The next day, Opis made his way to the square early. Giving himself a moment to catch his thoughts, as he remembered again the events of the day he was about to recall. As the memories of that day filled his mind, he was filled with the emotions that day had brought.
As Rufus arrived, Opis waited no time to begin recalling the story. “I still remember seeing Jerusalem from a distance. It was not seeing the city that amazed me, but seeing the Temple, even from a distance, stood out so much to me. Even at my young age, I had seen the wonders of the Persians, but nothing from home could compare to what I saw with that Temple. The pure size, the incredible beauty, stood out to me from miles away, and amazed me more the closer we got. I mentioned to Balthazar how great a man this Herod must be, in order to build such an amazing structure to God. I can still remember the words Balthazar said back to me. ‘The beauty of the building cannot hide the true cruelty and darkness of this man’s heart. Even his own family and closest friends do not trust him. My son, I do know the words that the Roman Emperor, Augustus, spoke of him, that it is safer to be Herod’s pig than his son. This man would not hesitate to kill his own child if he thought it would bring him even an ounce more power.’”
Opis then continued. “I still take to heart the next words that Balthazar spoke to me. ‘Opis, my son, welcome home! Although both your father and mother were valued Parthians, this is where your roots lie. Before he passed, I promised my dear friend, your father, I would one day show you your true home. I just could have never imagined as I made that promise to your father, it would come to pass in this way. But Opis, the Lord God sure did!’”
Rufus, in amazement, spoke quickly. “Opis, you are a Jew? I would have never known!” Without pause, Opis quickly answered. “I certainly am, although my parents and grandparents did all they could to make our family to be seen as nothing but Parthians. But from the time of the Captivity(2 Kings 24), my ancestral roots were found at the heart of Jerusalem itself.”
After a slight moment of silence, Opis again began to speak. “As we approached the city, you could watch the panic grow in the people, as they rushed to the walls that surrounded Jerusalem(Matthew 2:3). We set up camp right outside of the walls of Jerusalem, and I can still remember the lights of the city never going out that night, as I am sure all the people in the city stood in fear, wondering why such a strong opponent of Rome was gathered at its gates. And as ambassadors were sent to the city itself, asking where the King of the Jews could be found(Matthew 2:2), you could all but hear the panic and the confusion coming from the city even more.”
Opis continued, “The next day, spokesmen from Herod came to our camp, respectfully asking if the Magi would quietly come to meet with Herod(Matthew 2:7), telling them that Herod had information of our inquiry he wished to share with us. I remember Balthazar, Gasper, and Melchior agreeing to meet with Herod, and looked to bring a handful of us with them, as we made our way to his Jerusalem palace. The words the Belthazar had spoken to me came rushing back at me the very moment I first heard Herod speak. A man of smooth words that were filled with the most jagged of points. Every ounce of my spirit told me he would be willing to say anything, in order to do everything.”
Opis then looked off in remembrance as he spoke again. “I can still see the faces of the High Priest, and the other religious leaders, as we entered the room. No look of excitement in their eyes as they spoke about the Promised Messiah(Matthew 2:4-6), only dogmatic words that sounded like they were speaking more about legal documents than about the greatest joy that all of Scripture could hold. They quoted to us Micah 5:2, ‘But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.’ Bethlehem, they told us, a small and insignificant town just a few miles to the south. The very city of David, Israel’s greatest king, was the promised place where the Messiah would come forth from. And as these words were spoken, Herod leaned forward to speak to us once again, asking us to go and search for Israel’s Promised King, and if we found the Child, to let him know, so that he might come and worship Him also(Matthew 2:8). Words that as Herod spoke left a chill running up my spine. Words that reminded me that even in the midst of the beauty and truth of His Word, still showed me just how much Herod was still Herod.”
As Rufus sat glued to the words that Opis spoke, he heard him then continue to speak again. “As we all quickly left the presence of Herod, I heard Balthazar speaking to the other Magi. ‘This all makes perfect sense. We now find ourselves heading to the city where the sacrificial lambs presented to the Lord are raised, in order to find the Lamb that the Lord has sent. If we had just spoken to those shepherds we passed in the fields, on the way to Jerusalem, we would have received far more valuable information than we did from the greatest religious minds of Israel, and already be in His presence.’ And as we walked out that evening, I saw the Magi look into the sky once again. This time as they looked up, the star that had been leading us east, was now pointing us to the north, to the very place in Bethlehem where the Child was present(Matthew 2:9).”
“Opis, how blessed you were to be a part of all this!”, Rufus proclaimed with the greatest excitement. Opis thought and replied, “Blessed indeed. If only I had realized then just how blessed I was to be even a small part of the Lord’s great plan.” As Opis drew another deep breath, he continued. “I grow tired, my son. If my story still holds interest to you, I would welcome you to join me again tomorrow, on these same steps, to hear what it was like when we arrived in Bethlehem.”
I hope you will join us next, as Opis recounts all he saw as the Magi made their way to the very presence of the Child.
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