Philippians Study (Part 8)

Today’s service was quite interesting for me. It was a familiar passage (Ephesians 6) I know I have heard at least ten times. Putting on the armor of God is not always easy. It takes practice and know-how. I think we often only look at this passage from an individualistic standpoint and not as a communal body responsibility. When we wear the armor together, as the body of Christ, we fight together through the power of the Holy Spirit. No man is left alone to fight. As I consider Paul’s words here in Philippians 1: 22-25, I get the same feeling that Paul sees his mission as our mission. This is what we are aiming to attain. As we read these next three verses, I want us to put ourselves in Paul’s position and attempt to get a sense of his rationale for us. With that, we will begin.

The Text:

“If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”

First Observations:

Paul sees his work here on earth as fruitful labor. Even when he is in prison, he remains focus on the fruit that the Gospel produces.

Paul is visibly torn between being here on earth and being with Christ in glory.

He can’t wait to be with Christ – it’s better than living here on earth.

He finally agrees that he has a lot of work that God has called him to do.

Digging Deeper:

You can’t blame Paul for being visibly conflicted between his work on earth and being with Christ in heaven. On the one hand, Paul has been used to do a lot of great things through the Holy Spirit and has seen a lot of fruit produced through hi efforts. On the other hand, Paul wants to be in the presence of God. He knows that there is no pain, hurt, sin, or hate in heaven. Things are literal perfect.

Paul comes to a conclusion though I think most of us would not come to. He puts his own individualistic desires aside for the work of Christ and to the Church. He sacrifices his desires for the body of Christ rather than enjoying his individualistic gratifications. There is something to be said about that. It is a beautiful picture of loving the body of Christ. The Church needs Paul to lead and establish leaders. He has the will-how and knowledge to do it. With a shaky start, the church might not survive if Paul left. Paul takes responsibility for those the Lord loves and asserts that he must stay in the flesh for now because he knows he is needed.

Conclusion:

I think we can learn something about community from these three verses. Being in community with others means not thinking about yourself and your individualistic tendencies. Being in community means that we put our own thoughts aside and work hard to build up the body and protect the body. We never go at it solo. We have one another to rely on and to help us out when we need it. Perhaps that is one area we could work to attain in the local church. If we could learn to love the community more than ourselves, maybe we could end up changing the world for Christ – one group at a time. God bless.

Philippians Study (Part 7)

Well we have entered day seven of our Philippians Study and have made it to verses 19-21 of chapter 1. I feel as though I have been challenged so far through this study to slow down and enjoy Scripture. I think so often we are so rushed to get through a few verses of the Bible in the name of “quiet times,” we miss out on a lot the Words of God have for us to enjoy. When we slow down and consider a few verses in light of a much larger context, we must ask the Holy Spirit to give us His understanding and guidance so that we can learn to be Christ-like. With that, we will begin once again.

The Text:

“For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

First Observations:

Prayers are valuable to Paul.

He has a big reliance on the Holy Spirit for his deliverance.

Paul never loses hope, despite his imprisonment. He truly believes that God will vindicate him from his prison life.

He really wants to make sure that his witness reflects Christ in every way.

For Paul – to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Digging Deeper:

I think oftentimes, our perception of prayer is not strong in that God hears our prayers and that He answers them, according to His will. There are so many verses in the Bible about prayer; I won’t attempt to exhaust them. What I will say is that God hears the prayers of a humble person. He loves when people have real conversations with Him. Our prayers should not always be “Lord, give me this – Lord, give me that.” Our prayers should be that of worship and joy as well as sorrow and need. In Paul’s cases, he knows that there are people praying for him that are asking for God to release him from prison. He can sense it. He is thankful for it.

The Holy Spirit binds us when we are in need. There is a famous line that goes something like this: “It’s like the wind – I can’t see it – but I can feel it.” I think Paul is experiencing this moment in prison. As he writes to the people of Philippi, Paul feels the Holy Spirit and is strengthened by its overwhelming presence.

Not being ashamed is difficult at times. Sometimes, it is easy to cower in our circumstance and not stand boldly for the Gospel. We are more concerned about how someone would react to our Christian lifestyle rather than their need for salvation. In our concern, we back down and rarely allow our Christian lives to be known to others. Paul wants the people of Philippi to know that in prison or in their presence, he is not ashamed of Christ.

