NOTE: THESE CHAPTERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN A MUCH IMPROVED, EXPANDED BOOK, "A SWORD SHALL PIERCE YOUR SOUL" from FriesenPress
The family talked things over further over dinner and into the evening, recounting the unusual events of the past 10 months or so. Ultimately, they praised and thanked The Highest One for what he was doing and agreed they just had to leave things in the hands of Jehovah. They then all retired for the night at Benjamin and Hannah's home.
Next morning, Zechariah and Elizabeth bade the rest of them farewell and left with John for their home. Joseph and Mary then began to think about their own plans for returning to their home in Nazareth. They had not gone very far with that before there was a guest calling at the door for their uncle.
When Benjamin went to the door, an anxious-looking man bowed low before straightening up and saying that he had important but sad news to bring them. No one had been out of the home since they had returned from the Temple before so they had not heard or seen anything in the community.
The man related that a group of Galileans had revolted and attacked Sepphoris. As a result, Gov. Quirinius of Syria had sent in his troops and rather thoroughly demolished much of the residential area of the city. Needless to say, this was extremely distressing news for the family, especially Joseph and Mary.
Both of them anxiously demanded of the messenger whether he knew anything of the state of affairs with their parents. He went on to report that this was part of the reason for his appearance; he had been sent to reassure them that Joseph's parents were alright in Nazareth and Mary's parents had left the city as soon as the Galilean rebels head appeared, fearing the worst. They were temporarily staying with Jacob and Naomi but were planning to come back to Jerusalem. That was something of a relief to the young couple. Joseph was still concerned about his parents but the man indicated that things were quiet in Nazareth and it did not seem as if there would be any problems there. Benjamin thanked the man for his news and invited him in for some refreshments, considering the travel he had just undertaken.
This alarming news certainly changed thoughts about plans to return to Nazareth. After the man left, Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Hannah talked things over with Joseph and Mary. Their opinion was that the young couple might as well stay in Bethlehem for now, where they already had a place to live and from where Joseph was finding some work. The offered them to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the arrival of Mary's parents if they wished. However, the young couple decided they would like to return to their own home and would see about visiting with Mary's parents later.
So it was, that Mary and Joseph settled into life in Bethlehem and began to raise their precious son. Mary's parents did relocate once again to Jerusalem, finding a place to live near the north end of the city and the Pool of Bethesda, where they had lived before. The young family were visited by the parents after their arrival in Jerusalem too. How glad they were to see them safe and sound and to hear again that Joseph's parents were alright.
Time passed, and things seem to be settling into a reasonably comfortable routine. In spite of the number of unusual events that Joseph and Mary had been privy to over the last year and more, something that happened next was still totally unexpected. The young family was settling in for the night one evening when there was a big commotion outside their door. Suddenly a voice with an unfamiliar accent asked if this was the home of Joseph and Mary and the child who was to be king! Joseph and Mary looked at each other, panic rising in their hearts. Joseph hesitated, but then motioned for Mary and the baby to stay back and went to the door.
There to his amazed eyes he saw a retinue of ornately decorated camels with richly dressed riders perched atop them. There were several other men milling about, holding the reins of the camels, whom Joseph judged to be the servants of the riders. The man at the door asked again, “Is there a new baby boy here?” Pointing up at the sky he went on, “See that star?”
Joseph followed the man’s finger straight overhead. Well, yes, he had noticed that star on previous evenings, and also that it seemed to move over time, but had not paid it much attention. The man went on, “These men,” gesturing towards the camel riders, “are a group of men who study the significance of heavenly bodies. They believe this star indicates the birth of a great king. Therefore, they have set out from their homeland far east of here to come and find this king. They followed the star to your country. Naturally, we then went to the palace of your king, as where else would you expect a future king to be born (Matthew 2:1-2)?”
By this time some of the men were dismounting the camels and beginning to remove packages from the camels’ saddlebags. The spokesperson continued, “We got an audience with your King Herod. He had to call in your seers to find out what this was all about. They told him that in your religion’s holy writing a prophet once wrote that someday a child will be born in Bethlehem who will become king of the Jews. With that information we left Jerusalem and continued to follow the star and it did indeed lead us here. So, where is this baby (Matthew 2:3-6)?”
Joseph really did not know what else to do at that point in the face of this group but welcome these guests and show them in. He apologized for the humbleness of their abode, conscious of their own low place in society, but the guests were only interested in seeing the child.
By now the distinguished-looking guests with their packages had assembled about Joseph and their spokesperson and all crowded in behind him when he turned to enter his home.
When their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, illuminated only by the flickering light of an olive oil lamp, the men saw Mary in the back with the baby Jesus in her arms. They dropped to their knees, placing their bags beside them and fell forward, faces to the ground in obeisance to the one they believed would become a great king. Having completed that part of their homage they then, in turn, began to open their boxes of gifts and offer them to the family (Matthew 2:11).
Mary gasped – gold, frankincense and myrrh! “Oh, but we can’t accept these,” she protested, reaching out one arm to indicate the gifts, “for what is this honour?”
The men bowed again and then explained what they had already told Joseph outside. Mary hardly knew what to say. By now Joseph was at her side, listening again to the report of the visitors from the East.
As the guests stood up to leave, one of them said in the best Aramaic he could muster, “Our mission is accomplished. We have seen the future king the star told us about.
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