3. The visit of the wise men from the East
It is stated clearly in scriptures
that; “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the
king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is
He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star, in the East
and have come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:1-2).
Again, notice that the main focus
of the wise men’s visit to Jerusalem was to worship Him who has been born King
of the Jews and it is not to worship one who is born to be king, but rather,
one who has been born King; signifying that, the Kingship of Jesus Christ began
at His birth. One should also note that, when the wise men had come into the
house and saw the young Child with Mary His mother and they fell down and
worshiped Him and when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to
Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The gold was to honor Him as King; the
frankincense was to honor Him as God and the myrrh was to honor Him as Man.
One should also note that the
reason why when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem
with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the
people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. Then
Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time
the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search
carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to
me, that I may come and worship Him also" (Matthew 2: 7-8).
It was also because of the Kingship
of Jesus Christ that when king Herod saw that he was deceived by the wise men
he was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male
children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and
under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men” (Matthew
2: 16).
As one can clearly see, the
objective and rationale for king Herod to massacre all the innocent male
children that were in Bethlehem and all its districts, from two years and under
was to try to eliminate Jesus Christ because of His kingship but an angel of
the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young
Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for
Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him" (Matthew
2: 13).
Let me again emphasize that the
main point or proof in determining the exact date of Jesus’ birth is His
Kingship the day on which it was prophesied saying; “For unto us a Child is
born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And
His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no
end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish
it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of
the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
As one can clearly see that, the
Kingship of Jesus Christ began from the day of His birth, the increase of His
government and peace there will be no end from the time of His birth forward
even forever and most of all, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform it. So
how could such a date be either unknown or forgotten even reaching the point where
it had to be substituted by a pagan festival?
To be continued
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With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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