Isaiah 60:3, The Three Wise Men
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
//The book of Matthew tells how “wise men” from the East followed a star to see the glory of the newborn king, Jesus. But why would Gentiles be interested in a baby Jew? Did you ever wonder where this story comes from?
It’s from the promise of Isaiah chapter 60:
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. –Isaiah 60:6
But Matthew’s story contains a twist. When the wise men arrive at the palace to pay tribute, Herod has no idea what they’re talking about. No new kings in this palace, he insists! Herod’s theologians, though, know the scriptures. They (perhaps reluctantly) point the wise men away from the palace, away from the Temple, away from Jerusalem, to the humble little backwoods town of Bethlehem.
We love to sing carols about the three wise men, and place them in a manger scene, where they never seem to fit in—they and their jewel-bedecked camels and their opulent robes and gifts of gold seem an odd contrast to the “king” we know.
Matthew’s story provides, in my mind, an absolutely brilliant contrast to Jesus.
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Fantasy Football, Anyone?
Put on the whole uniform of the Team, that ye may be able to stand against the blitz of oncoming linebackers. Don the hip pads of truth, the shoulder pads of righteousness, the cleats of preparation. Don’t forget the facemask of faith and the helmet of salvation. Then clutch the pigskin with much Spirit, for that is what the Play Book of your Coach in Heaven demands.The River of Life
Twice before Lee Harmon has written about Christian topics, once on the gospel of John and once on the book of Revelation. But the question people keep asking him is this: As a liberal Christian, why do you care so much about the Bible? Others wonder whether he is truly a Christian at all.
The Way It Happened
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| Revelation: A love story gone awry. | The Gospel: A love story set aright. |
What really happened 2,000 years ago? How did a persecuted minority of end-time believers known as Christians, with their dreams of Armageddon and a conquering Messiah named Jesus, evolve into the largest religion in the world? Author Lee Harmon explores the period in which the New Testament was written in his books about John's Gospel and Revelation.
(Bloggers: you may be eligible for a free review copy! Just contact us.)
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Lee Harmon interviewed on The God Show about the History Channel's miniseries The Bible and Lee's latest book, John's Gospel: The Way It Happened.
About Lee
Hello! I'm an author, historical Jesus scholar, book reviewer, and liberal Christian, which means I appreciate and attempt to exercise the humanitarian teachings of Jesus without getting hung up on any particular supernatural or religious beliefs.
The Bible is a magnificent book that has inspired and spiritually fed generations for thousands of years, and each new century seems to bring a deeper understanding of life’s purpose. This is true of not only Christianity; through the years, our age-old religions are slowly transforming from superstitious rituals into humanitarian philosophies. In short, we are growing up, and I am thrilled to be riding the wave.
I avidly read all thought-provoking religion titles. New authors: I'd love to read and review your book!
Contact me here.
About Leslie
Hi! While Lee writes the articles and reviews the books, I edit, organize, and maintain the blog. The views expressed here are Lee's but I'm his biggest supporter! :-)
Divino Afflante Spiritu (“Inspired by the Holy Spirit”) is a Papal encyclical letter issued by Pope Pius XII on September 30, 1943 calling for new translations of the Bible from the original languages, instead of the venerable Latin Vulgate of St Jerome, revised multiple times, which had formed the textual basis for all Catholic vernacular translations until that time. It inaugurated the modern period of Roman Catholic Bible studies by encouraging the study of textual criticism (or “lower criticism”) pertaining to text of the Scriptures themselves and transmission thereof (e.g. to determine correct readings), and permitting the use of the historical-critical method (or “higher criticism”), to be informed by theology, Sacred Tradition, and ecclesiastical history, pertaining to the historical circumstances of the text, hypothesizing about matters such as authorship, dating, and similar concerns.[1] The eminent Catholic bible scholar Raymond E. Brown described it as a ‘Magna Carta for biblical progress’.
It was through the publication of this Encyclical that Pius XII openned the doors to Bible Scholarship in the Catholic Church. One of the most important discoveries was that there were no original written sources. Rather, the stories which eventually became the Jewish and Christian Testaments were passed on as an Oral Tradition until it became necessary to commit them to paper.
For the Jewish nation this happened during the Babylonian exile. Pagan traditions were beginning to seep into Jewish life. No one really knows how much of the Babylonian traditions wound up being kept, but it is a safe bet that some were (Syncretism). I watched a program a couple of years ago that suggested that the story of Noah may have been one of the Babylonian myths that may have been retained.
Christianity is no different. In time it became necessary to put the witness and preaching of the Apostles down on paper for a simple fact. They were dying off. Eventually there would have been no reliable witnesses left to affirm what was being passed on. Yet, even in the writings of the early church, syncretism managed to add material to the testamony and life of Jesus.
The problem tends to be that people think “Myth” is a falsehood – a very modern thought. Yet, in the past myths were one of the primary stories of teaching truth. The speakers and listeners knew they were stories, but valued the lessons they taught.
The story of the Magi or Three Kings told a very important point of view. Jesus was greater than the greatest on the Earth; at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, kings came to worship him at his birth, etc. There is a lot from the old and new testaments that more likely than not, never happened, yet these threads punctuate the meaning.
The Bible is a book of “Faith” intended to help each of us find our Faith (our relationship) with God. As such, the Bible is not more important than God or our relationship with him, but biblical extremism is carrying the meaning and purpose of the book to levels it might never have been intended for.
Hey, another historical-critical Bible reader! And hopefully another fan of Raymond E. Brown. Thanks for sharing, Brian, I’m sure we have lots in common.
Jesus is coming soon for His second advent as we celebrate at the beginning of the year the Epiphany of the three kings that worship a king of kings. This generation will see the coming of the king. Like with Aslan the lion of Narnia the earth is becoming hotter and the snow ❄️ and ice are melting. The eternal icecaps need to melt before He comes to reign with His saints in warm paradise for a thousand years.