Exceedingly Great Joy

Maybe I am the first to tell you, but those Wisemen offering baby Jesus gifts in your Nativity scene shouldn’t be there. Also, note they were not Kings, Jesus was not a newborn baby when they met him, their names were not Casper, Melchoir, and Balthasar —  and we don’t know for sure there were 3 of them.  

It turns out, over the years, people have taken creative liberty in painting a picture of the Wisemen mentioned in Matthew 2 that isn’t exactly accurate. Unpacking what we do know about the Wisemen is important, because what we find in scripture is much more meaningful than those made-up details.  

God’s word always does that — gives us profound, meaningful truth that the world doesn’t offer. 

The story of the Wisemen is no different. On the surface, it seems simple enough. A group of wise men see a star in the sky and follow it to baby Jesus. We live on the other side of Jesus’ birth, which gives us the advantage of knowing the end of the story. If we are going to truly understand the magnitude of the Christmas story, we need to consider the perspective of those who came before Jesus’ birth. Cue, the Wisemen.  

I wonder if you’ve ever felt the thrill of hope?  Have you ever carried hope in your heart, waiting for the day it would come to be? All of us hope for something.  

The hope of finding a spouse

The hope of having a child

The hope of physical healing

The hope of restoring a relationship

The hope of emotional healing

The hope of a new opportunity

Hope is a word we throw around a lot, but what does it really mean? The dictionary has two definitions for hope, the first is expected: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. The second surprised me in the best kind of way: a feeling of trust. 

What allows us to carry desires in our hearts and expect them to happen? It is because we trust there is something or someone who can make them happen.  

The Wisemen carried the hope of a Messiah because they trusted God’s promise. If that isn’t an example for each of us to follow, I’m not sure what is. 

Imagine with me that you are a Wiseman living in the ancient East. You have spent your life studying the scriptures and you know the prophecies concerning the birth of the Messiah. Prophecies like Isaiah 7:14 which says, “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Or Isaiah 9:6-7, “For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness

    from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

    will accomplish this.”

These Wisemen knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Michah 2), and that a star would declare his birth (Numbers 24:17). They had devoted themselves to studying God’s promises and because they trusted Him were waiting with hope until they came to be.  

Just like the Wisemen, we all carry around desires in our heart, things we hope will come to be. Sometimes, carrying around hope isn’t very thrilling. In my experience, it can feel quite heavy and emotionally draining to keep waiting for something we desire deeply. Except, when our hope is tied to trusting God to keep His promises — then, suddenly, our hope takes on a new life.   

A few years ago someone important to me was dying of liver disease. For months, I watched her condition deteriorate until it became evident that the only way she would survive was an organ transplant. I knew the truth that God could provide a donor and save her life, and I had hope because I trusted His promises to care for His children. I carried that hope around in my heart for months as I waited to see how the story would end. One day a phone call from my husband confirmed they had found a donor and she would have the life-saving surgery. I felt as if my heart might burst as I watched my hope turn into reality. God brought it all together, and the thrill of hope realized was now part of my family’s story.     

I can’t help but think I understand how the Wisemen, who carried around the knowledge that the Messiah would come, but had to wait for a shining star, may have felt. The moment they saw the star appear their hope was realized. God showed up, and the thrill of hope realized was part of their story, too.  

This is where our nativity scene starts to fall apart. The Wisemen’s journey would have taken some time; it was hundreds of miles from the East to Bethlehem. Plus, as we read in Matthew 2, they stopped at King Herod first to inquire about the baby. Math isn’t my forte, but a few hundred miles by foot or camel, plus a stop at the king means they did not arrive at baby Jesus the night of his birth. This is confirmed as we read on in Matthew 2:

“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him.”

Notice, scripture uses the word house for where they found baby Jesus. There is plenty of speculation about where the Wisemen found Jesus. Scripture doesn’t give us an address. Why doesn’t God give us clarity on these details — probably because they are not necessary. Sometimes we let the insignificant details cloud what’s important. Whether the Wisemen saw Jesus when he was a newborn or older, whether they found him at his home or in a stable, whether there were 3 of them or not, regardless of their names, their example still remains.  

The Wisemen knew the value of Jesus. They understood what Jesus’s birth meant for a world that desperately needed a savior. These wise men knew to honor this child, who fulfilled the prophecies they had carried with hope in their hearts. When they saw him, scripture tells us they worshipped him and gave him gifts.  

Exceedingly great joy – that’s what Matthew 2 says the Wisemen felt when they first saw the star.  That’s what I want to feel at Christmas, too! Not because of all the things our world says Christmas is — lights, decorations, cookies, songs, or gifts. I want to follow the Wisemen, who knew the value of Jesus. Who understood that this child came to earth to save us each from death. That through his life and death on the cross, the baby in a manger would offer us heaven. 

This Christmas season, let’s carry that thrill of hope in our hearts. Let’s not let the insignificant details cloud our view of the bright, shining star, the light of the world: Jesus. Let’s follow the Wisemen and seek Him fully.  May knowing him bring us exceedingly great joy at Christmas and always.