Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord
commanded Him and took Mary to be his wife. (Matthew 1:24 [NASB])
Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had
heard and seen, just as had been told. (Luke 2:19-20 [NASB])
After coming into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His
mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. (Matthew 2:11 [NASB])
“Advent is over,” people say, “so, why an article about advent?”
We define advent as “the beginning of an event, the invention of something, or the
arrival of a person.” (Cambridge and American dictionaries) Advent is not just
a date and title on a calendar. It introduces and reminds us of an important
event and its continuance. Advents can include times such as when a person
begins a new job, begins married life, and/or becomes a parent. It is the mark
of time when a new phase, new person, and new thing enters and causes a heart
and thought change within us that leads to actions by us. Most often this
advent culminates in us giving our all for that new situation, person or thing.
For example, you don’t have a baby then let it raise itself and do nothing to
protect, provide, and care for it. You give it all you have and are. You act
upon the belief you are all they have and the knowledge they need you, the
parent. From that belief, your intentions guide your actions.
The Advent denoted on a calendar each year is the same. It
denotes the point in time the Son of God was born in human form on earth to provide
salvation from sins and through that salvation, enable a relationship with God
to each person who believes in Him. Advent from that perspective is the time
when Jesus came to earth to be in our lives. He gave it His all. He gave His life
and died for us so we could be saved. The many millions of people who’ve lived since
Christ’s birth, death, resurrection, and ascension have heard of His advent and,
so, have “seen” His advent. Each of us are these “watchers through the window
of time.”
The people who gave and give their all to and for Jesus are like
some people in the Christmas story. Jesus’ advent as an infant affected
everyone in the story of His birth. King Herod, the shepherds, the wisemen, the
Roman soldiers, Mary, and Joseph each reacted to His advent, His birth. Some responded
positively to Him and others did not. Let’s consider each character and this
significant advent in the lives of everyone who’s ever lived since that time
over 2000 years ago.
Mary received the first news of the Christ child’s imminent
arrival. The angel spoke to her and told she was highly favored by God. His
Spirit would come upon her and she would bear a child who she was to name
Jesus. Mary was not anyone special. She lived in Galilee, an area in north
Israel that was separated physically from Judea by Samaria. Galilee was an area
of amalgamated cultures. The people there were a mixed population since the
Assyrian conquest of 8BC. Galilee had Hellenists living in it since Rome, as
the conquering nation, took over rule of the territory. Pagan cities and
Hellenistic centers existed in Galilee. Because of these things, the Jews
looked down upon the people of Galilee; they were not good Jews, according to
the Jews of Judah. Into this reality, the angel of the Lord spoke with a virgin,
teenage girl and said she would give birth to the “Son of the Most High” (Luke
1:32). Mary believed in the prophecy from Isaiah 7:14, but found it hard to
comprehend she could be that virgin. The angel reassured her, and Mary
cherished the child growing within her. She reacted to the news of this advent
as many would. She wondered, questioned, and cherished this entrance into her
life of this news and this child. It affected her heart, mind, and body. If
Joseph had allowed the people to act upon the law and stone a woman found pregnant
outside of marriage, it would have affected Mary’s body even more. But God had
already spoken to Joseph before the people stoned her. He stopped the stoning.
Mary’s belief and knowledge, and her intention to be a faithful Jew who obeyed
God, led to her action of acceptance of her situation, pregnancy before
marriage.
Joseph was a righteous and honorable man. (Matthew 1:19) He
was from David’s line and lived in Galilee, too. Joseph’s father taught him
carpentry and about Yahweh and His laws. He taught Joseph how to be in right
standing with God. Joseph feared taking Mary as his wife since he was
righteous. It would make him unrighteous and unclean, in the eyes of the Jews,
to be near her because of her pregnancy. This affected Joseph’s heart and mind,
so God sent an angel to him in a dream. (Matthew 1:20) The angel reassured him
and told him the birth of this child would fulfill the prophecy of God’s
prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14). Because Joseph was a righteous and obedient man,
he recognized the angel came from the Lord and took Mary to be his wife without
having intimate relations with her until the baby was born. (Matthew 1:24-25)
He no longer feared being unclean and unrighteous, nor did he fear what people would
say about him. Joseph was willing to look unrighteous so he would be obedient
to God and fulfill the prophecy. Joseph’s and Mary’s actions coming from their
heart and belief that what the angel said was true led them to accept Mary’s
pregnancy and then go as husband and wife to Bethlehem for the census as Caesar
Augustus required. (Luke 2:1-5) Their hearts and minds believed, and that
belief resulted in actions affirming their beliefs.
