The Star, the Magi, and the Spirit

-

The Christmas account of the Magi offers insight into how the Holy Spirit works to bring mankind to Christ. The wise men or μάγος (wise men, magicians) were likely educated Babylonians who would have heard of the Jewish Messiah when the Jews were in captivity and exile. Due to their fascination and study of the supernatural, they were prime candidates to witness Jesus’ arrival.

The unusual star is what got their attention. And, being astrologers themselves, they quickly recognized that this star was different than other stars that moved about in the night sky. The star’s physical illumination led the way for the Magi to find Jesus nearly 2 years after his birth. But if we take a few moments to reflect, there is something deeper at work here. In the Bible, darkness and light are two terms used metaphorically. Darkness is generally associated with ignorance or evil, and light is used as a metaphor to describe understanding or the Holy Spirit and his work. The star illuminated the path to the physical Jesus; the Spirit illuminated their minds to worship Him.

It is the prerogative of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of the spiritually blind so that they can see, understand, and apprehend the truth of Christ. Knowing that mankind lives in darkness and needs the illumination of the Spirit to grasp who Christ is, it should be no surprise that God chose a star to lead the way for the Magi.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Waste Your Pain

-
Image
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction... - 2 Corinthians 1:3-9    Affliction (pain and suffering) is an inevitable, unavoidable, and repeatable part of life. None of us are exempt. While  we would all like to avoid affliction, the truth is that pain and affliction  serve a greater purpose , whether it comes from our own choices, the ordinary course of life, an attack of spiritual forces, or from God Himself.  Richard Cecil is noted as saying, "God's way of answering the Christian's prayer for more patience, experience, hope, and love often is to put him into the furnace of affliction.” Even  though we cannot avoid affliction, we can use it for the glory of God. That’s right. Your pain can be used to glorify God. How do we do this?    First, we need to learn to receive God's comfort. Much like in life, some folks are better at letting others "in" th
Read more

Dependent Upon God

-
Image
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp..." Exodus 14:1    Have you ever stopped and considered why God led the Israelites to freedom by taking them through the desert? Really, think about the process for a moment. He led them out of the slavery for a day or two, then told them to turn back towards the city of their captivity, next to the sea, and make camp. This lead to their being trapped. Then He led them to a place with with plenty of water, but it was undrinkable. Not too long after that, when all their food provisions were depleted, He led them to a place where there was no food or water for themselves or their livestock. Why would God be so cruel? Well, if you know the rest of the story, then you may already know the answer. They were never trapped, for God parted the waters, allowing them safe passage through the sea and drowning their enemies. The undrinkable water was made drinkable, and they were provided food
Read more

Biblical Apprenticeship

-
Image
"...Go therefore and make disciples... ” - (Matt. 28:18-20)   The Greek word mathetai is the term we usually translate as disciple, and it expresses the idea of "student" or "pupil". To me, the best understanding today of the biblical principle of disciples is apprentices. Think about it, in a typical apprenticeship a new generation of practitioners are prepared with on-the-job training and often some accompanying classroom work and reading.  Apprenticeships typically last 3 to 6 years, and generally involve four steps:     (1)  Commitment - At this level the apprentice makes the commitment to stay the course by receiving the education and training necessary to become the “journeyman”.       (2) Classroom - At this phase, the apprentice receives the information necessary to understand and work within the sphere of labor.      (3) Training - At this phase, the apprentice begins to put the information they have learned into practice. First by wat
Read more