Advent Day 19

“Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”(Matthew 2:3 ESV)

For most of us, Christmas time is so busy that we often lose the meaning. Travel here, travel there; Family get-togethers, work get-togethers, and worship reduce our free time to nothing. Have you ever driven down the road and looked at the face of the person next to you? You can see stress, anger, smiles, and the singing. People must think I am a nut because the time Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas songs stay on until it is back to regular worship music.

Matthew’s writings are filled with journeys crossing each other. We have been looking at the Magi, and their story is full of information when we take our time to look at the details. Imagine standing on the dirt roadside and seeing the camels loping along with the wise onboard. What expressions were on their faces? Anticipation, or maybe satisfaction, perhaps deep thought.

These men had reached their destination through God’s providence and Hebrew scripture, finding the king for whom they searched. Their mission had been accomplished.

Maybe there was confusion, a sense of perplexity. Their journey was fraught with danger, and they found a newborn king in poverty, with a manger as a crib. As Sinclair wrote, they found, “The princess who gave birth to him was, in fact, the teenage wife of a carpenter.” Yet this family could trace its roots to Israel’s King David. These Magi had found the rightful heir to King David’s throne. Still, this king had been born to anonymity. As these Magi rode away, they knew the parents and the child, and they were still in grave danger, a stark reminder of the humility of Jesus' birth.

I still cannot help but wonder how this meeting with Jesus affected the lives of these three men. The timelines of Matthew and Luke are different, yet a combination of both reveals a solid timeline. According to the chronology of both Matthew and Luke, Mary would have visited Jerusalem before the Magi to be purified. While in Jerusalem, the parents would have met Simeon and Anna, elderly saints who spoke of Jesus. Both Simeon and Anna spoke of the grief that would follow Jesus, His glory, and their consolation.

This meeting with Jesus undoubtedly had a profound impact on the lives of these three men, a testament to the transformative power of Jesus' life.

Depending upon what Mary and Joseph had told the Magi, they may have had much more to ponder than we can imagine. Indeed, they had two solid pieces of the gospel, but was it enough to sew together the death and resurrection and how the world would change because of this child?

Within a day or two, all of them had left Bethlehem. The new friendship was disbanded due to the danger posed to the child. Simeon's words about a sword piercing Mary’s soul were undoubtedly echoing in Mary’s mind as they traveled in secret to Egypt.

As Sinclair put it, “Both the Magi and the parents certainly understood that knowing Jesus means taking up one's cross and following him.” All of them had paid a price. For Mary and Joseph, their lives had been irrevocably changed. All of them would understand that the shadow of the cross that fell on Jesus also touched them.

This is true of all of us who follow Him today. Have you felt that shadow touch you? Are you willing to let it? We all should understand that “he is no fool, who parts with that which he cannot keep when he is sure to be recompensed with that which he cannot lose.”[1]

Invite God into your heart and follow Him no matter the cost. Remember, nothing on this earth is forever. Eternity lies at the foot of the cross. Let its shadow touch you, and you will be forever changed. This is a commitment, a dedication that we all should strive for.

Peace and Grace!

[1] Philip Henry, recorded by his so, the famous Bible commentator Matthew Henry, The life of the Rev. Philip Henry (John P. Haven, AM Tract House, 1830, p.75, as quoted by Sinclair Ferguson, The Dawn of Redeeming Grace”, The Goodbook Company, 2021

Sinclair Ferguson, The Dawn of Redeeming Grace”, The Goodbook Company, 2021