Consider next the wisemen or magi, as some people translate
the Greek word magos. These wisemen
came from wealthy, noble families and were well-educated. They knew astronomy
and had learned of the prophecies and religions of the people in other nations.
These magi were honest, influential, and counselors of rulers. People sought
them and regarded them highly. Unlike Mary and Joseph, these wisemen were at
the top of the social ladder. People looked up to them. These men had studied
Hebrew scripture and knew of the Messianic prophecies of Numbers 24:17 and
Micah 5:2. These three men knew “a star would come from Jacob and a scepter
would rise from Israel.” The magi knew this new King would come from Bethlehem
and this Ruler would not be new, but from before time began, before God created
all things. By knowing and studying these prophecies, these three men
determined soon the Messiah would come. They looked for the signs and on the
night of Jesus’ birth, a light different from any they’d ever seen appeared in
the sky. (Matthew 2:1-2) The wisemen knew in their heads about this King. They
believed they would find Him because the prophecies said spoke of it. These
humble, intelligent, wealthy men took gifts for a King on their journey to see
this Christ child. They recognized they were lower that this One to be born and
humbled themselves before this One greater than themselves. These wisemen
recognized they should worship the Messiah. They offered gifts fit for a king
of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11) These magi knew, then believed,
then acted upon their belief. They entered the story of Jesus’ advent upon
earth. These men, who were at the top of the social ladder, recognized One
greater than themselves, humbled themselves, and worshiped Him. They offered
Him their best treasures-an offering for a King. They humbled themselves to
worship a baby, in the eyes of others, but a King in their eyes.
About time the wisemen began their journey, God’s messengers
visited shepherds in their fields. Luke recorded this encounter in Luke 2:8-18.
Jews did not highly regard shepherds. One reason for this occurred was because most
of the Israelites had progressed to being farmers, instead of shepherds. When
their forefathers lived in the Canaan before the famine, the main occupation
was shepherding. When they lived in Egypt, because of the famine, they acquired
a prejudice against shepherds. This occurred because the Egyptians looked down
on their enemy, the Arabs, who were shepherds. The Egyptians were
agriculturalists. Since the Hebrews lived in Egypt for 400 years, they adopted
this prejudice. When Joshua led the
Israelites into the Promised Land, two-and-a-half of the tribes asked for land
on the east side of the Jordan River so they could shepherd their flocks there.
(Numbers 32:1) The other tribes of Israel lived on the western side of the
Jordan and most were not shepherds. David, the shepherd-King, raised the
stature of shepherds as did God, who called shepherds like Amos to be His
prophets. (Amos 7:14) Still, the Jewish leaders used shepherds as an example
for despised people in the Mishnah, where it called them “incompetent.” Even in
Jesus’ day, the rabbis asked how the psalmist and others could call God ‘my Shepherd”
in Psalm 23:1 since people despised shepherds. Shepherds were not like the magi
or King Herod. They were even lower than Joseph, the carpenter, and Mary’s
family. Shepherds were almost the lowest on the social ladder of Israel. It was to these humbled people God’s angel
spoke on the night of the Messiah’s birth. At the time, Bethlehem was not a
bustling metropolis. About 1500 people lived in and near there. The area had
rough terrain and shepherding was an important job for them to provide income
and resources. On that special night, the shepherds watching their flocks saw
the star and heard the angel speak. The
angel quickly assured them not to be afraid. God highly favored them since He
sent His messengers. The angel told them where the Christ child lie and told
them how to know which baby the Messiah was. To make his point, a host of
angels began praising God. Seeing one angel could be called a hallucination. Seeing
many angels singing praises to God confirmed this message was from God and they
were not hallucinating. Fear turned to joy and urgency to see this Messiah.
