and science, serving in the inner circle of their government. It takes only a small stretch of the imagination to postulate that these men were the spiritual descendants of Daniel and were in possession of his book as well as another prophecy that has not been preserved in the canon of Scripture, a prophecy foretelling an astronomical event that would herald the arrival of the Messiah. This speculation is not impossible, since Scripture indicates that not all revelation from God has been preserved. At the end of his gospel, for example, John remarks that “there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” (21:25). Indeed, the specificity of the Magi’s demand, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matt. 2:2), makes it clear that they journeyed in direct response to an expected, specific prophetic event. The presence, action, and language of the Magi affirms their understanding of Jesus’ kingly office. Busy foreign officials would not make a major journey to greet the infant king of a minor country. The fact that they sought the “King of the Jews” tells us that they recognized Jesus’ messianic identity. With directed understanding, they realized that the King of the world had arrived, and they rushed to do Him homage. Herod’s response to the Magi’s question also suggests that he too recognized Jesus’ royal significance. Many deride Herod’s slaughter of the innocents as illogical on the grounds that Jesus, as
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a spiritual ruler, posed no threat to Herod’s earthly rule. In fact, Herod’s actions, brutal and evil though they were, are consistent in light of the man’s history and support the idea of Jesus as a literal king, one who will indeed displace all earthly rulers. Herod had already killed four members of his own family to protect his throne. His willingness to kill the infant male children of Bethlehem shows that he did indeed see Jesus as a genuine threat. Jesus’ key disciples never expected any other role from Him than that of the Messiah. Time and time again, they expected Him to take up kingship immediately. Their jockeying for favored positions, described in Matthew 20:20–24, Mark 10:35–41, and Luke 22:24, is consistent with men who believed in a literal kingdom, complete with positions of favor. Significantly, the Lord never denied His Kingdom’s literalness nor the existence of favored positions. Instead, He rebuked His disciples for their greed and informed them that the positions of favor were not His to give (Matt. 20:23). Indeed, their focus on the literalness of Jesus’ Kingdom blinded them to the need for the Atonement, which had to occur before Jesus could reign. Peter’s attempt to divert Jesus from the path of the cross (Matt. 16:21–23; Mark 8:31–33) illustrates this blindness. Not until after the resurrection did the disciples begin to understand the entire picture (Luke 24:13–35). Significantly, they never lost their expectation of a literal kingdom (Acts 1:6) but simply developed a more complete understanding of God’s plan. Finally, even the Lord’s enemies, the key religious leaders of the day, saw Him as a literal king. A new reli-
gious guru would not have attracted the concentrated effort to discredit, deride, and destroy that these men expended upon Jesus. The events surrounding John 11:47–53 clearly indicate that the inner circle of religious leaders saw Jesus as laying the groundwork for a new order, one in which they would play no role. Their murderous actions, like Herod’s decades before, stem from the same cause: the reality of the Messiah’s future reign and the fear and hatred that it invokes in those who will not acknowledge Him. As world events unfold around us and Satan gathers his forces to make a final attempt at world empire, we can trust in God’s control of history and look forward to its next major milestone, the rapture of the church, which will herald the great consummating event of history, the inauguration of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Donald Congdon is a member of the faculty of Bob Jones University, having received his BA and MA in English from BJU. He co-authored and presented a paper at the Frontiers of Engineering Education Conference. His wife, Noelle, is a Customer Service Representative for BJU Press.
FrontLine • March/April 2010