Bethlehem: Two Years Later

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Matthew 2:1-2

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

(CSB)

It has been two years since the unusual events in Bethlehem.  King Herod has become paranoid at rumors of a new king threatening his kingdom and troubled at the arrival of the wisemen.  Believing they may have some insider information that will give him the inside track on proactively ending any rebellion, King Herod summons the wise men prior to their visit with Mary, Joseph, and the young boy Jesus.  However, so as not to alert the wisemen to his intentions of killing the baby king, preventing His  rise to power, Herod sends them off, telling them he only wants to worship Jesus (Matthew 2:1-8).

Biff has now arrived at the home of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.  They are aware of their pending visit from the wisemen and working furiously to prepare for their arrival.  Biff sees Jesus, a toddler now and while he appears to be like any normal child his age, he is also a well-behaved child.  Seeing Jesus again caused Biff to flash back to that night in Bethlehem.  He remembered the star, the angels, and the shepherds and Mary and Joseph’s belief that their child was special.  The well-behaved nature of Jesus caused Biff to wonder if the toddler Jesus was indeed the promised Jewish Messiah. 

While deep in thought, a knock at the door startled Biff.  Joseph answered the door and invited the wisemen in, “Hello Gentlemen, welcome to our humble home.”

“The honor is all ours.  You must be Joseph.”

Joseph realized he had never given them his name and asked, “Its our honor but if you do not mind me asking, how do you know my name?”

“Well, it seems you, Mary, and Jesus have quite a reputation in town.  I think it has something to do with choirs of angels, a star, and some excited shepherds spreading the message.”

Joseph was amazed that he and his humble family would have such a reputation and took them to where Mary and Jesus were playing.  Upon seeing the toddler Jesus, these learned wise men bowed down in worship.  They then did something this reporter found amazing, they presented a child that is not even two years old yet with gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense.  My initial thought was what does a child need with these gifts.  After allowing these men to worship the child, I asked, “Hello, I’m Biff from Wolf News, you have just completed a two-year journey to visit and present gifts to this child, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“Not a problem sir, I’m sure this looks unusual and as a reporter you are overflowing with curiosity.”

“Thank you, my main question is why would a group of wise and well-educated men make a long journey across the desert to present expensive gifts to a young child.” 

“That is a good question.  We spend much of our time studying ancient literature which includes the Jewish scriptures.  These scriptures mention Bethlehem as the city from which the future King of Israel will come.  However, this ruler is not a normal ruler but the promised Messiah (Micha 5:1-6).  When we saw the star in the east, we knew this was a sign that the future ruler of Israel, the Messiah had been born.”

“While I respect your wisdom and knowledge, as a reporter I can only go with facts which means we will all need to wait and see what happens with Jesus as he grows up.  Thank you for your time.”

The next morning Biff awoke early and went to the inn where the wisemen were staying to follow up with them.  He arrived at the inn to see that they were packing to go.  “Leaving already?” 

“Yes, we had a dream last night that told us to quickly leave by another route and not report to Herod about what we discovered.”  All Biff could imagine is the paranoia of Herod and what he might do.   I must go warn Mary and Joseph Biff thought for they could be in grave danger. 

Biff ran to the home of Mary and Joseph only to find them too hurriedly packing to go.  “Leaving so soon” Biff said.

“Yes, we had another angelic visitation last night warning us to leave immediately to Egypt because Herod is seeking to kill Jesus.”

“I have been following the story of his extreme paranoia for the last two years and have no doubt.  He is paranoid of anyone, including a toddler, who may represent a threat to his kingdom.  I would like to stay connected for with all that is happening around the birth of Jesus, there is little doubt he is destined for great things.”

“Once the threat from Herod is over, we will move back to Nazareth, so I recommend keeping in touch there once this threat is over.”

“Not a problem.  I will see you later.  Have a save trip.”

“Thank You”

In the meanwhile, Biff thought, I must find out more about this Jewish Messiah to determine if Jesus is indeed the one.