The passage that was read to us tells a very well-known part of the nativity story, which you have probably heard before. The carol ‘We three kings’ is very popular at Christmas. We know about the presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But I wonder if we all know this part of the story as well as we think we do? Here are some multiple choice questions to test our knowledge…
Firstly, how many kings went to see the baby Jesus?
A. Three?
B. Two?
C. None?
D. No one knows?
Hands up for each option…
The answer is… C – None!
Although the carol is called ‘we three kings’, in fact they weren’t kings at all! Although they usually wear crowns in nativity plays and on Christmas cards, the Bible doesn’t tells us they were kings, it says they were ‘magi’ – wise men. It may be because of the rich gifts they brought, such as gold, that we’ve got the idea they were kings. You may have answered ‘no one knows’ because it is true that we don’t know how many there were. There were three gifts, but the Bible doesn’t tell us there were three wise men. All we know is that there was more than one of them!
Secondly, what did the wise men do for a living?
A. Nothing – they were really rich
B. Camel breeding
C. Astrology
D. No one knows
The answer is C – astrology
The Bible tells us the wise men were ‘magi’ – the simplest translation is ‘wise men’. They were seekers after special knowledge which was hidden to most people. Perhaps they interpreted people’s dreams, advising the rich of the hidden meanings (for a price). Perhaps people came to them to know their future, to receive visionary messages or hear predictions of things to come. Perhaps they were magicians, developing special rituals to produce a good harvest. Whatever else they were, they were almost certainly astrologers – men who studied the night sky and read special meanings in it. And something I find really interesting about this part of the Christmas story is that a lot of the things they did were forbidden by God. In the Old Testament we read that God tells his people not to try to predict the future or use magic. If they wanted to know the future or to have a good harvest they were to ask God for these things, not use magic. And yet even though these wise men did things God wasn’t happy about, he still spoke to them. God still had a message for them – he still wanted to reveal himself to them. And he spoke to them in a language they could understand – he wrote a message in the stars.
What religion did the wise men follow?
A. Christianity?
B. Judaism?
C. Islam?
D. No one knows?
D – no one knows!
One thing we do know for certain is that they weren’t Christian, Jewish or Muslim. Followers of Jesus were called Christians, but not until after Jesus had died and risen again. Islam hadn’t begun yet either – the prophet Mohammed wouldn’t be born for nearly 600 years. And the magi weren’t Jewish – they came from the wrong part of the world and they were ‘magi’, doing things God had told the Jewish people not to do. They probably followed a pagan religion from the area they came from. Even though they were Gentiles – non-Jews – not part of God’s chosen people, God still revealed himself to them. In Matthew’s gospel, his account of the life of Jesus, the first people to worship the infant Jesus are outsiders. One thing that is really clear in the Bible is that God loves outsiders.
Some of us here this afternoon may be insiders – we know the Christmas story really well, and maybe we go to church regularly. Maybe some of us know the story so well that we got all the questions right. Some of us may be outsiders. Like the wise men, maybe we wouldn’t call ourselves Christians. Like the wise men, maybe we don’t usually look to God to understand our world, or to help us live good lives. The story of the wise men shows that God has a message for us too. God wants to reveal himself to us too, in a language we can understand.
I pray this Christmas time that we would all hear the voice of God speaking to us words of love and encouragement, leading us on to worship the Christ child - the Son of God, His ultimate message to all people. God doesn’t just speak to us, he comes to us in person.
Firstly, how many kings went to see the baby Jesus?
A. Three?
B. Two?
C. None?
D. No one knows?
Hands up for each option…
The answer is… C – None!
Although the carol is called ‘we three kings’, in fact they weren’t kings at all! Although they usually wear crowns in nativity plays and on Christmas cards, the Bible doesn’t tells us they were kings, it says they were ‘magi’ – wise men. It may be because of the rich gifts they brought, such as gold, that we’ve got the idea they were kings. You may have answered ‘no one knows’ because it is true that we don’t know how many there were. There were three gifts, but the Bible doesn’t tell us there were three wise men. All we know is that there was more than one of them!
Secondly, what did the wise men do for a living?
A. Nothing – they were really rich
B. Camel breeding
C. Astrology
D. No one knows
The answer is C – astrology
The Bible tells us the wise men were ‘magi’ – the simplest translation is ‘wise men’. They were seekers after special knowledge which was hidden to most people. Perhaps they interpreted people’s dreams, advising the rich of the hidden meanings (for a price). Perhaps people came to them to know their future, to receive visionary messages or hear predictions of things to come. Perhaps they were magicians, developing special rituals to produce a good harvest. Whatever else they were, they were almost certainly astrologers – men who studied the night sky and read special meanings in it. And something I find really interesting about this part of the Christmas story is that a lot of the things they did were forbidden by God. In the Old Testament we read that God tells his people not to try to predict the future or use magic. If they wanted to know the future or to have a good harvest they were to ask God for these things, not use magic. And yet even though these wise men did things God wasn’t happy about, he still spoke to them. God still had a message for them – he still wanted to reveal himself to them. And he spoke to them in a language they could understand – he wrote a message in the stars.
What religion did the wise men follow?
A. Christianity?
B. Judaism?
C. Islam?
D. No one knows?
D – no one knows!
One thing we do know for certain is that they weren’t Christian, Jewish or Muslim. Followers of Jesus were called Christians, but not until after Jesus had died and risen again. Islam hadn’t begun yet either – the prophet Mohammed wouldn’t be born for nearly 600 years. And the magi weren’t Jewish – they came from the wrong part of the world and they were ‘magi’, doing things God had told the Jewish people not to do. They probably followed a pagan religion from the area they came from. Even though they were Gentiles – non-Jews – not part of God’s chosen people, God still revealed himself to them. In Matthew’s gospel, his account of the life of Jesus, the first people to worship the infant Jesus are outsiders. One thing that is really clear in the Bible is that God loves outsiders.
Some of us here this afternoon may be insiders – we know the Christmas story really well, and maybe we go to church regularly. Maybe some of us know the story so well that we got all the questions right. Some of us may be outsiders. Like the wise men, maybe we wouldn’t call ourselves Christians. Like the wise men, maybe we don’t usually look to God to understand our world, or to help us live good lives. The story of the wise men shows that God has a message for us too. God wants to reveal himself to us too, in a language we can understand.
I pray this Christmas time that we would all hear the voice of God speaking to us words of love and encouragement, leading us on to worship the Christ child - the Son of God, His ultimate message to all people. God doesn’t just speak to us, he comes to us in person.
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