Christmas Quiz part 2

Welcome to the second of three parts of a Christmas Quiz I prepared and used at a recent church service. All ages were present, so some questions were aimed at the children (though several adults raised their hands, perhaps young at heart).

If you have not read and engaged with part 1 of this series, I’d strongly urge you to do so before moving on to this quiz. You’ll find it at: https://occasionallywise.com/2025/12/27/christmas-quiz-part-1/ As well as tackling the first quiz, you’ll understand better the three sections in each of the quizzes – 1) the quiz; 2) the answers; 3) a personal reflection.

I hope you do well with Quiz 2. And that you don’t disbelieve the story near the end of my bizarre and dangerous journey… There is a point to it. From both the quiz and reflection I trust you will learn, enjoy, and feel challenged!

Part 1 The wise men who visited Jesus

Q1 The wise men came from the east to find Jesus. No-one knows for sure, but where did they travel from?

Europe, perhaps Italy or Greece
Ancient Persia, perhaps countries like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan
North Africa, perhaps Egypt or Mauretania

Q2 How did the wise men travel to visit Jesus?

Taxi
Plane
Camel
Walked

Q3 How long would the journey have taken for the wise men to visit Jesus?

5 days
50 days
500 days

Q4 What were the names of the wise men?

Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar
Matt, Tommy, Alex
We don’t know

Q5 We don’t know how many wise men there were, but we do know they brought three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Each gift had a special significance. But only one of the gifts below is described correctly, which means two gifts have wrong descriptions. Which gift has the right description?

Gold – used in worship of God
Frankincense – a gift for a king
Myrrh – an embalming oil used after death

Q6 Why did the wise men take a different route home?

They wanted to do some sightseeing
They took a wrong turning – went west instead of east
They didn’t want to be forced to tell Herod where Jesus was
King Herod’s soldiers were searching for them because they had failed to obey his order to return to him after visiting Jesus

Part 2 Answers to Quiz 2 questions

Question 1 mentions that the Bible says the wise men came from the east (Matthew 2: 1), but asks us to be more specific about where they were from. The best answer here is ancient Persia, most likely from modern day Iran. They would have travelled on trade routes which extended from Europe all the way to China. The alternative answers are obviously wrong – since they came from the east their homes were neither to the west nor the south.

Question 2 – asking how the wise men travelled – was really for the children, all of whom knew which answers were silly: there were no taxis or planes back then.So the choice is that either they rode on camels or they walked. Keep in mind that the question asked how the wise men travelled. I point that out because the wealth of the magi makes it near certain that they rode on camels. But their servants will have walked.

Question 3 is about how many days it would have taken for the wise men to reach Jesus. The options in the question were 5 days / 50 days / 500 days. In this case, calculation and guesswork are both required.

First, we have to guess more exactly where the wise men started from. Persia covered a vast amount of the ancient world, in ancient times that was from countries in modern-day eastern Europe right across to parts of India and south to Egypt. It was smaller by the time Jesus was born but still large. Estimates, then, of how far the wise men and their servants travelled range from 500 to 1200 miles (805 km to 1931 km). I believe 1000 miles (1609 km) is a reasonable estimate.

Second, several factors will have affected how fast the wise men travelled:

Because their attendants will not have been provided with camels, progress will have been at walking pace
Even if they stuck to trade routes, the terrain would often be difficult
The weather would rarely be ideal; dust storms, for example, would halt all progress
People and camels would need rest stops
They couldn’t carry everything necessary for the whole journey, so they would stop occasionally to buy fresh supplies
They went to Jerusalem and later moved on to Bethlehem – we have to allow time in both locations
We know they returned home by a different route, almost certainly one less-travelled, so probably less direct and with more difficult terrain

Accounting for all these factors, they are unlikely to have covered more than 20 miles per day. Based on the assumption of a 1000 mile journey, we can make this calculation: 1000 miles ÷ 20 miles per day = 50 days. Add in stops in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and taking a ‘minor road’ home, the total journey out and back would be around 120 days, close to 4 months.

So, from the options on offer in the question, the nearest and therefore best answer for how long it took for the wise men to reach Jesus (just the outward journey) is 50 days.

Question 4 asks about the names of the wise men, offering a couple of options or the response ‘We don’t know’. When I asked this question in church, some voted for ‘Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar’, no-one for ‘Matt, Tommy, and Alex’, and most for ‘We don’t know’. The correct answer is ‘We don’t know’.

The Bible never tells us the names of the wise men. It’s unlikely Mary, Joseph or anyone around them asked them. For one thing they came from Persia. For another they spoke a different language. For yet another, they were eminent people, scholars of philosophy, medicine and the natural world, possibly advisors to Persian kings. You don’t probe people like that for personal information.

But, since those times, nothing has stopped people inventing names for them. The ancient names I included first appeared in an 8th century chronicle known as the Excerpta latina barbari asBithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa, though that religious chronicle is a Latin translation from a lost Greek manuscript written some 200 years earlier. So, at best, those names were created hundreds of years after the wise men visited Jesus. Wikipedia summarises some other options:

“Within Eastern Christianity, the Magi have varied names. Among Syrian Christians, they are Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas, which are approximations of typical Zoroastrian names, in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, they are Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater, while Armenian Catholics have Kagpha, Badadakharida and Badadilma.”

