{"id":6348,"date":"2009-12-18T11:39:50","date_gmt":"2009-12-18T16:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/"},"modified":"2009-12-18T11:39:50","modified_gmt":"2009-12-18T16:39:50","slug":"christmas-words-15-magi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Words 15: Magi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe three kings of orient are\u201d is another Christmas song that combines a rich legend (like names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) about the magi and some nice theology. Here it is. \u00a0<\/p>\n

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star<\/p>\n

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light<\/p>\n

Born a King on Bethlehem\u2019s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to rein<\/p>\n

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light<\/p>\n

Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Pray\u2019r and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high<\/p>\n

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light<\/p>\n

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb<\/p>\n

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light<\/p>\n

Glorious now behold Him arise
King and God and Sacrifice
Alleluia, Alleluia
Earth to heav\u2019n replies<\/p>\n

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s the point? Clearly \u2014 they are witnesses to Jesus as the Messiah.<\/p>\n

Their witness, as \u201cmagi\u201d (probably astrologers) who are notoriously pejorative in Jewish literature, contrasts with the witness of those who should have known better: Herod\u2019s court. What to learn? God raises up witnesses from all over the place, and not always from folks we\u2019d prefer.<\/p>\n

Their witness reveals that the Messiah is not just Savior of his people (Israel; 1:21) but also king of the Jews who will rule also Gentiles. This is a rich theme in Matthew, once again climaxing with the commission to mission at the end (28:16-20).<\/p>\n

Their witness emerges from a heart and mind that is sensitive to God\u2019s leading \u2014 the star and the providential words of God to return home without going back to Herod.<\/p>\n

Their witness is attended by worship and even extravagance \u2014 they offer to the king gifts fitting for a king.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know how many there were \u2014 three is just a guess and a tradition. What we know is that witness to Jesus.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe three kings of orient are\u201d is another Christmas song that combines a rich legend (like names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) about the magi and some nice theology. Here it is. \u00a0 We three kings of Orient areBearing gifts we traverse afarField and fountain, moor and mountainFollowing yonder star O Star of wonder, star of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1749],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advent"],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas Words 15: Magi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""We three kings of orient are" is another Christmas song that combines a rich legend (like names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) about the magi and some\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas Words 15: Magi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""We three kings of orient are" is another Christmas song that combines a rich legend (like names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) about the magi and some\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-12-18T16:39:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/\",\"name\":\"Christmas Words 15: Magi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-18T16:39:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-12-18T16:39:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"\\\"We three kings of orient are\\\" is another Christmas song that combines a rich legend (like names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) about the magi and some\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/18\/christmas-words-15-magi\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Christmas Words 15: Magi\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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