Israel…two-thousand years ago…and all is not well. Israel is in a time of great distress under the rule of Roman conquerors and tyrants like Herod the Great. As in the days of old, the people called out to God for relief, for a leader to save them, for a Messiah. And as before, God heard them, but when Israel was asking for a mighty king to lead them in a rebellion against the Romans, God chose to answer them in the must unlikely way possible. He answered them with a baby. This in and of itself is extra-ordinary enough, not to mention all of the other miracles that Matthew and Luke record regarding Jesus’ early years. However, one of the aspects of this story that grabs me every time I read it is the breadth of people involved in the story.
Of course we see Mary and Joseph, but there are many others of all descriptions and stations in life. Most notably, there were two very unlikely groups – the shepherds and the wise men. First, if you were planning to make great announcement, how would you do it? Most people would take it to the influential and the powerful, but who did God choose? He chose shepherds, some of the lowest of the low in Jewish society. Due to their work with animals, and the hours this required, they were considered ceremonially unclean and often were not able to keep up with all of the rituals of a “proper Jew.” Second, who could have predicted Gentile kings would come to worship at the manger? How could they know? After all, they were not Jews and did not worship at the Temple. Yet God chose to include them. Just as the entire nation of Israel was looking for the Messiah, both of these groups were on the same journey, looking for God’s miracle, following the star.
As followers of Jesus, we are all on the same path today. We are each seeking to the follow the bright Morning Star, Jesus (Re 22:16) and sometimes we get so focused on our own journey that we fail to notice those on the path with us that are so different from us. There are people on this path that we cannot even begin to imagine – rich and poor, powerful and powerless, famous and unknown – from every people, nation, and tongue on earth. The path that leads to life may be narrow, but is also very crowded. Every follower of Jesus is on the same path to a Heaven that is big enough for us all. Praise God, that He is big enough for us all!
Who has God placed on the journey beside you?
Is there someone that seems like an unlikely candidate for the path that you could reach out to? Someone not yet on the path? A brother or sister?
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