Interview with the magi, page 3: Christmas Series Part 14

“…we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” …and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  Matthew 2:2b; 9b-10

[Background: Passed down in my family through the millennia is this interview with one of the magi conducted by my many-times-removed, great, great, great, great, etc., forebear, Dorotheonea Fricknacius who was a young reporter for the Jerusalem Journal around the time of Christ. This is the last page of her three-part interview. If you have not done so yet, please scroll down and read pages 1 and 2 of the interview first before you read this.]

Interview with Harar, magi from the East, page 3

Journal: How could the Journal—indeed, evidently nearly all of Jerusalem—miss such an important birth?!?

Harar (not his real name): My fellow magi and I were bewildered by this lack of knowledge as well. Yet the prophecies, the shepherd’s tidings, the Star—all of these events—gave such witness to the unthinkable: that this little Boy was indeed the Jewish Messiah. We could do nothing less than venerate Him who will one day rule the nations!

J: I heard that you gave Him gifts.

H: Absolutely. It is our custom to present tokens of respect to kings to whom we pay homage. Your King Solomon received gifts from many foreign dignitaries, including the Queen of the South, who visited Jerusalem to view his kingdom.

J: Did you bring a gift to Herod, also?

H: He was not the King to whom we were drawn. No.

J: If you don’t mind, would you let us know the manner of gifts that you gave to the Child?

H: Certainly. We offered gold as a tribute, for as your Scriptures say, the government will one day rest upon His shoulders. We presented frankincense, the precious incense of worship, for as your prophets foretold, this small One is Immanuel, God with us. Myrrh, a sacred resin used in anointing the dead—oh, how His mother drew back when we presented this—was to bear witness to the prophecies that this Child was born to one day die for all mankind.

J: So you really believe then, that this Child could be the One for whom we have been waiting?

H: This Child is the One. Our eyes have seen and our hands have touched Him. He is indeed the One who will conquer sin and death. Yes—He is the Messiah!

J: Surely Herod was not aware of this! He never would have sought Messiah’s death!

H: Be that as it may, that night all of my fellow magi and I were warned in our dreams to depart from that country quickly, by a different route than we came—and not to return to Herod. We left at sun up, and having bid the blessed couple farewell, we kissed the Son and departed.

J: The Child…is He…dead?

H: We sent spies back to determine the safety of the Boy and His family. Indeed, Herod had struck, for our spies returned with reports of unspeakable carnage. Infants and little boys lay gutted and dying in the streets. Women, men, older boys, and girls were weeping, wailing, clinging to small, lifeless bodies on every porch…

J: The Child…?

H: The Child…yes. I get overcome whenever I remember the reports of the senseless massacre of so many innocents…Our spies found the shepherd, who had spoken with Joseph, the Child’s father, shortly after we departed. It seems an angel had appeared to Joseph in a dream as well, warning him to take the Child and His mother and flee.

J: Where did they go?

H: Our sources have located them, safe and sound, far from Judea. We are keeping in contact with them as inconspicuously as possible. We want no harm to come to this Child.

J: But where is He?

H: I am sorry, but that information is confidential. Soon enough, however, He will be revealed to Israel and then to the world at the time ordained by Israel’s God. Until then, pray that your nation will not miss, once again, the day of her visitation. And as for you, young lady—be prepared. When the Coming One appears, will you be found ready?

And so ends the interview between my many-times-removed, great, great, great, great, etc., forebear, Dorotheonea Fricknacius and the magi whom she called Harar.

May the majesty, power, and miracle of Christmas overtake your heart and your mind as you, like the magi of old, seek Him with all of your heart.

Dorothy

(Much of the preceding has been fictionalized. The Messiah, however, who was born to die for all is very real. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Him.)

Merry Christmas!

Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity…Jeremiah 29:13-14a, Amplified Bible

© 2015, Dorothy Frick