People seem fond of attributing names to mysterious people. But all names associated with the wise men of Jesus’ time are inventions. You may have wondered why the names of ‘Matt, Tommy and Alex’ were an option? Well, they were wise men. Matt Busby, Tommy Docherty, and Alex Ferguson were all very successful managers of the English football team Manchester United.[1]

Question 5 is slightly complicated. It lists the wise men’s gifts and the significance of those gifts. But two of the gifts have the wrong significance. Only one of the three is correct. But which one?

The first two are mixed up. Gold was not used in worship, nor was frankincense a gift for royalty. I should have written that gold was a gift for a king because then – as now – gold was precious and expensive, chosen by the wise men as a gift for Jesus in recognition that he was King of the Jews (and, indeed, of all people). Frankincense is a sweet, fragrant resin whose aroma is used in worship.[2] It was also expensive, but a worthy and appropriate gift for one who should be worshipped.

The only correct description of a wise man’s gift, then, was the third – that myrrh is an embalming oil used after death. Myrrh is a yellow, fragrant, sap-like resin that oozes from cuts in the bark of certain trees. Many hold it to offer medicinal benefits – and it can be an ingredient in ‘natural’ toothpastes – but scientists and doctors generally urge caution and want further studies about medical use of myrrh. In Jesus’ time, though, myrrh had antiseptic, preservative, and aromatic properties which is why it was used to embalm a dead body.

But embalming oil is a strange gift to be brought to the infant Jesus. Unless, as many think, this is the first hint that the baby born to Mary had a destiny related to his death. In our day we imagine that a young child will achieve great things during a long lifetime. But Jesus would not have a long lifetime. He would accomplish God’s will by accepting death in his early thirties. This child had a unique purpose, and the gift of myrrh foretold it would be fulfilled by laying down his life.

Question 6 is both humorous and serious in asking why the wise men took a different route for their journey home. We can discard the first two options – these wise men weren’t interested in sightseeing nor would students of the stars get confused and go west instead of east.

Options ‘3’ and ‘4’ are probably both true. The Bible provides only brief information about why the wise men’s plans changed: “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” (Matthew 2:12)

The nearest correct answer is probably number ‘3’, that they didn’t want Herod to know where Jesus was. Why? Because he might kill him. When the wise men met Herod before, he told them to search out the child and then report his location to him “so that I too may go and worship him”. (Matthew 2:8) The wise men weren’t fooled. From all they knew about Herod, he was never going to worship Jesus. If this baby was King of the Jews, he was Herod’s rival and thus a target for assassination. To return to Herod’s palace would have meant imprisonment and torture for the wise men until they revealed Jesus’ whereabouts. So they made sure that could not happen.

The option ‘4’ answer – that failure to report to Herod meant they were now being hunted – will also be true. When they didn’t return to tell where Jesus was, we know Herod was “furious” (Matthew 2: 16) and this king was notorious for his cruelty towards those who displeased him. When I wrote before about Herod’s edict to kill all the boys aged under two around Bethlehem, I explained just how cruel Herod could be:

The horrific truth about King Herod is that these deaths in Bethlehem were not the greatest evil of his reign. All his life he’d done terrible things. Early in his rule he’d killed off half the Jewish Sanhedrin (the ruling court for the Jews). Later he’d had 300 of his court officers put to death. He also murdered his mother-in-law, his wife, and three of his sons. Finally, when he lay dying, he gave orders that one member of each family in Israel was to be killed. Why? To guarantee the nation would be mourning at the time he died. (Thankfully, with Herod dead, that last order was never carried out.) Herod has been described as “a man of ruthless cruelty…”. He certainly was. (From: https://occasionallywise.com/2025/01/25/doubly-wise-men/)

The wise men had outwitted and frustrated Herod, so his kill-squads would be hunting for them. Had they not taken another route, they would never have got home.

Part 3 Reflection

The wise men are usually portrayed as lovable and loyal men who made a long journey to give gifts to baby Jesus, which is probably why giving gifts made its way into Christmas celebrations. It’s all very lovely.

What is little recognised is the immense faith, cost and risk involved for those wise men to find Jesus. Here is my summary:

Their guidance to travel came from seeing a star in the sky. It takes great faith to launch out on a long journey based just on that.
They knew they would find only a baby, not a new ruler already established in a palace. But still they went because they believed this baby was like no other: the child God had placed on earth to rule over all people.
They ventured into unknown countryside. They would never have travelled so far west before. They couldn’t know how long the journey would take or the hazards they’d face. But they set off anyway.
The expedition would have been at great expense. They needed camels, servants, tents and other supplies. And the presents they carried were very costly, but they were presents worthy of putting before a new king.
Groups like theirs were often the target of thieves who attacked camel trains moving slowly along the main routes. The wise men and their attendants were in constant danger of being robbed and killed.
Having found Jesus, they refused Herod’s command to reveal Jesus’ location – that decision could have cost them everything.

Despite all that, the wise men risked their lives and their riches in order to bow before Jesus and present their gifts. All those who profess to follow Jesus, including me, need to ask what we are willing to give up to worship and serve Jesus.

As General Director of a large mission agency, I visited many poor or damaged communities. One of those was high up a mountain on a small island on the west edge of Indonesia, not long after the major tsunami hit the area in 2004. I was told that the residents of the village we would visit were deeply impoverished – $1 a day workers. There was a small church in that village, and my role was to encourage and help where possible.

