O come let us adore him

On a recent visit to the National Gallery in London, I was struck by the many beautiful pictures depicting the Adoration of the Magi. Many artists painted these pictures in different ages and the details vary greatly yet the theme of adoration is the same; wise men kneeling before the infant king offering him gifts.  

One of my favourite songs this Christmas has been Adore by Chris Tomlin. It set me thinking about adoration. To adore means to love someone very much, especially in a way that shows a lot of admiration or respect. It can also mean to worship which of course is what the Wise Men did.

They were highly educated astrologers probably from the area of southern Arabia or Iran. They spent their lives studying the heavens and the movement of the stars and planets, believing they could tell the meaning of events or give indications about the future. Their observations led them to notice a new star yet one that was so unusual that these magi knew it signified the birth of a new king – the King of the Jews.

These were wise men indeed for they did not just note this star and study it, they took action. This was a king they must find so they could worship and adore him. Many would think the King of the Jews was irrelevant to them, but not these magi. They knew this king had come for everyone, Jew and Gentile.

So they set off on the long, arduous journey across the Arabian Desert to Jerusalem, the capital city of the Jews. They would have travelled with a large, luxurious and exotic entourage. I am sure they caused quite a stir when they arrived in Jerusalem, let alone little Bethlehem.

The magi’s unfortunate meeting with Herod led to the slaughter of many innocent children but what is also of concern is that though the religious leaders heard about the birth of a new king, possibly the Messiah, not one of them went to Bethlehem, only 5 miles away, to investigate. Surely if there was any chance that the Messiah had been born, they would want to go and find out, even to allay false rumours. There was certainly no adoration in their hearts.

It would seem from reading the account of the magi’s visit that the star re-appeared after their visit to Herod otherwise why were ‘they overjoyed’ when they saw it. This is strong language in keeping with those who have travelled long and hard to adore the new king. The star, probably hanging low in the sky stopped over the house where the child was. The magi went in and adored the infant Jesus offering him costly gifts. These gifts had religious significance – gifts offered to God – as well as gifts to royalty. They were not just birthday presents.

The wise men’s journey was a incredibly costly visit in terms of time and money and maybe even dangerous yet I am totally convinced they would have considered this visit to adore the child Jesus, the Messiah, one of the highlights of their lives which would have significant impact on the rest of their days.

I am sure there were many visitors to see the new baby, there always are but Matthew and Luke each highlight the two extremes of society. Matthew tells of the magi the religious outsiders and Gentiles and Luke emphasises the social outsiders, the shepherds. The contrast between the humble, illiterate, rustic` Jewish shepherds and the highly educated, foreign, exotic Gentiles is obvious. Jesus came for everybody to save us all from our sin. Jesus’ offer of salvation is open to all; rich, poor, Jew, Gentile, male, female – all are welcomed by this king into his kingdom.

As Christmas disappears for another year and the sound of carols fades away, let’s make sure that the words O come let us adore him are still found on our lips and in our hearts. If wise men travelled for many months to adore Jesus we too can easily adore him from our homes. He is worthy of every bit of worship and adoration we can offer. He gave up everything and suffered terribly, died and rose again because of his incredible love for us.

My New Year’s resolution is to adore him with everything I can muster in 2017.

  

We shall reap if we faint not

‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light’ Isaiah 9: 2

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem very few people would have realised that ‘the light of the world’ had arrived. For sure the shepherds proclaimed his birth and all that the angel had told them but whilst ‘all who heard it were amazed’ (Luke 2: 18) I wonder how much of a long lasting impact it made on most of them.

Even when the ‘light of the world’ started his ministry in Galilee 30 years later, fulfilling the Isaiah prophecy, few could be called his followers. Most enjoyed the fruits of his ministry - the healing, miracles and provision of food – but on the day of Pentecost there were only 120 believers left of the thousands who must have been touched by the presence of Jesus amongst them.

