December 24th, 2022

The Gospel reading for this Sunday is the text for Christmas Day, from the Gospel according to John [1:1-14]. By looking more carefully at this text we could get easily distracted with more numbers, especially since the writer thought it was important that the disciples caught one hundred and fifty-three fish at the end of the account (see John 21:11).

Please feel free to give some feedback, but I thought it would be nice to simply go with the next text in the Gospel according to Matthew. Last week we looked at Matthew 1:18-25. What is given below is a somewhat-literal translation of the text which followed the naming of Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12).

And the Jesus, having been begotten in Bethlehem of the Judea, in days of Herod the king, behold, magi from east arrived into Jerusalem saying, “Where is the one born king of the Jews? For we saw of him the star in the east, and we came to worship him. And hearing, the King Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, and having assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ is being begotten.

And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of the Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet, ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, not at all least you are in the governors of Judah. For out of you will come out a governor who will shepherd the people of me, the Israel.

Then Herod secretly calling the magi, ascertained from them the time of the appearing star, and sending them into Bethlehem, he said, “Going, question carefully concerning the child, and when you find, report to me, so that I also, coming, may worship him.” And they, hearing the king, went; and behold, the star which they saw in the east, went before them until, coming, it stood over where was the child. And seeing the star, they rejoiced an exceedingly great joy. And coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary, the mother of him, and falling, they worshipped him, and opening the treasures of them, they offered to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned by a dream not to return toward Herod, through another way they departed into the country of them.

It is certainly a longer section. And much could be said about the smaller or the larger things within this text.

There is a small word that brings to mind larger things, and that is the word ‘all’. Perhaps you noticed it twice in the text. ALL Jerusalem was troubled with Herod, and Herod assembled ALL the chief priests and scribes of the people.

Those two things are obviously significant. And it is even more significant that the chief priests and the scribes of the people are helpful in pointing to Bethlehem as the place to look for the Christ.

It is also interesting that, after the five important discourses in Matthew, when Jesus is ready to go to the cross (the way the text of Matthew 26:1 puts it is that he finished ALL these words), at the start of chapter 27, after Jesus was arrested, the text says that ALL the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, to put him to death.

This time the scribes were not included. Perhaps the scribes had a closer relationship with the scriptures and did not want to be involved. There is Matthew 23:34 which may support that. Jesus said, ‘Therefore, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men [please note that the word ‘magi’ is not used here] and scribes….’

Even more significant than the ALL of the enemies of Jesus are the occurrences of the word ‘all’ in the last words of Jesus. In the last few verses of this gospel account, Jesus says that ALL authority has been given to him (with the word ‘having been given’ appearing first in the quote). He says to disciple ALL the nations. He tells them to keep ALL things whatever he commanded them. And he also says that he is going to be with them ALL the days, until the completion of the age.​

What more could he have said? He has the last word. And with his life, death, and resurrection he has taken care of it … all.