Along with a colleague and a few locals, we rented a ‘bus’, which was no more than the size of a VW camper van. The early travel into the foothills of the mountain was not especially difficult, but before long we moved from a made-up road to an earth track. It quickly became steeper and steeper, and muddier and muddier. On left and right were deep valleys. A small slide sideways and we’d be gone. Then, looking ahead, I thought our journey could not continue because the track had collapsed down into a valley. Our driver was undaunted. He found a marginally navigable path down into the valley, across a small river, and then back up to rejoin the main track beyond the collapsed section. We did that several times.

Then we really came to a halt. A complete halt. Our ‘bus’ had broken down. The engine had stopped and refused to restart. We clambered out to be met by a wall of heat. The Equator runs right through Indonesia, and daytime heat, even part-way up a mountain, is severe. It was impossibly hot to stay in our broken down bus behind glass, but it was little better outside since there was almost no shelter. There was no choice really, so for nearly three hours we waited at the side of the road in baking sun for another ‘bus’ to rescue us. Finally another camper van style vehicle arrived, we climbed in and went on our way twisting and sliding, always within inches of disaster.

The people of the village and surroundings had been told we’d arrive during the afternoon. Now it was late afternoon and we were only part way up the mountain. We would not get to the village until mid evening, hours after dark. They would all have gone home. But they hadn’t. As we finally pulled in it was obvious no-one had left. Everyone had waited for us.

I was met by the pastor, a young man no more than 20 years old. He was overjoyed that we had come to his village and to his church. The fact that we’d made that tortuous journey clearly mattered to him and his people. After we had eaten some food, the pastor asked if I would like to see where he lived and studied. Of course I would. He pulled back a curtain behind the church platform to reveal a small area with a blanket on the floor as his bed, and what looked like a school desk as the place where he worked. There may have been a box in which he kept his few clothes. He had no other possessions and no other home. His pay? Almost nothing, though the congregation provided his meals. The pastor was thankful for the privilege of serving his church. I was thankful they had a young man such as him as their pastor.

It was now very late, but everyone gathered for the church service. The pastor told me I would preach and afterwards cast out demons from three women. I was used to preaching but casting out demons was not in my normal church ‘order of service’. Nevertheless I nodded, and the service began. I preached with an interpreter, sticking to short sentences and avoiding references to events or situations beyond the understanding of these people. It seemed to go well. Towards the end of the service, the three women were brought to me, and with some difficulty I spoke words over each of them to set them free from the work of the devil. That apparently went well too. The women had been helped.

The village, of course, had no street lights so we stepped out into total darkness, and climbed into our bus for the return journey. Then we faced our latest and greatest problem. The headlights on the bus would not work. Nothing the driver did could make those lights shine. I resigned myself to spending the night somewhere in the village. But our driver was determined to get his bus and passengers down the mountain. His young assistant, aged about 15, was given a hand torch (a flashlight) and told to sit on the roof of the bus and light our path. That was crazy. The lad would almost certainly be thrown off the roof as we swung from side to side going down the bumpy and twisty road, and I was sure the light from his torch would not show us more than a few yards ahead. But off we set. The assistant’s torch was as feeble as I predicted, but by going very slowly the driver kept us on the track. Despite many hair-raising moments we crawled down that mountain safely.

Next morning I thought through the events of the day before. Gradually those thoughts did not centre on my risk, or my discomfort, or my potential demise. The tortuous journey was the event of just one day, one tiny part of my life. That was as nothing in hardship compared to what the 20-year-old pastor experienced as night after night he slept on a blanket on the floor, and day after day ministered to desperately poor villagers. He had accepted God’s call to serve in a remote village – no health care, no backup, no pay, no normal accommodation. There was no way he was comfortable. But he did not expect to be. His life was dedicated to worshipping and following Jesus no matter how great the cost. Jesus had given his life for him, and now he was giving his life for Jesus. That young man deeply challenged me.

The wise men risked everything to find Jesus. For those of us who, in any sense, have found Jesus, how much risk, hardship and sacrifice are we accepting to serve the one who came to be our king and our saviour?

[1] And they were all Scottish!

[2] Frankincense is still used today in worship but also in aromatherapy, skincare, and other traditional forms of medicine. It is considered by some but not all to have qualities to manage conditions like inflammation.

Christmas Quiz part 1

I was asked to preach in our church on a Sunday morning just before Christmas. All ages would be present, so I didn’t preach. Instead I created a multiple choice style Christmas Quiz, and asked people to vote for right answers, including a few questions especially for children. Some possible answers were deliberately funny or odd, but giving out the right answers allowed truth to be communicated. Thankfully, everyone got involved. No-one fell asleep. And the feedback afterwards was positive.

I hope the quiz will also be a positive experience for readers here. What follows is the first part of the quiz presented in three parts. First, the questions. Second, the answers including extra details. Third, a reflection related to the main subject in that quiz. I don’t usually get ‘preachy’ in my posts, but the reflections were a core part of how I presented the quiz in church and they belong here too.

Here goes. Don’t cheat by looking ahead to the answers before you commit to your own answers to the questions. Above all, learn and enjoy!

Part 1 Questions related to the birth of Jesus

Q1 Matthew chapter 1 lists ancestors of Jesus. One of the following would not normally be wanted in an Israelite’s family line. Which one?

Rahab
Ruth
Zerubbabel

Q2 Joseph and Mary travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem just before Jesus was born. Why go there?

Because there were better maternity services in Bethlehem
Because Bethlehem was nearer to the holy city of Jerusalem
Because the Romans required everyone to be counted in their own city

Q3 It was about 80 miles (129 km) from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Did Mary:

Walk?
Ride on a donkey?
Ride on a camel?
Ride on Joseph’s shoulders?

