The Untold Story – Part Three

Today we turn in the untold story to the episode that involved Herod and the Magi. Interestingly, Herod was not always this bitter, twisted figure that appears in the Bible. In his early days, he was a wise and exceptional ruler. He rebuilt many towns and oversaw the refurbishment of the Temple in Jerusalem. He established new ports and stimulated trade and commerce. He appeared to be an enlightened and kind ruler but he had a dark side; and as time went on, his mistrust of those around him in his court and even in his family led him to sow fear in the lives of those closest to him.

People have wondered whether Herod’s reaction to the Magi visit would have been different but I doubt it as Herod could not begin to imagine that Jesus was not interested in his kingdom. And so the shrewd Herod questions the Magi on the pretence of being interested in visiting the child himself. But we know the Magi are told in a dream not to trust Herod and to take a different route home. Without the information he needed to carry out his plan, Herod devises a most cruel plan known as the massacre of the innocents – every male child under the age of 2 in Bethlehem is put to death.

And while Herod’s plan is carried out, Joseph, Mary, and the baby escape to Egypt.  In a dream, Joseph is warned of the impending danger from Herod and is told to take his family and flee to Egypt.  The New Testament tells us nothing about the actual route but it is most likely that they took the coastal route from Bethlehem through Gaza and on to Egypt.  There are at least two places claiming to be the place in Egypt where the family lived. One is in Cairo itself where there is a crypt below the church of St. Sergius. I myself was able to see this crypt on a visit to Cairo in 2000. But their time in Egypt was not long.  When Herod was dead, word came to Joseph in a dream again but knowing that the son of Herod named Archelaus was on the throne and that he was as ruthless as his father, the family continued on their way past Bethlehem and on up to Nazareth where they could resume their life in the midst of family and friends far away from Archelaus.

And so Joseph, the carpenter, resumes a quiet life in Nazareth carrying on his father’s business and raising a family in peace.  But his family will never be like other families for he will forever know that he is the foster father of Jesus born of Mary and the Holy Spirit – the Son of God himself.  It is a miracle and a great blessing for all of us that Joseph accepted his role in the events that brought God into the world in human form and that he continued to provide for and defend his young family.  He is only mentioned once more in the record and that is when Jesus is 12 and the family visit the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. It is believed that Joseph passed away before the end of Jesus’ ministry as there is no record that he was with Mary in the last days of Jesus’ earthly life.

As for Mary, tradition in many of the Christian branches of the church makes much of her. She is the one chosen to carry the seed of God and to bear the child and bring him into the world.  Her name is an alternate form of the name of Moses’ sister Miriam.  Mary means “the Lord’s beloved” and it was a common name in that day.  Her parents were identified as Joachim and Anna. And in spite of the fact that attempts have been made to identify the home where Mary was when the angel visited her and later the home where Joseph and Mary raised Jesus, the only site that we can be certain of is the one known as the well of Mary.  It remains the only public well in Nazareth and no doubt was the same well that Mary would have drawn water.

Unlike Joseph, Mary appears several times throughout the ministry of Jesus. She is portrayed as a woman of much spiritual sensitivity, loyalty, and concern.  After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Mary is seen as being involved in the founding of the church in Jerusalem.  From there various accounts place her in Asia Minor with John. One tradition maintains that she died in Ephesus while another maintains that she died in Jerusalem.

Mary would always share a unique bond with her children as most mothers do but the bond she would share with Jesus was one beyond any other.  His conception and birth set him apart from all others in the world and set her apart from all other women. Scripture records that she pondered all these things and kept them in her heart. And while we are far from those days, we can certainly believe that when Luke wrote his version of the Christmas story that he had the firsthand account of the one who had lived it – Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The final part of this untold story is perhaps the best known. After all the first Christmas is about the baby; it is about the one who grew up to become the person we know as Jesus Christ. His birth changed history. It changed the world’s chronology so that the years pivot around his birth, and his life has touched and continues to touch countries, cultures, civilizations, and untold millions of lives.

A supreme paradox must be this: this person taught publicly for only three and a half years; he wrote no book; he had no powerful religious or political machine behind him; and yet he became the central figure in human history.  The book about his life and accomplishments has been read by billions of people in more than 2,000 languages and yet there is no biography of his life. The four accounts which we know as the gospels describe parts of his life but the focus is on the message he brought.  The Gospels never pretended to be biographies for their purpose was to give the reasons for Christ’s birth, life, and death.

But this has not stopped people over time from seeking to find out stories about Jesus in those missing years.

He was a gifted orator who spoke with authority.  Yet to those who did not share his vision, he was a deceiver and a false prophet.  One thing is for sure there was never a neutral feeling. People either loved him or despised him.  And he was no ascetic: He enjoyed a good time, provided party supplies on one famous occasion, and enjoyed good friendships with all kinds of people. He was no legalist. He was not intolerant, and he was no wimp.

Whether people today recognize him as the Son of God, Jesus is widely regarded as one of – if not the most – influential people in all history.  Yet it is said that in spite of all that he said and did in his life, he never forgot that story his mother no doubt told him of that time when he was born.  And I am sure that even he marvelled to hear the story of the angels over Bethlehem, the adoring shepherds and the humble wise men, the story of what would come to be known as the first Christmas.