Honoring Christ with our bodies does not necessarily mean sexually – though it does imply it as a part of what Paul is saying. Since our bodies a temple, for the Holy Spirit, we must do our best to maintain it and keep it in good order. Paul goes beyond that though and puts himself front and center. Essentially, Paul is stating that he has nothing to hide from God. He wants to believe that God will be honored by his life. While in the body, Paul wants to be a vessel the Lord uses. This is something we should all want.

To live is Christ – how true that is. Without Christ, we are dead. We are dead in our sin and dead in the flesh. We ultimately have no hope without Christ. It is because of Christ, we can breathe. We are a new Creation – like the first Adam – when God breathed into his nostrils and gave him life. So we too are like Adam – through Christ.

To die is gain – another awesome statement by Paul. This is where some might be confused. So I hope to make this a lot easier to understand. The reason this statement is true has everything to deal with heaven and God. In heaven, there is no sin. There is no hate. There is no division, pain, crying, or lust. Everything is perfect – in every sense of the word. We are given new bodies, given new names, given a dwelling place to live with Christ, and given an unbreakable relationship bond with Christ. Until then, we remain here on earth. We have to deal with the pain and the hurt and the tears. We have to deal with sin, lust, anger, and hate. For Paul – death is gain. To put it another way: Paul can’t wait to be with Christ for eternity because that is so much greater than dealing with all this crap on earth.

Conclusion:

No matter how we slice it, prayer is essential and important to every day life. It is one of the biggest ways we grow in relationship with God. It is not a crutch to get us through life but it is a means of communicating with God that we often never use. We need to honor God with our life. It isn’t easy but God requires it of us. Christ is life and being with God for eternity is far better than dealing with this world. We will see next time though how Paul contemplates all of this. And we will see how he resolves his thoughts for now. Until then, be blessed.

Philippians Study (Part 6)

Tonight I had a friend go off to seminary. What I like about him the most is that he lives out his faith so others can see it without being obnoxious. He isn’t perfect but he is a great example of putting flesh on the Gospel. In some respect, as we read these next three verses, I think about how my friend would react to Paul’s message. I think about how I would react to these verses. I think about how we should all react to these verses and allow them to transform our minds and hearts for Christ. With that, we will begin.

The Text:

“The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,”

First Observations:

Paul sees two people. People who do things out of love while others do it out of rivalry.

To Paul, all that matters is that the Gospel is proclaimed.

The message of Christ is more important than how it comes across in Paul’s mind.

Paul likes the word, “rejoice.”

Digging Deeper:

As Paul sits in prison, there are lots of people going around talking about him. He is the brunt of the gossip train and knows that some are being more positive about it than others. There are some people who mock him. They say things like, “Can you believe that Paul would hold to the gospel of some guy claiming to be the Messiah – the promised Messiah? Isn’t that crazy? He is in jail for this gospel message!” There are others though who see why Paul is the way he is and rejoices with him. They would say things like, “Praise God Paul didn’t back down from the gospel message. We need to continue to pray for him and his abilities to share the gospel even as he is in prison.” What we see is two groups of people. One mocks while the other is more encouraging. To Paul, it doesn’t matter how the message comes about. He could care less about those who mock him. He knows that they will have to share the message with others. The Holy Spirit could use even those who mock him as a tool for others to know Christ. Paul thus rejoices in that.

As Paul rejoices, he hopes others will too. Throughout the rest of these chapters, we will see the word ‘rejoice’ pop up here and there. Rejoicing is a word that reflects worship, admiration, happiness, and excitement. Paul knows that the gospel is the most important aspect of all he is going through. So he rejoices and wants us to rejoice with him. To worship, have admiration, be happy, and be excited for the work the Holy Spirit is going to do through Paul’s imprisonment. Paul can hardly contain himself.

Conclusion:

As I sit and think about my life, do I see the opportunities that perhaps are not the most exciting as Paul does? Do I rejoice in my “imprisonments” I seem to face? I wish I could say that I always do, but I often don’t. I think this is an area we can all work on. We can all learn to rejoice more and be thankful through all circumstances. As long as we are living our lives sold out for Christ, the message will go out and God’s will, will be accomplished.

Philippians Study (Part 5)

As I sit and think about the Word of God, I am reminded about how much we are called to know it. And, though it doesn’t happen over night, it is essential in living this Christian walk out well. The Bible is not like the stock market. It doesn’t go up and down, changing by the votes of people. It remains God’s unyielding, unmoving Word that is firm and reliant. What we learn from the Bible then can and should be applied to our personal and communal lives. The more we know it, the more we can be sure in its promises to us and live a more sold out lifestyle in the world. With that, we will continue our study through Philippians, looking at the next three verses.