Q4 There was no accommodation available for Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem. So where was Jesus born?

In the basement of a house
In a stable
In a cow shed
In a cave

Q5 A manger is where food was put for animals to eat. In Jesus’ time, what was a manger made from?

Masonry (such as bricks)
Stone
Wood

Q6 An angel told Joseph that, when Mary gave birth to a son, he was to give him the name Jesus. Why that name?

Because it was the most popular boys’ name at the time
Because the angels in heaven had voted for that name
Because the name Jesus had special meaning

Part 2 Answers to Quiz 1 questions

Question 1 asked which ancestor an Israelite would not want in their family line. The answer is Ruth. Why not the others? Rahab, after all,had an unsavoury occupation in Jericho, but she hid the Israeli spies so was accepted after Jericho fell. Zerubbabel would have been a popular ancestor – he was the descendant of David who was appointed to be leader of the first group of Jews who returned to Jerusalem after captivity in Babylon.

Why not want Ruth as your ancestor? The answer lies in Ruth’s background. Ruth came from Moab, a nation regarded as immoral, idolatrous, and so great an enemy of Israel that Deuteronomy contains a ban on Moabites entering the assembly of the Lord (23:3). But Ruth was excused because of her marriage to Boaz and her loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi, which included this remarkable declaration: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried” (Ruth 1: 16-17).

Question 2 was about why Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem. There weren’t better maternity services – Bethlehem was a village, with, at most, one woman who delivered babies. Yes, it was closer to Jerusalem, just 6 miles (9 km) south of the city. But the reason Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem is that the Roman authorities had given them no choice because their census required everyone to go to their home city, which, for Joseph, meant taking his family to Bethlehem. Luke described that this way in his gospel: “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child (Luke 2: 1-5).”

Question 3 asked how Mary travelled during the 80 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.Being nearly full-term pregnant, she would not have ridden on Joseph’s shoulders (though I did tell the church the experience Alison and I had like that – check this footnote for details.[1])Nor, since it’s very likely Joseph and Mary were poor, could they have afforded a camel for her to ride. So, the only realistic options were for her to walk or ride on a donkey. Though no donkey is mentioned in the Bible’s birth story, the most likely answer is that she sat on a donkey for 80 gruelling miles.

Question 4 raises the issue of where they stayed in Bethlehem. This can seem complicated. If it’s not interesting for you, skip to the end of this explanation.

The traditional story is that the inn was full because so many were in the village for the census count. That may be right, but not necessarily. Much depends on how the Greek word kataluma (κατάλυμα) is translated, because it can mean ‘inn’ or ‘guest room’. Kataluma is the word used in Luke 2:7 where most translations (but not the New International Version) say there was no place for the family in the inn. But Luke also uses the word kataluma in 22:11 when Jesus sends his disciples ahead to enquire about the ‘guest room’ where they can observe the Passover. So, using the same word, did Luke mean ‘inn’ or ‘guest room’ when he was explaining where there was no accommodation for Mary and Joseph?

A clue to the answer might lie in the fact that Luke uses a completely different word pandocheion (πανδοχεῖον) when he describes how the Good Samaritan left the wounded traveller to be cared for at an inn (Luke 10:34). That may suggest that in chapter 2 Luke was not referring to an inn being full, but that the guest room in a house was already full, hence Joseph and Mary had to settle in a place where animals were fed. Where would that have been for them? When I travelled in rural parts of Asia, I saw families keep animals below their living area. Preparing one lunch involved choosing a hen from those scuttling around below the floor where we sat. Similarly, in a Judean village in ancient times, the lowest area of the house often provided overnight shelter for animals. If not there, they might get night-time shelter in a cave near the main house.

Since we don’t have precise information, the best answers for question 4 are either ‘a basement area’ or ‘a cave’.

There could be one more answer, not listed in the question, if we are thinking only of where Jesus was born. People of those times were very hospitable, and especially so with a young woman close to giving birth. Therefore, when Mary went into labour, it’s likely she was brought into the main area of the house and helped to give birth there, and only after Mary and Jesus were safe and settled was the newborn laid in a manger downstairs.

Question 5 asks what a manger[2] was made from. The traditional image of the manger is of a wooden construction raised up above the ground. That is near-certainly wrong. Wood was necessary for many things, but not to contain animal feed. Nor were shaped bricks required. A manger was no more than a box-shaped area capable of containing animal food and accessible for the animals eating it. So – with stones plentiful all over the countryside – building a manger involved no more than creating a shape, perhaps rectangular, with stones laid on the ground. Therefore the right answer is that a manger was made from stone, and that’s where the baby Jesus was laid.[3]

Question 6 says Joseph was told by an angel that the baby to be born should be named ‘Jesus’ and asks why that name. Apart from one or two rebels, no-one in the church voted that the reason was because Jesus was the most popular boys’ name at the time, or that the angels had chosen it by a vote. So that left only the right answer: the name Jesus had special meaning. According to Matthew (in his gospel, chapter 1:21), long before Jesus was born, an angel told Joseph he must take Mary to be his wife, then added these significant words: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Why did the name Jesus carry that that meaning? The answer is because Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, and Joshua means ‘the Lord saves’. In other words, the baby carried by Mary should be called Jesus because the Son of God would be born on earth in order to save people from their sins. His name described his mission.