These shepherds were dirty, yet the messengers of God confirmed they were good
enough to see and believe the Messiah had arrived. These shepherds believed in
a Messiah as promised by God. Their fear turned to joy and urgency, and they
acted upon it by hurrying to Bethlehem to see the Messiah for themselves. Though
low on the social ladder, they knew of the prophecies of the Messiah. Their
heads knew and their hearts hoped. The Christ child came even for people
considered to be too low. These shepherds testified to the truth of the
prophecies and what the angel told them by going themselves to see the child.
They knew God. They testified by their actions of the truth they heard. They
believed. They had a heart for God and knew how to hear Him. No one is too low
for God to love and touch.
Consider now the King of Judea with whom the magi spoke. Herod
the Great became King of Judea (King of the Jews) as a Client-King appointed by
the reigning nation of Rome. The Roman Senate gave him the kingship in 40BC
until his death. Herod’s mother was Arab, and his father was a Jew of Idumean
descent. The Jews of Judea consider Idumean Jews racially impure and did not
recognize him as their king or as a Jew. They tolerated him. To make peace with
the Jews, Herod married the granddaughter of the ruling Hasmonean, Antigonus.
The Hasmoneans had ruled Judea for 103 years. Herod gained a name as the
rebuilder of the Jerusalem temple. He also built roads, buildings in Roman style,
and a temple to the Roman Emperor. Herod became known for his fear and
paranoia, too. Because he feared his family was conspiring to take his reign by
killing him, he killed his wife, her mother and grandfather, and three of his
sons. This fear that overwhelmed him made him suspicious of the child about
whom the magi spoke. After Jesus’ birth, the magi arrived in Jerusalem asking
where the child is who was born King of the Jews. Herod heard about their
inquiry and worried. He asked the chief priests and scribes about the Messiah’s
birthplace. They told him the prophecies said Bethlehem was that place. Herod
now knew the place, but he didn’t know the time of the birth. so he asked the
magi. He sent them to Bethlehem and asked them to tell him where the Messiah
was so he could worship Him, too. (Matthew 2:1-8) Herod was human like each of
us. He feared, schemed, worried, and sought information. His heart (emotions)
led his head on an investigation to appease his heart. That investigation led
to actions, sending the magi to find the child and tell him. Herod, like the
wisemen, lived high on the social ladder. He reigned as an appointed King;
however, the Jews, whom he was to rule, did not look up to him. They despised
him he broke God’s laws and replaced their self-appointed ruler, Antigonus. The
Romans appointed Herod ruler of their domain called Judea but looked down upon
him as a Jew whose family bought their way into power. Everyone knew of the
murders he commanded of his family and extended family. Herod was a man people
tolerated but didn’t like. He was a man who feared, schemed, and then acted
upon his heart and head impulses. He believed only in himself and his fear
showed his lack of belief in his position and power. Herod’s beliefs and
knowledge along with his intentions led him to act because of the birth of the
Messiah.
For a nation that God intended to lead through His appointed
priests and scribes, the religious leaders of that time did not play a large
role in the advent of Jesus on earth. Could it be they were unprepared? Was it because
they did not believe what they’d hoped for was happening through a virgin from
despised Galilee? These leaders enter this story in Matthew 2:4-6. When Herod
heard people talking about wisemen arriving in Jerusalem and asking the
location of a different King of the Jews, he became paranoid and fearful again.
This stoked his fear. Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes of the Jews asking
about the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah. Did they know why Herod
summoned them and asked about the Messiah? If they did, they were complicit in
the killing of one day to two-year-old male
children of Bethlehem and the attempted killing of the Messiah. Who were these men whom the King of Judea
summoned and to whom a messenger of God did not announce the arrival of the
Messiah? These leaders of Judah were men who wanted to keep their positions as
given by God and maintained by Herod. These men despised the Roman-appointed
King but feared for their lives under him. When the King called, they went to
him. As God’s appointed priests and leaders of His people, they covenanted with
Him to teach and lead the people to obey Him and to love Him with their heart,
soul, mind, and strength. As God’s called priests, they had high stature with
Him and a big responsibility. Because of that stature, they had a high social
standing among the Jews, too. What they said carried authority even with Herod
when he sought their counsel. These chief priests and scribes received an
excellent education. They were humble at times and at others not humble.