However two old people realised who this baby was and whilst they would not have seen the outworking of the prophecy, they rejoiced over the birth of the baby. Mary and Joseph had done everything the Law required. Jesus had been circumcised and named on the eighth day and then they went to the Temple in Jerusalem, only about 5 miles from Bethlehem, to offer a sacrifice for Mary’s purification and to present the infant Jesus, as their first-born, to the Lord.

Simeon was a devout man and he was waiting for ‘the consolation of Israel’ - the Messiah. He had been promised that he would not die before he had seen him. The Holy Spirit was on Simeon so that at just the right moment he went into the temple courts to meet Mary and Joseph. Taking Jesus into his arms he rejoiced over the birth of this baby and prophesied

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 

For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.’

Simeon knew this baby was the ‘light of the world’ for both Jews and Gentiles.  However whilst his coming would be good news for some, raising them up, it would not be good news for everyone. He foresaw trouble for many in Israel. Jesus would be a stumbling block for those who disbelieve. Even for Mary his mother ‘a sword will pierce your own soul too.’  I wonder if Mary remembered that as she watched the horror of her own beloved son being beaten and crucified.

At that moment, Anna an elderly prophetess, came up and realising who the child was, gave thanks and spoke to anyone who was anticipating the ‘redemption of Jerusalem.’ I wonder how many of them looked at the baby and imagined what this child might become.

These two old people are a source of inspiration for us. They had been waiting for years to see the fulfilment of their dreams, not just for themselves, but for their nation. They hadn’t given up nor had they doubted and they were not disappointed. Their hope was placed firmly in God.

Perhaps today you have been waiting for years to see the fulfilment of your dreams – the salvation of a loved one, a healing, a miracle or for revival and a great outpouring of God’s love and miracle working power in your church, community or nation.

May we, like Simeon and Anna, not give up but with fresh faith believe again that God is working on our behalf, that he has heard and is answering our prayers.

‘And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not’

Galatians 6: 9 KJV

Glory to God in the highest - the shepherd's story

I often wonder what Mary thought about Jesus being born in a stable. Was she a bit disappointed? She was giving birth to the Son of God, the Messiah, surely God could have arranged a room at the inn? The baby Jesus was then placed in the only cradle available, the manger, a feeding trough for the animals. However this unusual circumstance was going to become a sign for the first group of visitors. 

You might imagine that the religious leaders or the synagogue rulers of Bethlehem would be first to visit the baby Messiah but no. God chose shepherds as the first visitors; uneducated, straight from the fields, probably dirty and smelly, working men. But God loves shepherds – Moses, David and now his Son who would become the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5: 4). Jesus spoke of himself:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10: 1

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10: 14 – 15

So it is not surprising that the shepherds get the news first and what a way they hear the announcement. For me this is one of the great events of history. Here we have shepherds possibly looking after the temple sheep (more symbolism) and suddenly into the darkness an angel appears with the words, ‘Fear not.’ The Bible is full of angels telling people to ‘Fear not.’ Obviously a glorified angel is a terrifying sight. These men would have been used to fighting off wild animals, rescuing silly sheep from their own predicaments, even dealing with sheep rustlers but an angel appearing – and they are terrified.

The angel then makes the royal proclamation. Today, a baby has been born, a Saviour, the Messiah. The shepherds are then given the sign. This baby would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. This should surely be enough but no.

A royal birth requires the royal choir of heaven to rejoice over the Saviour of the world being born. Suddenly – I love God’s suddenlys. Suddenly heaven is ripped open and the heavenly choir steps forth. What a sight that must have been! A choir of angels singing glory to God. How amazing! You can imagine the shepherds either lying terrified face down on the earth or standing with their mouths hanging open.

When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds decide to investigate.  You can hardly imagine them settling down round the fire again. They ‘hurried off’ and found everything as it has been described to them. What Mary and Joseph thought of this group of uneducated, uncouth men turning up to coo over the baby we do not know but whilst the shepherds went out and evangelised the whole area with the good news of the birth of the Messiah, Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2: 19). She didn’t need to tell the world that her baby was the Messiah, the shepherds did that.