Part 3 Reflection

In modern times, we’ve wrapped up Christmas in tinsel, lights, winter scenes, heart-tugging romantic films, family gatherings, plentiful food, and the happy story of a new baby being visited by shepherds and brought gifts by wise men.[4] But what happened 2000 plus years ago is rugged, raw and very different from our homely stories. The reality was a tortuous 80 mile journey, a woman suffering all the usual pains of labour, probably giving birth in a basement or cave, and laying her new-born in an animal feeding trough. That woman was, in fact, a girl in her mid teens, a baby born into poverty, then hunted by a jealous monarch’s kill squad, and becoming a refugee with his parents as they fled to safety in another land.

There was nothing ‘tinsely’ about all that. But this was God coming into the world as a human being. In his gospel, describing Jesus as ‘the Word’, the apostle John wrote: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). God came to where we are. He had to; there was no other way to save us.

In the early hours of 7^th September, 1838, the paddle steamer Forfarshire was shipwrecked on rocks near the Farne Islands, off the NE coast of England. The larger part of the vessel sank quickly taking more than 50 people to their death. From a nearby island, 22-year-old Grace Darling saw the wreck from her upstairs bedroom in the lighthouse where her father, William, was keeper. She spotted survivors clinging to rocks, but certain to die soon as waves pounded the area. The weather was too rough for a lifeboat to launch, but Grace and her father pushed a 21 foot (6.5 metre) rowing boat into the water. Normally that boat required four oarsmen, but Grace and William together rowed their boat through treacherous seas for over a mile to reach the stranded survivors. Nine people were saved. Grace became famous once the rescue story became known, and she and her father were awarded medals for bravery. Sadly Grace died from tuberculosis just four years later.

Painting by Thomas Musgrave Joy. In Public Domain

But Grace’s courage, strength and determination meant lives were saved. She could not merely watch from the comfort and safety of her lighthouse bedroom. Nor could she wait on the shore, hoping that somehow these people would save themselves. She, and her father, did the only thing that could rescue them – they left the safety of the shore, went into the raging sea, rowed to where the eight sailors and one passenger were, and by going to them saved them.

And that is what Christmas is about. God did not lament a lost world from a distance. He loved the world so much that that he came down from heaven’s glory to be alongside us and save us. It was hard, cruel and painful. But had Jesus not come we would be lost.

Look out for the second part of the Christmas Quiz – coming soon!

[1] The imminent arrival of a new baby often motivates parents to decorate or rearrange the home. For Alison and me, that meant we rushed to finish painting our very small shower room. It was so small, no ladder would fit inside, so we could not reach the very top of the shower space. So – with baby due any day – Alison sat on top of my shoulders, paint pot in one hand and brush in the other, and painted the previously unreachable area. Our son was born the same week.

[2] The word ‘manger’ comes from the Old French word mangier (now manger) = to eat.

[3] In an article I read recently, the writer said Jesus was born in a manger. I shudder to picture that. He should have said Jesus was laid in a manger.

[4] The next quiz will be about the visit of the wise men.

When Jesus was a refugee

The hand on the woman’s shoulder was gentle, yet firm enough to stir her from deep sleep. “Mary,” the man said, “please wake up”. The room was in complete darkness. Only the familiar voice quelled Mary’s instinct to panic.

“Joseph, why are you awake? What’s happening? It must be the middle of the night,” she said.

“It is, and we need to pack what we can, take our son, and leave right now.”

“Joseph, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong? Where are we going and why must we leave now? Just come back to bed. We can talk this through in the morning.”

Joseph’s voice did not waver. “No, Mary. Please trust me. We must gather our things and be well on our way before daylight. If not, our son’s life will be at risk.”

There was no more argument. Mary rose, and by nothing more than the light of one candle, she and Joseph gathered clothes, blanket, food, and their few special possessions. Finally, they lifted Jesus from his bed, made soothing noises to keep him quiet, left the first home they’d known as a family, and set off into the cold night air.

Joseph, of course, will have given Mary further details as they trekked through the darkness, explaining what had happened to move him to such urgent action. The gospel writer Matthew describes it this way: “an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’” (2: 13)

Mary was startled. Who wouldn’t be? To set off by night on a long and dangerous journey because of a dream? Going to another country with no definite destination? Yet, so much in recent years for Mary had been strange, especially her own encounter with an angel who told her she’d bear God’s child. (Luke 1: 26-38)

But this? A sudden rush into the night? Fleeing the country? Hiding their child from soldiers ordered to kill him? Questions, many questions. But no refusal by Mary. Out into the night they went as a family, and headed for safety in Egypt.

The courage, faith and resilience of both these parents is remarkable. Down the centuries, Mary has rightly been recognised for her submission to God. “I am the Lord’s servant… May your word to me be fulfilled,” she answered the angel who spoke to her. (Luke 1: 38) Mary was a woman of faith. And so was Joseph. His obedience in marrying Mary must have damaged his reputation. Yet he didn’t hesitate. Nor does he hesitate now, as he gets Mary and Jesus on the road to safety in another country.

Taking turns to carry Jesus, Joseph and Mary walked and walked. Step after weary step they trudged south. Even the shortest distance to the border was about 40 miles (64 km). But they needed to go further than that, probably at least 50 or 60 miles to reach a city where they wouldn’t be noticed among the throng. With just two carrying the essentials of three, they couldn’t have covered more than 10 miles a day. Nor, while still in Judea, could they risk staying at an inn because someone might tell Herod’s soldiers that a family from Bethlehem with a young boy was there. So, each night, the three likely huddled under a blanket at the side of the road. It would be cold, uncomfortable and very dangerous. Travellers were favourite targets for wayside robbers, and they could be as vicious as Herod’s men.

