Is life with a baby or young child something that is wonderful and full of joy? Or is it something that is challenging and full of frustration? It probably depends on who you talk to or what day you talk to them. Different people have different perspectives on what life is like with little people.
Rachel D’Apice is a comic who uses humor to talk about life with youngsters. She says you might think that taking a walk with a toddler would be a marvelous to do. In truth, it can be a maddening thing to do. D’Apice uses an imaginative play on Google Maps to illustrate. Google Maps will give you directions from one place to another. Imagine a Google Maps that described the way young children get to a park.[1]:
1. Head Northwest on Newark Ave toward Jersey Avenue.
2. Make a Right onto Jersey Avenue.
3. Continue 4.2 feet toward A Dead Caterpillar.
4. Attempt to eat remains of caterpillar (NOT PERMITTED, YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO DO THIS).
5. Two minutes crying.
6. Walk one block to 2nd Street before turning around for no apparent reason and walking back to 1st Street.
7. Continue toward 3rd Street.
8. Back toward 2nd Street (unexplained) where you will spend 20 minutes crying and having a bowel movement in front of a Real Estate Office.
9. Attempt to walk off the curb onto Jersey Avenue to the cries of “NO NO NO, NOT IN THE STREET. STAY OUT OF THE STREET!”
10. Follow small dog 200 feet along Jersey Avenue to 5th Street while screaming the word “CAT.”
11. Back toward 4th Street.
12. Walk in circle for 10 minutes saying “Babababababababa“ to nobody.
13. Get picked up and carried as far as 6th Street before crying hysterically and wrestling yourself free of parent’s arms.
14. Continue 100 feet toward 7th Street, following a baby stroller. Spend 10 minutes smiling at baby and/or eating the food off the stroller’s food tray.
15. Stop between 7th and 8th Streets for literally no reason and refuse to move for between 10 and 15 minutes.
16. Walk 20 feet and repeatedly attempt to climb the steps of an apartment building that is not your apartment building, despite cries that you need to stop.
17. Continue 100 feet toward park, stopping briefly to pick up a wet graham cracker and an empty Doritos bag you encounter on the sidewalk.
18. You have arrived at your destination.
ARRIVE AT PARK THAT IS 8 BLOCKS AWAY
Distance Covered: 0.5 Miles
Estimated Time: 9 hours, 20 minutes
If you’ve never had children or grandchildren, or if you’ve had very easy children or grandchildren, you might have one perspective on young children. But others of you may have a different perspective.
Matthew’s Christmas story reveals that people had different perspectives on the infant Jesus. Matthew shows three groups who had three different perspectives on this young king’s birth:
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Matt. 2:1-12 ESV)
Let’s explore the three groups who had three perspectives on the young Jesus.
#1: Herod’s Dread
First, Herod represents those who dread the birth of Jesus.
Matthew tells us that Herod is troubled at the question of the wise men: “Where is he who has been born the king of the Jews?” Apparently these wise weren’t wise enough to know that this phrase, “king of the Jews” was already taken by Herod. The Roman senate gave him that title. You can imagine how shocking it would be for the current king of the Jews to have foreigners from Persia come in and ask about the birth of a rival “king of of the Jews.” Herod understands this birth as a political threat, not just some sweet baby boy. The wise men come with news of a potential competitor who may threaten Herod’s plans and priorities. Herod dreads the birth of Jesus.
In a way, Herod is one of the few who rightly understands the birth of Jesus. He understands that Jesus represents a threat to his own plans and priorities.
And this baby still does.
C. S. Lewis writes this in his book Mere Christianity:
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
This was Lewis’ way of saying that when Jesus comes into a person’s life, he comes to turn everything upside down. He comes to realign all plans and all priorities.
Herod dreaded this. And many today still dread it. We are quite content for Jesus to be the little baby in the manger. But the last thing many of us want is for him to be the king on the throne. Yet this is why Jesus has come.
There’s a subtle shift that happens in the storyline in Matthew 2. Eventually, Herod is no longer called king. He’s just called Herod. And Jesus alone is king. Jesus has come to be the only king. And that may cause us to dread him on this Christmas morning.
But notice what type of king he is. The gospel of Matthew ends with this title–”king of the Jews’–being attached to Jesus once again. But notice when this title gets placed on Jesus:
35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” (Matt. 27:35-37 ESV)
Jesus is a king unlike Herod. As we heard last Sunday, Herod is a king who killed in to keep power. Jesus is a king who died to give power. Herod took life. Jesus gave life. He’s exactly the kind of king who will make the best calls for us if we put him on the throne of our hearts. There’s no need to dread him.