Sometimes they considered themselves better than others. They intended to
follow God exclusively but failed at times. They meant to love God solely with
their lives, but that did not always occur. These religious leaders were men
who sinned just like each person sins against God during their lives. Though
they had a high social standing, they were earthly, mortal, and sinful. These
chief priests and scribes when called by Herod, knowing his fear and his past
murders, probably feared not going to him. When Herod asked them about the
Messiah’s prophesied birthplace, they told him what the prophet Micah said. The
Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. The religious leaders loved and feared
God, but also feared Herod. They believed in what God’s prophets said. Whether
or not they knew it when they answered Herod, they acted in good faith by
telling Herod about the prophecy. Their actions resulted in the death of many
male children and the continued fulfillment of the prophecy about the Christ
child. The chief priests’ and scribes’ understanding and belief about the Messiah’s
advent of on earth led to their actions.
One other group of people played on this stage during the advent
of the Christ child. These people were Herod’s army. The men of this army were trained
Roman soldiers. The standards of the army were high and the punishment for
failing to follow orders often meant the death of that man. Add to this that
these men probably feared Herod’s wrath, they obeyed his orders. The Roman
soldiers considered themselves of a higher stature than the people the Roman’s
ruled. That is the common opinion of any dominant and conquering nation over
another. These soldiers forced their stature and the laws and desires of their
rulers on the people, sometimes through physical harm. They obeyed their
rulers’ commands even if they felt the commands were wrong. To do otherwise
could cause their own imprisonment or death. The soldiers feared losing the
stature their position gave them. Like Herod, the Client-King, their intention would
have been to keep their job and stay alive. Matthew in Matthew 2:16 tells us the
order Herod gave the soldiers when he feared the prophesied infant would usurp
him. Matthew said,
Then
when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged,
and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its
vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined
from the magi. [NASB]
These soldiers believed following their rulers was paramount
for a better life than most people lived. They enjoyed the stature. They acted
upon the stature with force sometimes because most often they could get away
with it. They acted on their belief in their rulers because it gave them a
better life.
Each of these people or groups of people acted upon what
they believed and understood. Sometimes, like us, those actions led to harm and
hurt of other people and, at other times, it led to glorious revelations and
proclamations. Consider again these people after the birth of Jesus.
After Jesus’ birth, Herod’s soldiers would have continued to
fear him and to act according to his commands even if they disagreed with them.
They would have kept the same stature amongst the Romans and among themselves
they had at the start. Yet, no one can say if possibly one or more of these
soldiers heard the wisemen talk, heard about the angels of whom the shepherds
spoke, or lived long enough to hear about the Messiah’s ministry and come to believe
in Him as their Savior. What we can say about these men is they believed and knew
what they needed to believe and know to be the Roman soldiers who acted upon
the orders their ruler gave them. True belief and knowledge results in actions.
A person often tempers these actions by his or her own intentions. They were
humans who failed and succeeded in their tasks and beliefs based on their
intentions, just like everyone else. In the future, it would be Roman soldiers
who whipped Jesus, rolled the dice for His clothing, hung Him on the cross,
pierced his side, and gave him wine mixed with gall to drink (Matthew 27:34).
Still, a few soldiers believed and followed Jesus. They allowed their belief and
knowledge to inform their intentions to act and follow Him.
The chief priests and scribes had a high stature among the
Jews. God appointed them to lead His people to know and obey Him. These men
believed in God. They knew His Laws, commands, statutes, and precepts. Sometimes
they acted in obedience to God and sometimes they didn’t. They, too, are like
other humans who’ve ever lived. Still, what they believed and knew at the time,
based on their intentions, are upon what they acted. Belief, knowledge, and
intentions lead to actions. If the chief priests and scribes knew Herod asked
about the Messiah’s birthplace to kill Him, would they have stopped him or
encouraged him? It depends on the intentions of the heart. Still action or
inaction occurs by one’s intentions. Were these priests or scribes still alive
when later priests and scribes had Jesus arrested and crucified? Were they ones
who believed He is the Messiah and followed Him? A few did. We read of them in
the Bible. They tried to insert reason among the other religious leaders
plotting to kill Jesus. These followers, at least some of them, believed in
Jesus, knew of Him, and allowed that to color their intentions. They followed
Jesus with their lives.
