Monday, April 9, 2007

Matthew 2

Unlike the portrayal of most nativity scenes, Jesus was not a newborn when the Magi arrived in Bethlehem. We don't know much about them other than that they came from the East and they brought at least three gifts with them: gold, incense, and myrrh. We can infer that they were noblemen of some kind, or that they were at least respected socially since they were able to get an audience with the king, but beyond that we are just guessing.

What's interesting to me is the correlation between the events here and the events of the original stories of Egypt. In the Old Testament, Joseph became a rule in Egypt and brought the children of Israel there for protection against a famine. Ultimately, the first Passover was celebrated as the Israelites escaped the death of the firstborn and the Hebrew nation was born. Here, Jesus was sent to Egypt for protection against another killing of children to emerge later as a new leader for the Israelites. Surely this story would resonate with the Jews as a link to Moses.

It's cool to me how God can use similar circumstances in creative ways to tie new concepts to old ones so that we can easily digest a change. In this case, He clearly tied Jesus to Moses to make it easier for the Jews to grasp that they had a new savior; not one that would free them from slavery to men, but one that would free them from slavery to sin.

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