#2: The Priests’ Disregard
Second, the priests represent those who disregard the birth of Jesus.
The wise men are astrologers. This word “astrologer” is the combination of two words meaning “stars” and “word” or “message.” They believed the stars contained messages for humans. This was common in the ancient world, especially when it came to unusual phenomenon like a supernova, or a rare alignment of planets or a comet. The wise men believed these to be signs of something very important. Thus, when they observed this star, they believed it carried a word or a message. Specifically, they believed it indicated the birth of an important new king who would rule over the people living under its glow.
They had been guided as close as the capital city, Jerusalem, but no further. And when they stopped to ask for more guidance from Herod, Herod consulted the chief priests and scribes:
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: (Matt. 2:4-5 ESV)
The priests, from all appearances, did not have to think for a moment about where the Christ, the Messiah, the promised king, would be born: Bethlehem. Their Old Testament Scriptures were clear about this. They knew book, chapter and verse about this.
But notice something bizarre–although the priests have known this long before the wise men show up, not a single one of them go to Bethlehem with the wise men to check things out. They cannot be persuaded to go beyond their Bible knowledge about Jesus to explore the possibility of a relationship with the living Jesus. They completely disregard the birth of Jesus.
And what’s sad is that they are the religious experts. They are the spiritual elite. If anyone in this story should have gotten it, they should have. They disregard the birth of Jesus.
Paul David Tripp writes this:[2] I remember taking my youngest son to one of the national art galleries in Washington, D.C. As we made our approach, I was so excited about what we were going to see. He was decidedly unexcited. But I just knew that, once inside, he would have his mind blown and would thank me for what I had done for him that day. As it turned out, his mind wasn’t blown; it wasn’t even activated. I saw things of such stunning beauty that brought me to the edge of tears. He yawned, moaned, and complained his way through gallery after gallery. With every new gallery, I was enthralled, but each time we walked into a new art space, he begged me to leave.
That’s how it was with these priests. They couldn’t see the glory of the birth of Jesus. They had read about it in their Bibles. They knew exactly where it was going to take place. They knew book, chapter and verse. But they have no interest in going to Bethlehem to engage in a relationship with a living Jesus.
The same is true for some today. Even Bible reading and church going people disregard Jesus. They’d rather leave him in their Bible. He’s not a living person in their lives. And they miss his glory.
But that’s why he’s come. He longs to leap out of the pages of the Bible and to come alive in your story. He wants to be a living person in a relationship with you. That’s what Christmas is about. It’s about not just knowing book, chapter and verse, but about going to Bethlehem and being filled with awe and wonder at the glory of the birth of Jesus.
#3: The Wise Mens’ Delight
Third, the wise men represent those who delight in the birth of Jesus. Herod dreads Jesus’ birth. The priests disregard it. But the wise men delight in it: 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. The language is so loaded it can hardly bear the weight of what Matthew is saying. “They rejoiced with great joy greatly” is what Matthew literally writes. They rejoiced with “mega” joy he writes. They responded to the birth of Jesus not just not just with a smile but with whoops and hollers and high fives and tears.
It makes me think of the evening a few weeks ago in the Nashville airport. We were gathered with dozens of other parents and siblings who hadn’t seen their children or sisters or brothers for a full ninety days. For ninety days our daughter Jordan had been studying abroad in Vienna, Austria with the sons and daughters, sisters and brothers of all of these other family members gathered at 7:30 PM in late November in the Nashville airport. We were joined by dozens of students from their college, Lipscomb University. We had “Welcome Home” signs, balloons, flower bouquets, and favorite foods including sweet tea, Gibson’s donuts, and tater tots. We crowded around the exit, eager to see our loved ones after three months.
And when we finally saw them, the room erupted in cheers and tears, hugs and hand-holds. We rejoiced with great joy greatly. We rejoiced with mega joy. Everyone was so glad to see each other. So glad to see these new arrivals.
That’s what Matthew is describing. And the surprising thing is that the outsiders in the story are the ones who responded this way. Not the spiritual elite. Not the ones in positions of power. But the “pagans,” these astrologers from Persia. They were the ones who actually got it. They reacted with delight.
And this is the invitation of Matthew on this Christmas morning. Even if you have dreaded him or disregarded him in the past. He invites us to come to Jesus with great joy. To delight in him. To celebrate him. To find in Jesus our heart’s true desire.
[2] Paul David Tripp, Awe: Why it Matters for Everything we Think, Say, and Do (Crossway, 2015), 65-66.