The Text:

“… So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are bolder to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.”

First Observations:

The Gospel has created quite a stir. Even people in the imperial guard have come to know Christ, through Paul, in his imprisonment.

There is a confidence in knowing that someone is willing to go to jail in order to preach the Word of God.

There are two different types of people: Those who preach with a positive spin in their lives and walk and those who don’t.

Digging Deeper:

One of the things that bother me about this passage is how the Gospel seems to only spread as it does when Paul is in prison. Don’t get me wrong. I understand why Paul seems to be happy about his situation. I just wonder if there would have been other ways for this to be accomplished. It seems at the very bleakest moments of our walk with Christ – when we have entered into our own prisons – the Gospel is given feet to spread.

I think it is cool that the imperial guards got to hear the Gospel of Jesus. I am sure Paul spared no expense to share the Gospel with them. Since Paul was most likely chained to a guard, allowed to write letters to friends and churches, Paul must have seen it as an opportunity to embrace the moment and share the Gospel with whoever was chained to him. We will never know for sure, but I can only imagine how many people came to know Jesus through his imprisonment.

There is something about knowing your leader is in prison that evokes certain boldness and attitude that goes beyond what normally is thought to be possible. As Paul is in prison, his followers are out in the trenches sharing the Gospel and they are doing it well. There seems to be no fear in their eyes or in their speech. They are determined to push the Gospel forward.

This last part kind of bothers me too. Some people preach Christ from envy and rivalry. Who are these people? What’s their beef with Christ or with Paul? Where have they missed it? I think people who preach in ignorance are the people who turn people away from God and not to Him. Paul recognizes their downfalls but also states that there are those who are doing it well. I guess there will always be a dualistic tendency of how things ought to be done. Sharing the Gospel is no different or above the acceptation.

Conclusion:

When we see Paul in prison, it would be very easy to look at the worst of circumstances. Does Paul though? No. In fact, Paul sees it as a unique opportunity to spread the Gospel to the imperial guards and encourage and strengthen the Church. Paul’s missionary letter is not like any letter I have ever received from any missionary. It breathes determination and assurance. The more I read Philippians, the more I am convinced that there is so much we can learn from this book. We can be challenged and convicted by its words. That is what I hope we are seeing and experiencing as we go through this book together.

Philippians Study (Part 4)

We are now on day four of our “verse-by-verse” study of Philippians. I am glad to be taking the time to do this. I feel like it is something we rarely do. I can only speak for myself, but perhaps I am not the only one in this boat of trying to get things right in their life with God and am in need of doing things differently so those goals and ambitions come to pass. I am sure I am no the only person but I cannot assume anyone or everyone who reads these posts are in the same boat I find myself in. Therefore, I can only pray that my words reach those who need to hear them.

The Text:

“So that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”

First Observations:

Only people in a leadership position are given the ability to approve something or not approve something. Their word stands. What is approved remains. What is not approved is changed.

Only the things that are excellent should be approved.

Being blameless is not merely a goal but is a lifestyle of living. In Christ, we can be seen as blameless. That is Paul’s hope for us anyway.

Jesus presents us before the Father. We see the Father through Jesus.

Paul’s imprisonment is not a bad thing. In His eyes, it has helped to advance the Gospel.

Digging Deeper:

We know what excellence is. For some people, excellence is perfection, which is not at all what excellence is. Excellence encompasses the very nature of a continually striving and achieving success along the way. Excellence is looking in the mirror and seeing that you have done the very best you could have done and will continue to do your very best. Excellence is never giving up and always finishing strong.

Blameless is another one of those words that usually gets all mixed up. Being blameless is key to anyone’s walk with God. It entails being mature, having integrity, being supportive, never complaining, loving, compassionate, yet firm to one’s belief. One can only be seen as blameless through the eyes of someone else. It is only then when a person knows or can truly be confident that he has achieved a “status” of being blameless before others. This too is another aspect of having excellence.

We will be presented to the Father one day. Jesus will lead us there. He is the way to the Father and no one can enter into His presence without Christ. Jesus therefore has a motive in bringing us as a pure, healthy body. No son wants to bring a trashy friend or girlfriend home to meet the parents. He wants a girl represent him well. If he chose to date her, he wants his parents to know that he made a great decision. When the son brings the girl to the father, it is the son’s hope that the father will give his blessing and be filled with great joy. So, too, Jesus wants to present us to His Father with great joy.