Day after day they put one foot in front of the other, always weary on dusty, uneven roads, always uncertain about what lay ahead. They were doing exactly what they’d been told to do, but that didn’t ease aching feet or quell anxious thoughts. God’s will is rarely easy. Hardship is a frequent landmark on the road of discipleship.

Becoming refugees seemed so wrong, yet it was also significant. Egypt was the convenient and safe refuge for a Judean family in danger. Crossing the border put them beyond Herod’s reach. But genuine refugees – then and now – are vulnerable: often penniless, often homeless, often unfamiliar with the local language, often unable to find work.

But Joseph, Mary and Jesus had one advantage. The road to Egypt has been walked by many Jews before them, often for similar reasons to theirs. At that time, the Egyptian city of Alexandria had over a million Jews; others were elsewhere. So, wherever the little family settled, they would find fellow countrymen, people with similar backgrounds who understood what they were experiencing. Speaking the same language, they would explain customs and laws, and help with accommodation and employment.

But, along with all the practical issues, Joseph and Mary had one troubling thought. They knew Jesus was no ordinary child. Joseph had been told to name him Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins”. (Matt. 1: 21) And Mary was told: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end… the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:32-33, 35) Both believed those words were from God, and everything that happened at the time of Jesus’ birth and in the months after confirmed their truth. In their care was the Son of God, and they had fled to Egypt to keep him alive.

But, they must have wondered, how can these amazing promises about Jesus be fulfilled if he is in Egypt? Surely God could have protected him back in Judea, but they had been told to flee. Joseph and Mary wanted their son to grow up and fulfil all the prophecies about him. But he couldn’t fulfil them if he was in Egypt.

What the couple could not know was how long they would stay in Egypt, and what reasons, other than physical safety, God had for them being there. They may have assumed there was a straight line for Jesus from his birth through his youth and then to saving people from their sins and reigning over a new kingdom. But God never promises straight lines. When we find our lives in strange places, it may be because our route needed to change so skills could be learned, character developed, wisdom gained, and bad times endured.

Matthew saw one other reason for this strange period in Jesus’ life. A prophecy would be fulfilled when the family finally left Egypt and returned to Judea. He wrote: “And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” (2: 15) That prophecy first appears in the Old Testament book of Hosea (11: 1) where it refers to God bringing his son, the nation Israel, out of its captivity in Egypt (the Exodus story). Matthew saw how that prophecy also applies to Jesus. God’s Son will come out of Egypt. But, of course, with Jesus it has a greater significance: Israel was the redeemed people God called out of Egypt, but Jesus is the redeemer called out of Egypt.

Then it was time to go home, but that was fraught with danger too. King Herod died. The tyrant who thought nothing of killing babies and toddlers in Bethlehem went to meet his maker. It’s hard to imagine that was a happy meeting.

Now the ruler who wanted to kill Jesus was gone. Again Joseph was spoken to by an angel in a dream. “Get up, take the child and his mother and go…” It was time to return to the land of Israel, “for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” (2: 20)

Joseph could have argued. The family had settled in Egypt. They had blended in well to the Jewish and Egyptian communities. He had carpentry work. Joseph and Mary had made friends. Jesus had playmates. To live there for longer – perhaps for ever – wasn’t a bad idea.

But it would have been the wrong idea. So Joseph did not debate with the angel. The family sorted out their possessions, and set off north. This time they could travel in daylight, but they knew the journey would still be demanding and dangerous. Though nervous, tired, and uncertain they were also obedient. They had been told to return, so they would. Joseph assumed they’d resettle in Bethlehem in Judea. It was where they’d lived after Jesus was born, and, being a royal city, it was a place appropriate for God’s Messiah.

But there was something Joseph didn’t know. He had assumed that with Herod dead, life in Bethlehem would surely be better and safer now. It wasn’t. It was worse.

Herod had ruled over a sizeable country, but he knew the Romans would not let a successor have so much power. So he had written a will which divided the land after his death between three sons. Herod Philip got the northern region called Trachonitis, Antipas was given Galilee, and the largest area, which included Idumaea, Judea, and Samaria, went to Archelaus. What sent shivers through Joseph was the last of these appointments – that Archelaus now ruled Judea. Why was that a problem? Bethlehem was in Judea. And, if Herod had been evil, Archelaus was twice as evil and twice as vindictive as his father. He wanted no rivals and no contrary voices, so he began his reign by killing 3000 of the most influential people in the land. If Archelaus would eliminate them, and now learned that the child his father had wanted dead was back in Bethlehem, he’d have no scruples about dispatching a murder squad to kill Jesus and probably Joseph and Mary too. Archelaus’ rulership over Judea made it impossible for the family to settle there.

In another dream Joseph was told to take the family even further north. This time their goal was Nazareth in Galilee. That was an extra 90 miles (145 km) over hills and through areas made dangerous by wild animals and thieves. But Nazareth was a familiar place for Joseph and Mary because it’s where they had grown up. And the important point was that Archelaus did not rule there.[1] Nazareth was in Galilee where Antipas was in charge. Though another of Herod’s sons, Antipas was a peaceful and good ruler. In Nazareth, the family were safe.[2] It was the right place for them to raise Jesus to be the man, the Saviour, the Lord he was always meant to be.

