Daily Scripture:
Matthew 2:16 Meanwhile, when Herod realized that the Magi had tricked him, he was furious and gave orders to kill all the boys in and around Beit-Lechem who were two years old or less, calculating from the time the Magi had told him. 17 In this way were fulfilled the words spoken through the prophet Yirmeyahu,
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and lamenting loudly.
It was Rachel sobbing for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no longer alive.”[Matthew 2:18 Jeremiah 31:14(15)] (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions;
We might think Herod was exceptionally wicked. Well, he was—but his attitude toward children was quite typical of his time. “In the Roman Empire, some babies grew up to be women, who were generally shut off from education and public life. Some grew up to be slaves, who were needed for their labor but regarded as inferior to those who were free. Many babies did not grow up at all. In the ancient world, unwanted children were often simply left to die, a practice called ‘exposure.’”*
- Matthew noted a fateful reversal that shaped much of Jesus' life and ministry: “Jewish people considered abandoning or killing babies a pagan practice, conspicuously practiced by evil kings such as Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The most widely known example, however, was Pharaoh in the OT (Ex 1:16, 22). In [Matthew’s] narrative, the pagan Magi worship the true king, whereas the Jewish ruler acts like a pagan one.”** How can you keep your life open to God’s leading, as the magi did, and not closed off by envy and fear like Herod’s?
- Herod didn’t know which child, if any, the wise men found, so he sent troops to kill all boys two and under in Bethlehem and “all the surrounding territory.” (Some scholars estimate that perhaps 20 male infants were killed.) But he missed Jesus, who would grow up to call people to a new kind of kingdom where self-sacrificing love replaced brute force. How is Jesus' love setting you free, day-to-day, from the dark side of human ideas of power?
* John Ortberg, Who Is This Man? The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012, pp. 28.
** HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 218876-218879). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
James is a summer intern serving in Congregational Care at Church of the Resurrection and is a rising third year Master of Divinity student at Yale Divinity School. He was born and raised in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area and is an avid lover of sports, the arts, poetry, and travel!
There were a few things I was expecting going into the summer of my freshman year of high school. I wanted to hang out with my friends, make music, get my black belt, and hopefully find a girlfriend. I was also hoping to tone down my ego, learn how to forgive, and get ahold of my anger.
But the one thing I was not expecting was being forced to go to summer camp. My brother was gone for a week, so I had to be out of the house as well. I didn’t want to go!!! I tried to convince my parent to let me go to karate camp a few weeks later, but the money was already paid. So I was forced to go, and I was in for the shock of a lifetime.
Everything was different than most things I had known. Most of the people there looked different than me. I'm black and 90% of the campers were white. They talked differently, listened to different music, played different sports, and even worshiped differently from me. After the end of the first day, I thought it would be one of the worst experiences of my life. But then something happened.
In the middle of my week, I had an encounter with God like I never had before. I was sitting by the river on a warm summer evening, skipping rocks and watching as they skipped farther on the river. And out of nowhere, I cried out, "God, are you even there?"
After a few seconds, I heard a soft yet powerful voice say, "I am here. I love you. And I have great plans for you. Do not worry!" Suddenly I felt a movement of the Spirit, unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was kind of like when John Wesley said his "heart was strangely warmed." I imagine the Magi in the story felt the same way when they first saw the star. The star stirred up something inside them that caused them to travel into the unexpected. They left their homes, went to Jerusalem, then left Jerusalem and went to Bethlehem. And in Bethlehem they found Jesus!
For the Magi, it was going to Bethlehem and seeing baby Jesus. For me, it was encountering God at summer camp. But I think it's safe to say both experiences changed our lives forever!! I think the thing I learned most from that experience and from this story is that the best way to keep your life open to God’s leading is to follow God into and through the unexpected. It doesn’t mean it will always be easy. The Magi had to return a different way, and I had to still deal with all the struggles that waited for me when I left camp. But when you are in the unexpected with God, everything is worthwhile!!!
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- Jesus assumed children would be treated generously
- Jesus welcomed children’s loyalty
- “He blessed the children”
- Inheritors of God’s kingdom
- Prayer Tip: Jesus Loves the Little Children
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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