WISE MEN In the gospel accounts of the birth of Christ, we find recorded the arrival of wise men from the east. They came to find the one “born king of the Jews.” This was a great surprise to the sitting king, a reprobate named Herod. In no way could he have satisfied the Biblical requirements for the office which were framed in prophecies hundreds of years before. Herod was caught off guard so much, he summoned the “chief priests and teachers of the law” and demanded to know where the Messiah was to be born. Obviously he had sufficient understanding to connect the “king” with the Messiah or Christ, but he did not expect the arrival in his day. He was very unprepared for the challenge. Since the priests told him the location--Bethlehem--just a few short miles from Jerusalem where he was, Herod responded with orders to murder all the male children under two years of age. The wise men had the story right. The maniacal king did not and reacted with bloodshed--multiple deaths of boys. As the gospel accounts proceed, the life of Christ continues, and all the words of the prophets were fully validated. The men from the east returned home, but in motion was the fulfillment of the ages--the Redeemer of Israel had come--the Savior of the world. What is seen in the first days of this surprising encounter is the deadly fruit of ignorance and the confirmation of truth by wise men. In the center of all this is the word of God which bore witness to the expected birth and the nature of the child. Before they departed, the wise men worshipped Him. But Herod, wise in his own eyes, did not. What about wise men in our day? Who do they worship? As we look around, prominent within news reports are a multitude of global issues which do not have immediate solutions. The best of leadership is at a loss to find the answers to life threatening concerns on the domestic front and internationally. Some leaders, unfortunately, work diligently against correcting policies which are harmful. A number of them present themselves to be wise, but are undone by their failures. A student of history using objectivity can see through this. Yet, news media and the political machinery of disinformation point people to accept the status quo or to embrace changes which ultimately will fail. Absent in today’s scenario--but present in the Herodian example above--is the consultation of Scripture. Today, Biblical scholars have concluded that these men from the east consulted Scripture which was in Babylon courtesy of the exile. The Jewish community there held to their traditions and used Scripture to teach and train others. The men from the east would have learned to head off to Jerusalem through God’s word. The star was their GPS. At this hour, political expediency has removed any thought of following Biblical warnings or any of God’s principles of wisdom. This takes the issue of wise men out of a Christmas setting and into your home. Why? Because, out of ignorance or willful cooperation with the darkest recesses of human nature, today’s wise men are preparing to do more damage than Herod. This can be seen in the open corruption in Washington, D.C., in the inept policies of the U.N., in the failure of the EU and the UK to confront Islam, and the blind eye turned to the murder of Christians in Syria, Iraq, and Nigeria. From Common Core to ISIS, from GMO food to North Korean hacking, solutions are nonexistent. Humanity is in desperate need of real wise men. In brief, the open appearance of Christ was a public demonstration of what man should be. Since we were made in His image, we should be like Him. Christ was the one to present this in fullness--God in human flesh. As noted by Owen Hill, state senator from Colorado: “Christ’s incarnation hallowed our humanity, and in turn, Christianity validates human experience and says ‘your life matters.’ Atheism and secularism can’t produce a reason why life matters. And no world religion can convey the same dignity on humans as Christianity does, because they all lack the truth of imago dei, humans bearing the image of God.” The opposite of this reflects the notion that human life does not matter, and like Herod, death sentences are soon ordered--related programs and the tolerance of death are accepted. When human life is devalued, life means little, and genocidal tendencies become the norm. This does bring the issue to a focus beyond a classroom example. We see corruption and violence in local communities. We see the encroachment of government out of control. We do not see wise men capable of righting the injustice or applying the heavenly standard of remediation required. Our nation is presently trembling caused by the inept motions of serendipitous leaders. A few voices have spoken against the dangers of the present rudderless atmosphere of incompetence, but there has been no credible action taken in follow up. Many Americans are fully aware of these problems but receive little assurance that elected officials at large will bring the nation back to its roots and Founding principles. Much of the calamity is the result of a nation led by men like Herod, embracing self-worship and building monuments to themselves. Though they took an oath and may have said, “so help me God,” they do not give Him a second thought. Like Herod they think all is well until some wise men appear and cause a disturbance. Our leaders today need to be disturbed by the Truth. This is the institutional responsibility of the church--and every individual who has been called by Christ to represent Him in the world as light and Truth. This, then, makes it very personal. We do not expect more wise men from the east. Their task is now complete. But you--will you disturb someone with the Truth today? Cornerstone Gospel Ministries
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 18:35:32 +0000
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