Reading
Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—
Yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
— Isaiah 11:1
InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network
Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,the Spirit of counsel and might,the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.In that day the heir of David’s thronewill be the banner of salvation to all the world.The nations will rally to Him,and the land where He lives will be a glorious place.— Isaiah 11:1-2, 10
Last time we looked at the shepherds, wondering what they could teach us. Now we are headed to the other end of the cultural spectrum to the Magi. A few picky details to clear up: they were probably not kings. Most likely they are Persian astrologers. We don’t know how many of them there were, but three gifts are mentioned – gold, frankincense (incense), and myrrh (perfume).
Talking about the Magi pushes the boundaries for thinking about Advent, because the Magi don’t enter into the story until almost two years after Jesus is born. King Herod inquires of the Magi the time of the appearance of the star, and when he commands that the infants be killed, it is those male infants two years old and younger. The coming of the Magi is observed on January 6 – Epiphany.
What is of interest to us is the fact that when they inquire of Herod they say, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him†(Matt 2:2). They were astrologers, after all, and kept their eyes to the sky. There has been much discussion over the years of what they actually saw. A comet is a common depiction of the event. Some have speculated it was a rare conjunction (several planets being in close proximity in the sky). Whatever it was, they noticed!
We can benefit from noticing a few things ourselves: [Read more…] about Supporting Cast to the Christmas Story: The Magi
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night.†(Luke 2:8 KJV)
The season of Advent is once again upon us. Advent starts four Sundays before Christmas and is a time to prepare for Christmas. This year I want to ponder some of the “supporting cast†of the Christmas story. Specifically, I want to look at the ones who are waiting; in the case of the first Christmas, waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
First up will be the shepherds. There has been some debate on the place of shepherds in the society of the 1st century. The shepherd metaphor is a powerful one in the Old Testament. In Ezekiel 34 God promises to be Israel’s shepherd, to replace the evil shepherds that had ruled over them. King David comes on the scene as a shepherd. One of the best know Psalm, Ps 23, says ‘The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not wantâ€
In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of himself as the good shepherd. Jesus’ call to Peter boils down to a call to be a good shepherd to the people under his care.
But the life of a shepherd kept them on the move They needed to continually be finding fresh pasture for the sheep. The sheep needed constant care. This meant that shepherds could not participate in the usual religious life of the Jewish people. So people, and especially the religious, looked down on them. Notice that Luke seems to have an eye towards those who are regarded as of lower status. Mary (more on her in a future post) says, “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.† Luke 1:52-53 (NRSV) The shepherds, perhaps because of their lowly status, are the first to be told of Jesus birth.
So what can we learn from the shepherds? [Read more…] about Supporting Cast to the Christmas Story: Shepherds