January 4, 2004
Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
The original intent of the Isaiah passage was to inspire hope in a depressed and downtrodden people who had fallen far short of the mark which their prophets and ancient Fathers believed their God had established for them. The passage was re-interpreted by early Christians to affirm their belief in Jesus, the promised Messiah, whom they believed God had sent in fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy. The passage concerning camels and the bringing of gold and frankincense in conjunction with proclaiming the praise of the Lord fits in nicely with the Gospel story of the Wise Men coming from afar to worship the baby Jesus. Many early Christian leaders were adept at "revisionist" history in giving prophetic meaning to ancient pronouncements originally designed to reassure a depressed people. It is this "revisionist" aspect of New Testament pronouncements designed to lend weight to the belief in Jesus as the One sent as Messiah to bring hope to his people that set the stage for other writings given prophetic status in the New Testament such as the book of Revelation. The up-side of this practice is that it elevates the image of Jesus in the eyes of potential believers. The down-side is that it contributes to a prophetic side of Christianity that at best has been shown to be unreliable by history and at the worst has caused some to feel they are living in "the last days" and thus live as though there is no hope for the future except by divine intervention--which just doesn't seem to occur.
In his letter to the young church at Ephesus the Apostle Paul picks up the logical sequence of the prophetic theme and suggests that God not only knows the future before it becomes history, but that God has planned everything in advance. He speaks of the "plan in the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things." Paul, a formerly devout Jew converted to Christian discipleship after the death of Jesus, became a primary spokesperson for early Christianity and formulated much of the theology and Christology that became influential in the development of Christianity as a religion. Paul continued in his letter to the Ephesians to provide clout for the early church and to his own teaching by saying that "though the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purposes which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord. In whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him."
The story of the birth of Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew fits perfectly in the prophetic mode indicating that at a time appropriate to God Jesus was born to be "King of the Jews". Such a prophetic pronouncement concerning the birth of "a king" in Bethlehem of Judah caused great concern to the contemporary ruler, King Herod, who immediately sought knowledge of where Jesus might be found from the wise men from the East who came searching for the young child. The goal of Herod was to destroy the competition. The goal of the story teller was to establish beyond any doubt that Jesus was sent by God and that the Messiah was among his contemporaries. Additional credence concerning the event as God's intervention in history was provided the story when through trickery the wise men gave "bad intelligence" to Herod. They went home another way after they had worshiped the King and given gifts of "gold, frankincense and myrrh. The wise men were "warned in a dream". An angel of the Lord likewise appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take the baby and his mother to go into Egypt and remain there until the death of Herod.
The Christian church has utilized perceived prophecy and a belief in an "intervening God" as a source of power and persuasion. In a modern world made so small by transportation and communication, prophecy can become a dangerous thing in the hands of crackpots who view themselves as potential tools in the hands of such a God.