Here we (nearly) end the two-part story of the events which occurred after Jesus was born. Part one was the previous blog post about the visit of the wise men, and this one has described how Jesus became a refugee in Egypt, and then returned to his homeland. If you have not read part one, you’ll still find it helpful. You can access it at https://occasionallywise.com/?s=wise+men

From both parts of the story, and from my Christian perspective, I draw several lessons, including these seven.

It is remarkable but important that people from another land came and worshipped Jesus soon after his birth. The divine purpose may have been to show that one day every knee will bow before him (as Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, 2: 10).

The wise men risked their lives for Jesus by disobeying Herod’s command to reveal his location. Many have done the same since, with some making the ultimate sacrifice for their loyalty.

There is no shortage of cruelty in the world. The evil of Herod, who had Bethlehem children murdered in an attempt to eliminate Jesus, and later the even greater ruthlessness of his son Archelaus as ruler over Judea, shows just how cold-hearted and brutal human beings can be to harmless and innocent people.

Guidance from God can come in strange, unexpected ways. But, for Joseph, it was always there when he needed it. At no point was the whole plan given to Joseph in advance, but he was always told in time what to do next.

Paths through life have frequent twists and turns. We get scared when plans are forced to change. That’s because we can’t see round corners, but God can and knows exactly what he is doing with our lives.

There’s no guarantee that, even in the centre of God’s will, life will be comfortable. The night when Joseph woke Mary and told her they had to flee, the couple had two choices. One was to stay in Bethlehem where they had settled – but then their little child would be murdered. The other was to get started while it was still dark, take almost nothing with them, and flee for their lives to a foreign land where they had no friends, no place to live, no means of support and did not know the language.

Of course the right choice was to flee. They did that one hundred percent in the middle of God’s will. But, that meant letting go of every shred of comfort and security, and becoming refugees. It’s a myth that doing what God wants will leave us feeling cosy and comfortable. But choosing what’s right, even when it’s tough, is always for the best.

God’s ultimate purposes do get fulfilled. Think how the story from the beginning of the gospel to now could have gone:

Mary: stoned to death for getting pregnant outside marriage
Joseph, to whom she was engaged, abandoning Mary because he knew he was not the father of her child
While they were travelling from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the couple could have been robbed or murdered, or Mary might have gone into labour on a remote hillside
Mary and Jesus could have died while she gave birth in a far-from-clinically-clean stable
Herod’s murder squad could have found and killed Jesus before they’d had time to escape
After they set off at night for Egypt, evil people or wild animals could have killed them and left their bodies at the side of the road
When they were settled in Egypt, Joseph might have felt secure, grown weary with moving about, and decided they should stay rather than return to Israel
If they had gone back to Judea, the seriously wicked son of Herod – Archelaus – might have murdered the whole family.

But none of that happened. God had a plan for his Son’s life and nothing was going to stop it. That is true also for everyone who belongs to God. Probably our paths through life will not be so dramatic as the path was for Jesus’ family, but we will be every bit as safe in the hands of God.

[1] Unfortunately for Archelaus he had one other flaw – he was hopelessly incompetent, and the Romans deposed and replaced him after just two years.

[2] Nazareth was not a tiny village, but also not a place of great note. It is never mentioned in the Old Testament.

Kindness

My day began in New Delhi, India, around 7.00. I was due at a school to address their morning assembly. I’d skipped breakfast because I’d been told my colleague and I would have food after the assembly. Delhi traffic was as crazy as ever, but we arrived safely, the assembly went well, and a small group of us gathered in the headteacher’s office afterwards. Breakfast was served – hamburgers. So began the day of seven cooked meals.

It was one of those days when visit followed visit in rapid succession. And at every project and in every home, we were fed. Perhaps a few were motivated to please foreign guests who might provide funding for their organisation. But mostly the hospitality reflected a culture of kindness: guests should be honoured, and honoured guests are served food.

Most of our meals that day were traditional for north India. I preferred that. I had no wish to be given European-style meals when in India. Every stop was another breakfast or a lunch or, as the day wore on, a dinner. These were not snacks. They were substantial meals.

Can you have too much of a good thing? Yes, you can. By mid afternoon I was moving from feeling full to feeling ill. My queasiness wasn’t helped by city traffic. We veered this way, that way, stopped and then roared ahead. Thankfully, each time we arrived at a new destination, I could walk around. Soon I’d be fine again.

After six stops – now at nearly 8.00 in the evening – we paid our final call to thank friends who’d helped organize our day’s visits. We were invited into their home, and politeness required we accept. The inevitable happened. Their politeness meant they insisted on giving us a meal. And our politeness meant we couldn’t refuse. Our seventh cooked meal in one day.

Other days rivalled that one, but happily none ever beat it. I loved the food, and loved the people even more. But if seven meals a day happened every day I’d have been charged for excess baggage for the flight home.

I was shown great kindness by people in many poor countries, and it’s left the enduring thought that they had so little but gave so much. Sometimes we were able, quietly, to pass on a ‘gift’ in thanks, because otherwise their generosity to us would have meant their family didn’t eat for several days. But their kindness was given without knowing there’d be any reimbursement; they simply used the little they had to bless us.

I saw that principle – ‘those who have little give much’ – during my years as a pastor in the UK. Senior citizens, often with little money, were the first to give when the congregation were asked to help the poor at home or abroad. Relative to their means, they were super generous. They reminded me of the poor widow Jesus saw putting a couple of coins into the temple offering. He said she’d given more than any of the rich people because the rich had plenty left whereas she’d given everything she had.[1]

Kindness matters, and there are good principles underpinning it, including these.