King Herod’s ruled by his intentions. His intentions were
for the Roman rulers to see him as an effective Client-King of Judea and for
him to keep his position. He would do anything to keep his throne, including
murder. What Herod believed and knew, if the prophecy was true, led him to
understand he would lose his status and power. Added to this, if he didn’t act like
true Roman rulers, he would lose his status and power. These beliefs drove his
intentions. He intended to do anything to keep his reign. His knowledge and
belief fed his intentions so that he acted against the Christ child and male
children two and under in and near Bethlehem. Herod acted out his beliefs,
knowledge, and intentions against God. King Herod never got to meet or see
Jesus. He never knew Him personally, but he heard about Him and believed He
posed a threat. Based on this, Herod intended to kill Jesus. Herod didn’t
succeed, but he caused pain to many Jews because of his actions and intentions.
The shepherds are like most people in the world. They were
not high in social standing. They had almost the lowest social standing in
their nation. Unlike the three groups-the soldiers, religious leaders, and
Herod-they believed God fully even without an excellent education. These lowly
shepherds, humble and humbled by others, told other people what God said through
the angel and what they saw. They testified about God and the Messiah. (Luke
2:20). Do you think they went to the stable, saw the child, then just went back
to their sheep in the field? These shepherds told Mary about the angels. This
was probably their greatest experience to that point in their lives. They would
not have kept quiet. Just as the angel hosts sang praises to God, the shepherds
gave praise to God. The songs they sang to their sheep and that the people heard
may have been about the Messiah they saw. Their belief and knowledge caused
their heart to intend to praise God,
people to hear about the prophecies’ fulfillment, and all to know about the
Messiah. Their actions began when they left the fields to go to Bethlehem to
tell Mary about the angel’s words, then to tell other people and the sheep about
the whole encounter with God from angels, to Mary, Joseph, and the Messiah
child. Humble in stature but raised up by God because of their intentions and
actions. For thousands of years, people have heralded the shepherds as ones who
personally saw the Messiah child.
The wisemen, highly educated, noble, and of a high social
standing, humbled themselves to travel months and possibly years to meet the
true King of the Jews, the Messiah foretold. Their actions based on intentions,
beliefs, and knowledge, like the shepherds, did not end once they saw the
child. They recognized God when He gave them a dream. They had the knowledge
and faith to understand the dream’s meaning and purpose and they intended to
obey God. Matthew records this dream in Matthew 2:12. In the dream God told the
wisemen not to return to Herod. This meant Herod would not hear from them where
the Messiah was born. As we read later in this chapter, Herod was enraged.
Still, the wisemen did not fear Herod. Their belief and knowledge caused their
intention to obey God and safeguard the child by their actions. They went home
by another route. This other way home could have been longer and more
dangerous, but the wisemen would willingly go through hardships to help the
child and obey God. Their faith in God encouraged them as they went by a
different route. On their way home, they would have had more places and time to
tell other people about the Messiah’s birth. More people would hear and have an
opportunity to believe, know, and act upon God’s gift of His Son. The testimony
of these men to other people would show their own humility in recognition of the
Messiah. That act would add proof to Jesus’ identity. The wisemen recognized One
greater than them and humbled themselves, unlike King Herod. Though other
people considered the wisemen superior, the wisemen considered themselves lower
than the One born in a manger.