Paul understands this and thus has no problem being imprisoned. For you and I, we might want to complain and get uptight about it. We might wish we never ended up in the ministry in the first place, but Paul understands that the Gospel is more important than his earthly comforts. Maybe we could learn to find joy in our trials as Paul.

Conclusion:

I think we are starting to learn a few things about ourselves in these passages. For me, they are not always very comfortable. I like my personal western comforts. Would I be willing to be imprisoned for the Gospel as Paul? Do I care enough about others to place myself in that position? I often wonder if I could really do it. For you and I, we need to continually work on presenting ourselves as Christ would present us to His Father. Part of that simply means we need to be willing to approve what is excellent and strive for purity in every aspect of our lives. It isn’t easy but the end is beautiful and worth it.

Philippians Study (Part 3)

Well this is the third day of our extreme study through the book of Philippians. We will look at the next three verses (7-9) and see what we can get from them. I hope this has been beneficial for you as it has been for me thus far. With that, let’s begin.

The Text:

“It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment…”

First Observations:

Paul truly loves the people who support and pray for him.

They are partakers in Paul’s ministry and God’s grace.

Paul even feels a sense of joy when he is in prison. Without their prayers, there is most likely no way Paul would be able to keep a positive outlook in his situation.

As stated before, Paul has some great prayers. This is one of him or her I wish someone would pray for me.

Digging Deeper:

Paul is in prison and yet is not short on thanking those who have supported him in the ministry. I think oftentimes we look at our situations – when they are not at their best – and forget or don’t acknowledge the fact that there are people praying for us in our times of need.

When we give to others, we become partakers of that ministry. When we give to our churches, we are ultimately partaking in the ministry. Not everyone can go on the mission field or be involved with every ministry a church has. When you give financially and through prayer, you are essentially a part of what that individual is doing for the ministry of Christ.

Once again, Paul prays an amazing prayer that must have encouraged the church of Philippi. Paul hopes that their love will abound and that they would continue to grow in knowledge and discernment. Paul gets right to the core of the heart of the church. In order for their love to abound more and more, they will need to knowledge and discernment. As different situations arise, we too must be ready to provide a love that abounds rather than other emotions that destroy and dismantle what Christ has built.

Conclusion:

I think sometimes we feel we are doing well. In fact, we are yet always are in nee of growth in our personal and communal lives. Paul prays a prayer that the people of Philippi have probably heard often in the presence of Paul. We should be encouraged to give both financially and through prayer, as we are able. When we invest in others, we are partakers in their ministry. That is something to be excited about.

Philippians Study (Part 2)

We are working through the book of Philippians a few verses at a time. When we read the Bible a little slower, we are able to see things that perhaps we have rushed through when we have read it before. So, in order to enjoy the text and glean as much as we can, we have decided to take time and worry more about quality rather than quantity. With that, we continue.

The Text:

“…Always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

First Observations:

Paul must have prayed a lot. He prayed often for those he loved. His prayers must have been amazing prayers.

Praying about the Philippian people brought him joy. He must have smiled when he thought about them.

They were partners with Paul in the ministry. They supported him and aided in his missionary work.

Every since Paul shared the Gospel with the people of Philippi, these new believers sided with Paul. From the very beginning, they supported him.

Paul encouraged the people that God would bring everything to complete fulfillment.

Digging Deeper:

There are certain people who have an amazing ability to pray amazing prayers. Paul was one of those who prayed hard and often. He had a keen sense of how to pray. He always shared how he prayed with the people he wrote to. He knows he can only continue in ministry if he receives prayer – Paul prays for those who pray for him. It is a relationship of give and take.

Being in contact with people is important when doing missionary work. Paul has built a report with the people of Philippi. As all ready mentioned, they have supported Paul from the very beginning of Paul’s ministry there. If Paul didn’t write to them and send messages to them, I am not sure he they would have continued to support him as they have.

The good work Paul is referring to here be in respects to how the people of Philippi have supported Paul. Ultimately, Paul is saying that their efforts have rewards and results. These results will be complete at they day of Christ. When we give to others, we are blessed and the results of that blessing change us and challenge us to continually live differently. Paul encourages the people of Philippi to continually give. If they enjoy the blessings they have received thus far, they should continue to give. They are blessed as they give.

Conclusion:

This is where we are at so far. We need to show others that we appreciate what they do for us and how they support us when we are in need. We need to be willing to pray for those who pray for us and be thankful for the people God has put in our lives. When we do that, we are blessed and as we give to others, we are blessed. They are also blessed through their giving and prayer. It is a give and take. Paul makes it clear that we will see the full results of our giving and prayer at the day of Christ. That is a day we should both look forward to and hope for in the days to come.

