The Silent Participants in the Christmas Story

             As we reviewed the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, we’ve seen the excitement and curiosity of the shepherds, eager to tell everyone the good news.  We’ve seen the thoughtful contemplation of Mary as she considered all that had happened and what might lie ahead.  Then, we were introduced to Simeon and Anna, two faithful witnesses to the birth of the Messiah.  They weren’t kept guessing.  They knew immediately that this baby was the Savior of the world.

            Still, there was one group of people who didn’t get excited or curious.  They weren’t eagerly anticipating the birth of the Messiah.  As a result, they missed one of the two most spectacular events in all human history. Yet, they were the ones who should have been waiting expectantly.  They were the ones who knew where to look and how to identify the Christ from the prophecies that they should have known by heart.  They were the ones who should have been most excited and most eager to not only praise God but to spread the news.

Unfortunately, their part in the birth of Christ was confined to two short verses in Matthew’s Gospel.  When the Magi or Wise Men arrived at King Herod’s palace asking where they could find the King of the Jews, Herod did the only logical thing.  He consulted the “chief priests and teachers of the law”.  After all, they knew the Scripture and the prophecies.  If anyone knew where to find this King, it would be them.  He was right in asking them because their immediate response was “In Bethlehem in Judea”.  That was what the Old Testament prophecies had said.  (Matthew 2: 5, 6).

You would think that they would have at least been curious and wanted to know more about the story.  In their defense, perhaps Herod didn’t tell them why he wanted to know but it seems likely that they would know about the strangers in town and wonder what they have to do with the prophecy about the Messiah.  Maybe they had even heard the shepherds’ account, but did they ever stop to connect the dots?  There is no indication in Scripture that those who should have known the law best stopped to even investigate much less accept the fact that the Messiah had been born. Perhaps they were too busy with their own lives, preoccupied with their own success, prestige, and power to ever look for the Messiah.

Unfortunately, we are often more like the chief priests and teachers than we care to admit.  We know Jesus is coming again.  We know many of the prophecies about His second coming.  We know that many of those prophecies have been fulfilled in the last 100 years.  We see a lost world watching the time clock slowly tick down.  We know that we have the capability to take the Gospel to the whole world in our lifetime. 

Like the chief priests and teachers of the law, we are often too caught up in our own race for success to give a minute’s thought to those who have never been told that the Messiah has come.  We believe it’s true but it’s someone else’s job to spread the good news. 

We have the greatest news ever given to mankind, so I think it is time that we find the excitement of the Shepherds, the contemplation of Mary, and the faith and trust of Simeon and Anna.  We’ve been standing with the chief priests and teachers of the law for too long.  The Messiah has come!  Let’s spread the news until the whole world knows!

Matthew 2: 1 – 6

Micah 5: 2

Matthew 28: 18 – 20

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