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.