As people have done for us, so we should do for others

In America, I finished my supermarket shopping, waited in the checkout queue, the operator scanned my purchases, and I got ready to pay. Then I was told, ‘Your bill has already been paid’. I looked puzzled, and said I didn’t understand. She explained, ‘The person two places in front of you has already paid for the next three customers after him’. I walked away, humbled and grateful.

I’d just experienced an instance of ‘pay it forward’. Pay it forward has a long tradition which has been popularised in books and film.[2] The core idea is that when someone has been good to you, there’s no need to repay them but you should pass on an equivalent kindness to someone else.

How would the world be if everyone followed that principle? We’ve all been helped by others, probably many times. What if the benefit they gave us was ‘paid back’ with equivalent kindness to others who need it?

Kindness means you meet some strange but wonderful people

The culture of the ancient Middle East included hospitality to passing strangers, welcoming them into your home for a meal, and perhaps providing a bed for the night. That custom is the background to a strange Bible verse:

‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.’ (Hebrews 13:2)

Many believe the reference to ‘angels’ is meant literally, that unknown guests may actually be angelic creatures. Others think the Greek word used here – angelos (ἄγγελος) – only has the general meaning of ‘one sent’ or ‘messenger’. If that second view is correct, the guest must still be a VIP++. There’s no reason to call visitors angels unless they are very special messengers, likely messengers sent by God.

I’m not aware that we’ve ever given hospitality to angels, but some who came our way were certainly special. During their stay we were helped, encouraged, motivated and even sometimes guided regarding what we were meant to do. Without these guests, our lives would not have been complete. Kindness introduces you to the best and most important of people.

We don’t show kindness for our own sake.

How could kindness ever be for our own benefit? Surely kindness is always about helping others? It is about helping others, but there can still be the issue of motivation.

In the entrance halls of many public buildings in America – including churches – I’d see a wall of plaques containing the names of those whose gifts had built or furnished that building. The names of the biggest givers were usually in the largest type, with progressively smaller font sizes for lesser donor categories. Outside there might be a pathway with donor names inscribed on the stones. Or a room would be named after a donor. Of course, a very generous donor might have their name emblazoned right across the whole building. Publicising donors’ names isn’t unique to America; I just saw more of it there.

Why would anyone want their name on a building? Or on a plaque promoting how much they’d given? Some motivations will be good. But others perhaps less so. I know from fundraisers that the offer of a donor’s name on a building can be a ‘hook’ to secure a very large gift. So, would that donor be motivated by generosity? Or motivated to be thought generous? Only they could know the answer.

Jesus gave the perfect antidote to seeking glory by your giving – don’t reveal your generosity to anyone.

‘But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’ (Matthew 6:3-4)[3]

Is that an impossible standard? That we should keep our generosity secret? It’s not impossible.

In one church where I was pastor, several times a couple presented me with a box of groceries and other necessities to give to families they saw going through hard times. I was to pass on the gift, but say only that it came from friends who cared. Those packages fed families with food and also warmed their hearts. Someone had seen and someone had cared. But they never knew who the ‘someone’ was.

Kindness is not about what we get; it’s about what we give.

Our goal must be to provide the kindest, not to provide the finest.

I’ve visited and preached from the northern islands of Scotland to the south coast of England and across to the west coast of Wales. And also in many other countries of the world. Often I’ve eaten and stayed overnight in people’s homes. Some of those houses were lavish; others were very humble. If I was to draw up a list of the top 20 homes I’m grateful to have visited, none would be on that list because of how grand they were. The best were those with gracious, helpful, thoughtful people who made it clear I was welcome and ensured I was comfortable. I felt cared for, and didn’t mind at all whether their furniture came from high-end stores or charity shops. It was simply a joy to be looked after by good, kind people.

Kindness counts. It’s a wonderful privilege to be able to bless people with acts and attitudes of kindness. It may be life-changing for them. And it’s wonderful when we’re on the receiving end of kindness, though it may mean eating seven cooked meals in the same day.

[1] As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘Truly I tell you,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’ (Luke 21:1-4)

[2] Nicely summarized by Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_it_forward

[3] Almost all of Matthew chapter 6 is teaching of Jesus about not making a ‘show’ of our spiritual or humanitarian actions. God sees it all, and that’s enough.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Before I began writing this blog nearly a year ago, I decided to avoid highlighting special events or seasons of the year. And then, at the beginning of January, my first blog was about ‘Resolutions’. I failed right at the start!

And I’ve failed right at the end of the year because I could not ignore Christmas, writing two blogs on the odd ancestors of Jesus, that strange family list which culminates in the birth of the Son of God in Bethlehem.

The last blogs of this year had to take account of the season. How could I ignore the birth of Jesus?

So, my original decision abandoned, as Christmas Day begins where I am in the UK, let me say HAPPY CHRISTMAS to those who’ve already been celebrating this day in places east of where I am, and the same to those who’ll celebrate in a few hours in places to the west.

The blog has been read this year in 32 countries. As I post this, those already celebrating Christmas include readers in Indonesia, South Korea, China, Australia, India, Pakistan. Those yet to reach Christmas Day may be in the USA, Canada, Ecuador, Chile, Bahamas. Unsurprisingly by far the greatest number of readers are in the UK (and I hope they’re now in bed!)

Wherever this is read, please know I’m grateful for your interest. This Christmas I’m praying that you know God’s peace and God’s goodness in your life, and that 2022 holds many blessings for you.

With warmest appreciation,

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