Are you "in" or "Out"

My thoughts in this Advent Season have been on the Magi from back East, who came to Jerusalem looking for the “King of the Jews” prophesied about in the Hebrew Scriptures. Little is known about the Magi. Were they Zoroastrians from Persia, astrologers from Babylonia—possibly the successors to the generation of wise men led by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 2:48)—or perhaps monks from China?1
 
Whoever the Magi were, one thing is for sure: not only did the Magi know the Hebrew scriptures thoroughly through their diligent study of it, but they also willingly put their knowledge to the test by taking a long, arduous, and dangerous journey to Israel to find out whether the prophecy about the birth of the Christ had indeed been fulfilled. Moreover, they brought gifts—of gold, frankincense, and myrrh—with which they worshiped the infant Son of God. In short, they dared to live out the Word of God! 
 
Contrast the Magi’s reverent attitude and conduct, however, with that of another group of wise men—the chief priests and teachers of the law in Israel. Asked by King Herod about the same prophecy, this group, the “Magi of Israel” if you like, knew the details about the time and place of the Messiah’s anticipated birth just as well as the Magi from the East did. They were even able to quote chapter and verse:
 
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel’” (Matthew 2:5-6, NIV).
 
However, unlike the Magi from back East, these wise men of Jerusalem did not act on their knowledge about the prophecy. Bethlehem is a mere six miles from Jerusalem, but the Jerusalem Wise Guys (C’mon, didn’t they behave at times like a cabal of mafiosi?) did not bother to check out the prophecy’s fulfillment, much less seek to worship the anticipated Messiah. And they were the religious leaders and teachers of Israel, for crying out loud! 
 
Maybe they were afraid of what Herod would do to them. Indeed, all Jerusalem, including its Herodian leader, were unsettled by the appearance of the Magi who’d navigated to Israel by the star. But given that Herod played nice with the Magi, you would think at least a couple of the Jewish leaders and teachers might have been tempted to go check things out in Bethlehem. But no, because (as Scripture points out) other than the Magi, the only other human visitors who showed up for the post-birth baby shower were shepherds to whom God’s angels had given a “heads up”!
 
The difference is as stark as night and day. It was the Outsiders—the wise men from Babylon, Persia, Yemen, or China…take your pick--who took the Bible seriously and sought out the Christ for themselves. They actively applied and passionately lived the very words of God. On the other hand, the Insiders—the self-proclaimed “sons of Abraham"--held the very knowledge in their hands and heads but did absolutely nothing with it. Those in the “out” group took God seriously whereas the ones in the “in” group—despite their insider status and privileged information—could care less.
 
Jesus once said He has come in search of the lost and the sick because those who claim to know it all and think themselves healthy aren’t the ones who need saving (Luke 19:10; Mark 2:17). The real guests to the Great Banquet aren’t the original invitees, the so-called Insiders who decline God’s invitation on the flimsiest of excuses. Rather, they are the Outsiders—the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame, all the down-and-outers from within and without (Luke 14:15-24).
 
Are we “in” or “out”? 
 
A blessed Christmas and God-filled New Year to all!
 
Notes
1 As speculated in Brent Landau, Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men’s Journey to Bethlehem (New York: HarperOne, 2010).