Jesus wasn’t born in a palace in splendour to come and spread beneficence to his lowly subjects. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1: 14). Literally it means the Word tabernacled amongst us – just as God had done with the Israelites in the desert ‘dwelling’ in the midst of the encampment.

Jesus didn’t come to hob nob with the rich, the famous, the religious. He came and dwelt with ordinary people – shepherds and fishermen, tax collectors and sinners. And he will come and dwell with each one of us – if we will only ask him. Then we will be those ‘on whom his favour rests’ and we will know his peace – ‘the peace that passes all understanding’.

Happy Christmas.

Kings and kingdoms will pass away

My last blog was about Mary and Joseph and their Godly response to the call of God on their lives. The next two people involved in this amazing story but in a very different way were both ungodly rulers. One was an Emperor and the other a Roman appointed king and tyrant. One never knew he was fulfilling God’s plans and the other never realised he was opposing the Lord God Almighty.  They are of course Caesar Augustus and King Herod.

Mary and Joseph lived in despised Nazareth but Jesus needed to be born in Bethlehem, the city of David. It was to King David that God promised ‘Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever’ (2 Samuel 7: 16). This baby was going to fulfil the prophecy. 

Every Jew knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem because Micah had prophesied this ‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.’

So how did God get Mary and Joseph to the right place? Surely he could have sent Gabriel to tell them to pack their bags and go stay in Bethlehem till the baby was born? They would have understood. Or why not get a relative to invite them to stay? No. God chose a much more significant way.

Enter Caesar Augustus. He was known as Gaius Octavian, his birth name, till he became Emperor in 27BC. He was well thought of because he restored peace and order after 100 years of civil war and he reigned quite benevolently compared with many of his successors. However it is doubtful if anyone other than historians would know of him if he had not decided at ‘just the right moment’ to order a census of the entire Roman world for taxation purposes.

This was not a small-scale event, this affected all the known world - people both great and small. Everyone had to return to their home town to be registered and this included Joseph and a heavily pregnant Mary. They had to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem, 111 kilometres or about 70 miles, quite a long way when you have to walk it.

God orchestrated that a pagan, unbelieving emperor in Rome miles away from the Holy Land would do his bidding. Why did Caesar Augustus choose that moment for his census? Because God wanted the Messiah born in Bethlehem.

Every year as we read the Christmas story, the name of Caesar Augustus is mentioned. He has become famous even though he had no idea that his census would be so important.

Another interesting though very unrighteous king also played his part in the birth of Jesus. King Herod was a nasty piece of work. He was appointed king of Judea by the Roman Senate and considered to be king of the Jews even though he was a non Jew, an Idumean. He was ruthless and murdered his wife, his three sons, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and uncle and a few others.

He has many similarities to other megalomaniac rulers over the centuries. Apart from killing off all opposition, real or imagined, he was an avid builder in his own honour of course.  He erected many splendid theatres, amphitheatres, a port, palaces, monuments, pagan altars and he even started the re-building of the temple in Jerusalem, paid for through a heavy tax burden on the local population.

In the context of the Nativity, apart from helping date the event, Herod was most definitely the bad guy. He was the one the magi visited, not unreasonably, in Jerusalem. They asked him, ‘Where is he that is born king of the Jews?’ That unwitting question led to the tragic events that followed. Herod was the king and he had not sired a baby recently so any new-born would be seen as a threat.

Having established that this unwelcome king would be born in Bethlehem, Herod tried to trick the magi to revealing his exact location. The magi though were warned in a dream not to return to Jerusalem.

Herod then in a great rage ordered the killing of all baby boys under the age of 2 in Bethlehem. This would probably not have been a large number, possibly less than 20, as Bethlehem was a small village but that does not detract from the brutality of the act.