Philippians Study (Part 1)

I have decided for at least the month of January – and possibly February – I am going to study the book of Philippians. For the past couple of days, I have read through the entire four chapters straight through two or three times a day. Tonight, I am going to start a very intense study. Each post will only cover a few verses at a time – maybe two or three at the most. This is not something that must be rushed. At the end of this study, I hope to have accomplished something I can look back on and enjoy. Though I am sure my thoughts concerning different parts of this book will be challenged and provoked, I am sure it is a great way to learn the Word of God – I have to start somewhere after all. On that note, we will begin with Philippians 1: 1-3.  I will be using the ESV (English Standard Version as my main English text) if you would like to follow along.

The Text:

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,”

First Observations:

First off, Paul does not write this letter alone. In recent conversations with a couple of individuals, books like Philippians and Colossians have been called, “Paul’s letters.” Here though, we are challenged to think perhaps a little differently about that statement: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus…” This was not a solo missionary letter.

This letter was written to “all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi.” Notice they do not write, “to all the saints who LIVE in Philippi.” This leaves an open door for this letter to be shared with anyone who is a passerby or someone who has made Philippi his or her home.

The next phrase is also interesting: “with all the overseers and deacons:” What would have made this letter much different is if the saints and the overseers and the deacons were switched in their letter. What I mean is, suppose the letter read like this: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to the overseers and deacons who are at Philippi with all the saints.” Paul is emphasizing the importance of the community of people in Philippi but recognizes that there is an elder group as well as a group of deacons who minister to the saints there. This message is for the people and the overseers and deacons are in charge of sharing this letter with everyone who is at Philippi.

Grace and peace come from God – both the Father and through Jesus Christ. Grace is a free gift we are given and peace is something we can enjoy because of God’s grace.

The “you” in this sentence is in the plural – not the singular. This is a community thing.

Paul seems to be a guy who attempts to be overly thankful to God and to the Philippian people.

Paul remembers these people – he loves them.

Digging deeper:

The term, “servants” is an interesting term in the Greek. It refers to a “bondservant.” In the OT, bondservants were men or women who chose to serve a Master or Lord his whole life. He would demonstrate that symbolically by driving a nail in his or her ear. This would be a sign to everyone that they “belonged” to someone. Bondservants would give up their freedom to serve a Master. Paul and Timothy have decided to give up their personal freedoms to serve God as Master and Lord for life.

Overseers and deacons were qualified men who led a community of believers in worship and lifestyle living. We read about how deacons were chosen to take care of widowed women in Acts 6 and how Paul said it was important that they were men that were respected by the community. They would have had hands laid on them and they would have been prayed over. To find out more about overseers and their qualifications, you can read 1Timothy 3 and Titus 3.

The term ‘peace’ here refers to the ability of the community to listen and to be calm. It is not the kind of peace that refers to peace after a war. Paul is basically saying, “Take a few moments and rest while I share with you (plural) something that is significantly important for you (plural) to hear.”

Conclusion:

This ends our small study on Philippians for now. The next two or three verses are soon to follow. Each day, I will continue to add to this study and, by the end, there will be a small commentary of sorts that you are more than welcome to share with others and use if you would like in your personal or group studies. God bless.

New Year Thoughts

I have a lot of hopes for 2009. Since we are officially acclimated to the New Year, I thought I would share some of my hopes and challenges I am sure I will fact this year:

With regards to my personal/physical state:

I want to be a lot healthier. I am not saying “lose weight” though that would probably become a natural reality if I were to care a lot more about how much I consume and what I consume on a daily basis. I think health is important – I only have one body – so I have come to realize all the more important eating better and watching how much I eat is for my health.

I also want to focus more on sleep and how much I attain. Right now, I probably receive between 6-7 hours of sleep a night. Though it isn’t horrible, I have noticed how much I struggle late in the afternoon – especially when I am at work – with co-workers and others. My attitude is greatly affected by it as well. Due to the responsibilities I have placed on myself, I still hope to receive a solid 9-10 hours a sleep a night. Those extra 2-3 hours could show itself to be just what I need in order to maintain a positive attitude – especially when it is most difficult.

With regards to my personal/spiritual state:

I want to make my relationship with God a lot stronger. I have seen over and over again how much I have become relaxed in important areas of my life. I could go through and name every one of my downfalls, but I feel that would only make me feel worse about it rather than be helpful. Needless to say, I could always spend more time with God – in His word and in worship – rather than doing mundane things that are quite simply just a waste of time.

