Exploring the Bible

  In every Nativity play, the scene is identical: shepherds on one side, animals in the middle, and three men in paper crowns holding distinctively shaped boxes on the other. We know them as the "Three Wise Men" or the "Three Kings." We sing about them traversing afar, following yonder star. But if we strip away the Christmas carols and medieval art, the picture changes. The Bible never says they were kings. It never says there were three of them. And they almost certainly didn't arrive at the stable on the night of Jesus' birth. So, who were the Magi ? The search for their identity takes us out of Judea and into the mysterious world of the ancient East, into the courts of Babylon and Persia, where science, magic, and theology were one and the same. The Greek word used by Matthew is magoi (from which we get the word "magic"). However, in the ancient world, this term didn't refer to someone pulling rabbits out of hats. The Magi were a...

In the grand narrative of the Nativity, our attention is usually fixed on the stable in Bethlehem. We think of shepherds, angels, and magi arriving from the East. But forty days after the birth of Jesus, the scene shifts from the rustic hills of Judea to the bustling, marble courts of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is here, amidst the smoke of sacrifices and the noise of pilgrims, that we encounter one of the most enigmatic and profound figures in the New Testament: a man named Simeon . While he speaks only a few lines in the Gospel of Luke, Simeon represents a pivotal bridge between the Old and New Testaments. He stands as the archetype of the faithful "remnant", those who, despite centuries of silence and occupation, refused to give up hope in the promises of God. The Profile of a Righteous Man The text introduces Simeon not by his lineage or his job title, but by his character. Luke describes him as "righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, an...