So we have a Roman Emperor far removed from the action yet unintentionally arranging that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem. And we have a Roman appointed king trying to slay the infant Jesus.

God used the mighty to serve his purposes and ensure the birth of the King over all creation happened in the right place. However it is tragic that Herod, the ruler over the Jewish nation, had the opportunity to welcome and worship this new-born king but instead tried to kill him and in the process murdered innocent children.

Paying the price

As we rejoice again this Christmas time over the wonder of God becoming a man, I have been mulling over the role of the key players, apart from Jesus, in this incredible event.

God did not just choose to place a baby or even a fully grown man on the earth, he involved a variety of people, many of whom had no idea at the time that they were partaking in the greatest event in history.

Mary and Joseph were both normal folk from the despised town of Nazareth. It was a place considered polluted by non-Jews. That is why the whole area was called Galilee of the Gentiles in Isaiah 9: 1.  Mary was just an ordinary young woman going about her ordinary life, betrothed to Joseph. Betrothal in those times was far more binding than our engagement. It could only be broken by divorce.

Mary may have been an ordinary lady from a despised town but she had too key points in her favour; she was a virgin and she was from the line of David. These two were essential for the task God wanted her to do. Into her life of domesticity came the angel Gabriel who said to her ‘Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’

Mary’s reaction is fascinating. She was obviously troubled by the sudden appearance of an angel and by his greeting but when he told her that she would have a son and not just any son but the Son of the Most High God, her first question is ‘how will this be … since I am a virgin?’

How do you conceive the Son of God especially if you are a virgin? She knew God was not going to ask her to do something ungodly or unrighteous to fulfil this calling.  She didn’t doubt, she didn’t say she didn’t believe the angle like Zechariah but she did query how this would come about. Gabriel gave her the answer that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her.  The baby would be the Son of God in both nature and by name.

We can imagine the wave of different emotions that Mary would have had at this announcement – everything from a deep sense of honour to concern about the implications of being pregnant in this way.  Yet she submitted herself to God’s plan.

However fear, bewilderment and doubt must have started to rush in.  What will people think?  Society would have had a lot to say about an unmarried mother. Purity was highly regarded and Mary was pure but that was not what people would think. How would she explain this to Joseph or her parents? 

Mary immediately hurried off to her relative Elizabeth, another lady having a baby under very unusual circumstances. Mary was a virgin and Elizabeth was well past conceiving age but as the angel said, ‘Nothing is impossible with God.’

Elizabeth was the ideal person to talk things over with. She ‘was righteous in the sight of God’ and would have given Mary great strength at this difficult time whilst she came to terms with what was happening.

Joseph must have been incredibly disappointed that Mary did not appear to have been faithful to him. He too was a Godly and righteous man and he didn’t want to expose Mary to public disgrace even though it would clear his name and save his good standing in the community. Mary could have been stoned but instead he decided to divorce her quietly or sign the legal papers without any public spectacle but Gabriel came and told him to take Mary as his wife. The child was of the Holy Spirit – Mary was still pure and a virgin.

Joseph was obedient even though it would look as if he was actually the father of the child.  Both Mary and Joseph would be the subject of public criticism and censure. However Joseph took her home and brought both Mary and the child under his protection. He named the baby and by doing so he adopted him into the family of David. Jesus was now legally of the lineage of the kings of Judah.

Here were two ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. Most people in those circumstances in those times would have been far more interested in preserving their own reputation and good standing but both Mary and Joseph gave these up to do God’s will. The plan to bring God’s son into the world could have fallen at the first hurdle but God knew who he was choosing – a man and woman of character.

Mary and Joseph had no education, no wealth, no position, no great talents, in fact nothing that would obviously select them to be the parents of the Son of God. Yet they had two of the greatest qualities – they were Godly and obedient. They must have paid a heavy price in terms of public criticism and gossip probably for years to come.

Being chosen to be the parents of Jesus was a hard road for these Godly people with no obvious reward at the time. Was it worth it? You bet it was!