Mary treasured in her heart what the magi did and what the
shepherds said. (Luke 2:19) She and Joseph learned to hear God’s voice for
themselves. They had a personal relationship with God. Through hearing His
voice, they helped fulfill the prophecy of the Messiah. Mary’s and Joseph’s
belief and understanding grew and caused them to act in faith. God transformed
them from mere Jews of Galilee. He
transformed them from their natural life to act and be for His purpose to bear
and raise the Son of God. They went from worshiping God and thinking of themselves
to knowing God more intimately and being part of His great plan to bring
salvation to the world. They went from focusing on themselves, each other, and
their marriage and future to focusing on the miracle of the Spirit-conceived,
human-birthed “Son of the Most High”. They
sought God daily as they strove to continue to follow His plan–from conception,
birth, and protecting the child (going to Egypt to evade Herod’s decree (Mt
2:13-15)). Joseph continued to listen to God to return to Israel (Mt 2:19-23)
and thus fulfill scripture about Jesus being raised in Nazareth. Joseph and
Mary taught Jesus about the Hebrew scriptures, took Him to Temple, then protected,
supported, and encouraged Him and the people He encountered. They enabled the
child to grow into His role as Savior. Mary and Joseph believed in God and the
Messiah. They knew His Word, Laws, commandments, statutes, and precepts. They
intended in their hearts to love and obey God with all they were. This belief,
knowledge, and intention led them to act for and with Him, in obedience to His
will. These two whom the Jews of Judah despised God used to fulfill His
prophecies to send the Messiah to earth. Though low in social standing, God
considered Mary and Joseph great.
Though this advent
story of Jesus’ entrance into the world in the form of a human seems already to
have happened and be done, it is not over. There is another group of people who
are part of this story. These people are the “watchers through the window of
time”. Who are these watchers? We each are the “watchers through the window of
time”. We live after the time of Jesus’ life as a human on earth and have heard
the story of this advent of Christ. We have heard of other “watchers” from the
time of His birth. Each of them believed or didn’t believe. They each had intentions
after learning of the Christ child’s birth. Some intended to believe in Jesus
as the Messiah, and some did not. Their intentions came from their own desires:
1. To keep their status or not; 2. To allow fear to rule them or not; 3. To
humble themselves or not; and 4. To worship the newborn King or not.
As the “watchers through
the window of time”, we have the benefit of having learned of the life,
crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, through the
testimonies and lives of the apostles and the disciples of Jesus through the millennia.
We also have the compilation of the Holy Scriptures. We each know about Jesus. We
each have beliefs about Him. We each have intentions. Those intentions could be
to humble our self to God and worship, love, and obey Him. Our intentions
instead could be to be our own man or woman, do what makes us happy, and/or to climb
the social ladder. Our knowledge of God informs our beliefs and ourselves and
our beliefs can affect our intentions. Our intentions almost always affect our
action or inaction, which is an action in itself.
This advent never
ends. It doesn’t end after we unwrap the Christmas presents and discard the
paper. It’s open-ended like God’s call to each person to come to Him. The advent
of Jesus as human occurred because of God’s plan from before the beginning of time
to provide a way for all people to be saved from their sins and the penalty due
because of those sins. God planned salvation for each person so H we could be
cleansed from sin and made righteous and then be in a right relationship with Him,
the One who created and loves us.
You are a “watcher
in the window of time” because now you have “seen” the Christ child in the
manger and have heard of God’s great love by providing the gift to of salvation
to you and each person. You must decide if your actions will be based on this
knowledge and your belief. Each person gets to decide for him or herself. Each
action causes an action. What will your action be? What will you decide?
God’s
action comes because of love.
At the advent of this new year, will you act toward
that love?
Will you seek Him with all your heart,
soul, mind, and strength?
The
advent of your life with Jesus can start now
and
it never ends.
Lord, if I am truthful, I have seen Your advent
through the window of time. I have known or just now learned, and Lord, I do recognize
my need for Your gift of salvation. I have been like Herod where I feared
someone taking my position at work, home, or in society. I have been like the
chief priests and scribes who knew about You but refused to know You. I have
been like the soldiers who did whatever I was told just so I could keep my
position and not be moved to a lower rung. Lord, I would ask that You make me like
the wisemen, or the shepherds or Mary and Joseph, but I realize that is not
enough. I don’t want to be like them; I want to be like You. I want to be Your disciple
and child, no matter what the consequences. Lord, forgive me for turning my
back to You. Forgive me for speaking against You and doing things to discredit
You in my world. Lord, please save me from myself and bring me into a right
relationship with You. You alone are God. You are Savior. I am not either.
Thank you, Lord. Amen.
