only as warranted as its object. For the Magi their faith
is a true and saving faith only if the Christ they trust is truly "the
king of the Jews."
Step 6--Final Prognosis: Returning
Now that the Magi have found what they were looking for, a reliable
(Jewish) authority upon which to base their lives, they gladly subject
their whole lives to him, as their gifts and homage indicate. But note:
to be one of the fold and not a stray does not mean abandoning the
secular world from which they came. Rather, it means returning to it.
For the Magi (and us) that means returning to neighbors, spouses,
children, even our old Magi craft, whatever that may be. It even means
exercising gentile authority, only now with a difference: "not in order
to be served, but to serve." New-styled Magi may even find themselves
risking estrangement from other gentile authorities as they try to use
their old craft for such new purposes. But that doesn't intimidate them.
Quite the contrary; it underscores just how blessed they really are
(5:11-12).