Christmas 🌟 Matthew 2:1-12 – Wisdom

Read Matthew 2:1-12

These men were expecting a Jewish king to be born from prophecy. They must have been elated when they finally saw the star. We don’t know much about these men, other than they were wise. The text doesn’t say where they came from, how long they had traveled, or how many of them there were. Have we assumed three because there were three special gifts? (Fun fact: the Eastern church recognizes there were twelve wise men!)

Their wisdom had prepared them for this moment. You can imagine many people had seen that glorious star in the sky, but they had no idea what it meant. Somehow, these men knew it signified the birth of a future Jewish king, even greater than King Herod, the then current king on the throne.

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Day 8 🌲 The First Noel

Read Luke 2:8-20

the first noel, the nativity with the kings

Jesus’ birth ushered in the celebration of “noel,” which simply means “born on Christmas.” That’s why we won’t find the word “noel” in the Bible. It does speak of the birth we celebrate on Christmas and is quite a popular word in this carol. It’s good to remember the reason for the season because we often see the Christmas story portrayed in other ways these days. For instance, heartwarming Santa stories, to include one of my favorites, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

Our Christmas carol today is fun to sing, and there are six verses! I realized that the Lutheran hymnal from when I was a kid adds a sixth, very powerful verse, not found in most other sources. So, we’ll take a look at that today, too! The refrain or chorus is repeated after each verse. It’s simply, “Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.” If you’re like me, the tune is rushing off your lips!

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