There are many journeys in the Christmas story.
There are many journeys in the Christmas story.
After the teenager Mary receives a visit from an angel to announce the divine plan for Messiah, she journeys from her hometown in Nazareth to visit her cousin in the hill country of Judea. A few months later, when the Roman governor calls for a census of the region, an expectant Mary and her betrothed fiancé Joseph travel to his ancestral village Bethlehem.
These journeys covered around 70 miles of arduous uphill trek and traversed diverse cultures, and even crossed the Jordan River twice to avoid the hostile Samaritans.
Because of the temple in Jerusalem, it was customary for Jews to make this trek regularly. It would have taken around four to seven days of strenuous ascent and would have been tough on Mary in her advanced stage of pregnancy.
Then, there is the journey of the wise men. Since Jesus received three gifts from them, we assume there were three men and most artworks depict three camels following a bright star.
However, the Bible does not mention the exact number or place where they came from. It only mentions they were from the East and could be from as far as India or China. But most likely they were Persian astrologers or Zoroastrian priests from Babylon.
The wise men traveled nearly 1,000 miles across many countries over several months to reach Palestine. They had known about a soon-to-be-born Messiah and was alerted by a special star in the sky.
They likely knew some Jews who were living among them and read about prophesies of a forthcoming king of the Jews. They risked much to search out what was revealed to them and ventured out even when they did not now their exact destination.
In faith, they carried precious gifts to be given to the baby, aware of the many ...
from Christianity Today Magazine https://ift.tt/2MI4Kd1
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