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Epiphany

Three men in Arab dress, mounted on camels lead a caravan across a mountainous desert. — The journey of the Magi by James Tissot 1806 – 1902
Shared via Wikimedia Commons.

60 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
²For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.
³And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising.
⁴Lift up your eyes all round, and see;
    they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
⁵Then you shall see and be radiant;
    your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
    the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
⁶A multitude of camels shall cover you,
    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
    all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
Isaiah 60:1-6 ESVUK

Are you totally surprised by this? I mean, it’s not the image we usually have of the three wise men, right? We think of them like, following this star from the east all the way to Judea. But the Bible actually says that they saw the star rise in the east and headed in the opposite direction towards Judea in the west. So, they were like, totally going the opposite way from “following yonder star.” Mind blown, right?

That picture above is the real deal! Tissot, that sneaky artist, really went above and beyond to make sure everything was on point. I mean, seriously, he nailed it! Just picture this: three guys, decked out in some fancy Arabian attire straight from the 18th century. And get this, we don’t even know how many of them there were, just that there were three gifts. Talk about mysterious! Tissot clearly had a knack for accuracy in the landscape and theatrics in the characters. James Tissot, well done!

Still nothing shocking yet? In that case you have missed the point. The Magi were not Jewish.

The Magi were not Jewish. That is the shocking part. It is intriguing to note that the history of the Jewish people in the Bible ends with a peculiar issue of ethnicity. In the book of Ezra, we are informed that there was a strict measure implemented to exclude individuals in mixed marriages from being part of the Jewish nation. This exclusion extended not only to non-Jews but also to half-Jews and those married to non-Jews. Astonishingly, they were even forbidden from worshiping God. For further details, refer to chapters 9 and 10 of the book of Ezra.

Belief in the Messiah shines through in the book of Ezra, while the preservation of the line of David through Zerubbabel serves as an important theme. It is fascinating to see how Zerubbabel is mentioned in the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, forging a connection between the Old Testament and the remarkable story of Jesus. Ezra impresses me not only as a dedicated scribe, but as someone deeply passionate about God. However, I must admit that there are aspects in the text, such as racism and misogyny, that I find disheartening. Despite these flaws, I find solace in focusing on the positive elements within the narrative. I also like Ezra because he was a geek. I like geeks.

For 500 years, from the time of Ezra, racial purity was very important to the Jews. I can only imagine how being an occupied country in the time of the Romans would have made that patriotism even greater. The shock that when the Messiah came he should be visited by *GASP* foreigners would have been a big shock, especially as it is written in Matthew’s Gospel, an account intended for the Jewish readership.

The story of Jesus stands out in stark contrast to the story of Ezra. Jesus, a Jew among Jews, came to extend an open invitation to God’s kingdom for everyone, irrespective of their race, social status, gender, or sexuality. His message is all-inclusive: it is meant for you and for every individual out there. The kingdom of God presents no barriers to entry; it embraces people who are similar to you and those who are different.