Emmanuel: The King of Kings

How Christmas Gets Political

As we continue looking at the story of Christmas through Matthew’s gospel, I find it interesting that Matthew gets political. When most of us think of Christmas, probably politics is the last think on our minds. I mean, what advice do most people give about attending family gatherings? Don’t talk about politics or religion! What if I told you that Christmas inadvertently requires both? Christmas is a political story. 

The Pursuit of the King

As you continue reading the story of Matthew’s gospel, he turns toward a familiar part of the Christmas narrative, the visit of the Magi. Shortly after Jesus’ birth, he is visited by a group of Magi from the east:

Matthew 2:1–2 (ESV)
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, 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.”

 Notice the initial question after the birth narrative and declaration of Emmanuel, God with us: “Where is He who has been born the king of the Jews?”  A King. A Leader. A Politician. The Magi come to Herod, the acting ruler of the Jews, and ask about the king. Where’s the king?
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These magi had seen within the stars the sign of the birth of the king, and came to find him. Scholars have noted that probably what happened was a sign in the sky bringing the planets Mars and Jupiter together, something that happened three times in 7 B.C.[1] Jupiter was thought to be a royal planet, and Saturn the planet of the Jews, so the conjunction of these two in the night sky was thought to signal that a new king of the Jews was to be born.[2] Michael Green suggests, “So this conjunction of planets, giving the impression of one very bright star, would have meant to the competent astronomer that a new age was beginning, in which the sovereignty of the world would shift to Judea.”[3] They came searching for a new political leader who was thought to be coming on the world scene.

A Threat to Power

Herod, hearing news of the king, is intrigued, and not in a good way:

Matthew 2:3–4 (ESV)
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

Herod is troubled, a fitting response when you hear that your replacement has been born. This is often how humans respond when they discover a threat to their power. They, too, become troubled and seek to understand how to keep their power and control. He sends the wise men on a mission, “Go, find the child, and let me know where He is that I, too, can go and worship.”  Was that really what was in Herod’s heart? Was that truly his desire? He also seeks the timing of Christ’s birth to calculate his age. Herod wasn’t seeking to adore the King; he was agitated at the threat to his throne. 

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Adoration or Agitation?

The Magi go on their way, and finding the child at home with his parents, they fall in worship and open their treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They are filled with adoration in the presence of the new born King. They worship. After they arise, they are warned in a dream to return home another way because of what Herod had planned to do to the Christ child.

Herod, on the other hand, is filled with agitation. When the men do not return to him, he begins a murderous plot to kill all males born within the past two years. Herod is agitated that there might be another King who might take his power, sovereignty, and control away from him. He responds with violence and infanticide. Mary and Joseph are warned in a dream to flee to Egypt to protect Jesus’ life.  All of this is inherently political. Who is the true king? Who wields true power? Who deserves worship and adoration?           

Christmas is inherently political because it announces the birth of the King, the King of all the World. It brings us all to the point of decision where we must decide. Will we respond in worship and adoration or agitation? See, there’s really only one response when you come face to face with the reality of Christ’s Kingdom. You can fall in adoration and worship, or you can try to maintain power and control over your life.
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Christ’s Kingdom is a threat to our selfishness and pride. It comes in to announce that we are no longer in full control over our lives, that we are not the kings and queens we think we are. There’s only one King, and His name is Jesus. We must check ourselves, lest we respond like Herod. In agitation, do we seek to eliminate the threat to our power and control? Do we fight the sovereign right of Jesus to rule and reign over our lives? Do we seek to track down all the ways He threatens our power and tighten our grip on the reins?

Or do we respond like the Magi? Do we bow down in surrender and worship? Do we open our treasures and offer ourselves sacrificially to the King of kings and Lord of lords? Do we bow in adoration to the only One worthy? This Christmas, we are faced with a question. When we encounter the reality of the New Born King, will we respond in agitation or adoration? Will we worship or worry? Will we give Christ our allegiance or some other king and kingdom? Christmas is inherently political. Who has your allegiance? 

[1]Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 10.
[2]Ibid.
[3]Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 69.