Sep 5, 2011

Agents of Death Vs Agents of Life


The Magi came to worship the new born King Jesus. Matthew 2:1 – “Some wise men came to Jerusalem from the East asking, 'Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage'.” They came from the Far East may be from Persia, East Syria or Arabia. It is interesting to note that the three kings landed in the palace of Herod whilst enquiring about the new born King. It is natural that the king of the Jews would be expected to be in his palace but they did not find the king they came for. Here we have two forces or agents strongly acting against each other. On one hand we have the powerful king Herod and his supporters whilst on the other hand we have the weak baby Jesus and His supporters.

The agents of death – Herod and the religious authorities were frightened when they heard of a new king being born.  Matthew 2:3 - “When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem.”The presence of the religious authorities in the palace of Herod signifies the unholy alliance between civil and religious leaders. Matthew 2:4 – “Herod called together all the chief priests and the scribes.” Herod wanted to kill the child Jesus. Here the group is powerful with military power and political power. They destroy and eliminate life with the massacre of the innocent children. Matthew 2:16 – “Herod was furious on realizing that he had been fooled by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or less.” The Magi at first unknowingly went to the agents of death but soon they departed and joined the other group – the agents of life.

The agents of life – God, Angels, Joseph, Mary, child Jesus and the Magi were promoters and safe-guarders of life. The Magi disobey the agents of death and join the agents of life. Matthew 2:12 – “The magi were given a warning in a dream not to go back to Herod, and they returned to their own country by a different way.” In this group people are helpless but still they hold on. This is the true worship of the Magi. The agents of death want to destroy and kill but the agents of life promote and protect life.

The battle continues today between agents of death and agents of life. A few agents of death are those who promote war, terrorism, discrimination, injustice, greed, self-centeredness, unholy alliances between groups to destroy life, insensitivity etc. A few agents of life are those who promote peace, unity, justice, love, charity, selflessness, harmony, non-violence etc. Today we still have people who come with the intention of worshipping the true God – the agent of life but struggle to find the way. Often they land up in the wrong side with the agents of death who are more appealing but some like the Magi leave the forces of death and join the forces of life.

 
Joining the agents of life is a challenge. There is no military power, no political power and no economical power to guarantee this group. They are the weakest in the eyes of the world and lack support. They are like the ‘anavim’ – those who are in desperate need of God and put their total trust in God. And God takes care of His children amidst the strong forces of death they are surrounded with.