So this month (January 2009), I am reading the book of Philippians over and over again. In the past two days, I have read through it or listened to it on a CD four times. Tonight I hope to read it through once or twice. After this week – the first week of January – I am going to take notes on what I am learning and hopefully apply principles to my personal life. It is a great book with a lot of stuff in it. Paul’s missionary letter to the Philippians is exactly what I need right now in my life.

I am also beginning to set aside a period of time for prayer. Not long – it is intended to be an opportunity to hear God’s voice and communicate with Him. As an aid, I am reading a book by Hudson Taylor and Thomas Merton. These guys understood prayer and have challenged me to be more about prayer. It’s a big deal.

With regards to my personal state:

I am going to work on being more positive with regards to myself. I am going to attempt to feel more confident in who God has made me to be and in whom I am. I think that’s really important. I don’t have the best self-esteem. In fact, my self-esteem is really lacking right now. Perhaps some of the above things, which have been listed, will aid as well in my personal view of myself.

For now, this is what I have to share. As the days and weeks progress, I will share more. Happy New Year.! This journey is challenging, but my redeemer lives. He is so good. Thanks for reading.

The Christmas Story: The Wise Men (Take 1)

As we come to another year of celebration of the birth of Christ, we also finish our study on the Christmas story. Our final thoughts will center on the wise men. There are many interesting misconceptions about the wise men we have adopted in the western world. Some would include: They were there when Christ was first born. There were three of them. They were “wise men.” All three are false.

First, they met Christ when He was probably about two years old. They finally settled in a house where they lived. They had established themselves within the community and made new friends. Jesus was probably saying His first words by this time. Mama and dada were probably rolling off His tongue when the wise men arrived.

As a side note: This is why I believe the “star” in the sky was a manifestation of God and not an actual star. We might remember that the star “appeared” in the sky. It was not always there. It apparently stayed in the sky for perhaps a year. After the wise men leave, we never hear about the star again. Is it still in the sky? Could it have been the North Star or another star that “died?” For me, I find this to be unlikely.

Second, there is this myth that there were only three wise men that visited Jesus. We get this because the wise men gave three gifts. Men of their honor would have been much grater than three. They could have traveled in a group or caravan of as many as 30 people. We are also not told how much of each gift they brought with them. It could have been a substantial amount. Three men would not have these kinds of gifts without the proper protection from thieves and people. There could have been music and fanfare when they entered the city. Just as one would recognize a rabbi from afar, anyone would have recognized a wise man. The way they dressed would have given them away immediately. Something big was going to happen and the people knew it.

The wise men begin their occupation under Daniel’s leadership. They knew the prophecies of the King of the Jews – the Messiah that would come. To them, the sign of this star was all they needed to see. Wise men are really not a good term for these men. They were stargazers of a different kind. They spent years studying the Scriptures in order to understand the prophecies of the Old Testament. And the wise men were looking for a star. A star would be the sign that fulfilled a prophecy that the Messiah was in the world. The wise men knew it – they saw it – so they went in search of the Messiah.

Mary and Joseph must have been humbled when these men of great honor bowed down to a two-year-old child. How ridiculous this must have seemed to those who had gathered by Mary and Joseph’s house to see all that was happening. These men, dressed well, rich, and knowledgeable in every respect, were bowing down to a two-year-old child. What on earth could this have meant?

So the wise men came and brought gifts. We are not sure exactly what Mary and Joseph did with the gifts they were given. I can only assume that they tithed it and used the rest of it to provide for Jesus. For Joseph, he would be able to buy Jesus tools to work with stone and become a carpenter. For Mary, she would be able to buy food. And, for Jesus, He would be able to go to the best school and study perhaps under the best teachers of His day, which almost seems ridiculous because we know that Jesus amazes the scribes and the teachers when He is twelve. They would also have enough money to travel to Egypt. For what its worth, the wise men understood what so many people today – people in high, powerful positions do not – that bowing down to a two-year-old child was the best thing they could have done at that time. They knew He was the Christ. He would save His people, Israel from their sins and die on their behalf. They were not prideful – Jesus humbled them. Maybe this Christmas, we could learn to do likewise. No matter what our financial or communal status in our sphere of influence, maybe we could learn to bow down to a two-year-old child named Jesus and worship Him as Lord. God bless – and Merry Christmas.

Do yourself a favor today: Spend today with your family, turn off your computers and your cell phones and spend the day worshipping God. He is worthy of it. God bless.