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Matthew 2:1-12 : The Visit of the Wise Men

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1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

주석

 

Christmas Gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

작가: New Christian Bible Study Staff

The Adoration of the Magi, a Design for Bas Relief.

In the Christmas story, the wise men bring gifts to the Lord: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The gold is listed first, because it is the inmost - signifying good, e.g. the good that we do when we love the Lord and the neighbor.

The frankincense is next. It signifies rational truth, which is the set of true ideas that we know, not about external things like cars or cooking, but about what is really good, and what is really true.

These rational truths are built on earlier knowledges that we learn, before we have really made them our own. Those early knowledges about spiritual things - often learned in childhood - are represented by the myrrh.

In a way, these gifts are really a reciprocation. We can't actually give them to the Lord until the Lord has given them to us. We necessarily start out by learning and doing the Lord's law (myrrh). The Lord can then call up those memories to become rational truths (frankincense). Then, over time, and with effort, those truths can be transformed into good (gold). The wise men from the East had gone through this process of learning and becoming vessels that could receive truths and goods. They were able to perceive the Lord's birth, and find him, and bring gifts to him.

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Journey of the Three Magi to Bethlehem, by Leonaert Bramer

In the physical world, the places we inhabit and the distances between them are physical realities, and we have to get our physical bodies through the physical space between to get from one physical place to another physical place. In the spiritual world, however, the "places" we inhabit and the “distances” between them are spiritual realities, which means they are reflections of our thoughts and affections. "Going" from one place to another, then, is a change in spiritual state -- exploring different thoughts and embracing different feelings. Since the Bible is a spiritual book, "going" there also indicates a change or progression in spiritual state, from one mode of thinking and feeling to another mode of thinking and feeling. Obviously, this makes the precise meaning of "go" in the Bible highly dependent on context: Who is going? Where are they going? Why are they going there? Are they following someone or something? Those questions are crucial to the precise meaning. Used on its own, though, "going" represents the normal progression of life, moving through spiritual states as the Lord intends. This has its roots in early Biblical times, when people were nomadic and moved from place to place in a regular progression of life.