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NOTE: As you probably already know, i am posting a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.
Each of the four stories is an adolescent’s eyewitness account of the circumstances surrounding the advent of Jesus. The last three eyewitnesses are fictional and represent the many who would have been present at the advent of Jesus, but are not named in Scripture. Though some of the characters and details contained in each story are fictional, you will find that the truth they reveal is very REAL!
To that end, this week we will hear from Yanzu, a servant who accompanied the magi.
Part 1 as told by Isaac, the son of Abraham (November 29th)
Part 2 as told by Salome, the friend of Mary (December 6th)
Part 3 as told by Yanzu, the servant of Balthazar (This week - December 13th)
Part 4 as told by Ashriel, the great-grandson of Simeon (December 20th)
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I am an eleven-year-old boy named Yanzu. I am not Jewish. I live in the city of Babylon which is in a very different part of the world. My city is the capital of what is known as the Parthian Empire. It is one of the best places for learning in the world, but I have not grown up hearing the stories about Abraham or Isaac – or the promised One.
I have a master whose name is Balthazar. When boys and girls from a poor family where I live turn ten years old, they must go to work. They become kitchen helpers, housekeepers, field workers, or people who work with their hands. Some, like me, are fortunate enough to work for one of the important people of our city. My master’s older brother is the governor, so my master lives in a palace.
Balthazar spends his days studying the stars. He sees things in the stars that others can’t. He believes the stars help us know about important events that will happen. I am glad my master does not only see me as his helper, but also as one of his students. He is teaching me about the stars.
He has been studying a new star for the past year. He told me it is brighter than any he has ever seen. He says there are old writings by people called Israelites that tell of a King who will be greater than all the other kings. He believes this star is telling us about the birth of this great King.
A few weeks ago, my master told me we were going to follow the star to find this King. He said we would be taking a special gift to Him called frankincense, which comes from trees in our part of the world. It’s used for many things – even to help heal sick people. My master trusted me to carry the chest that contained the frankincense and told me to make sure nothing happened to it. I was very happy and proud that he trusted me that much!
Before I went to sleep each night, I always looked up at the star in the sky. I would wonder what this King must be like. How powerful He must be! He must have more money and helpers than anyone else. Even as a baby, He would wear only the best clothes. He would live in a palace even better than the one my master lives in. I hoped I would see Him someday. But I feared that no one as lowly as me would ever be permitted to enter into His presence.
We had traveled for several days when we met another group of people. They were following the same star to find the King, too. These were wise men like my master, but they came from other countries. They invited my master to join them, and he said yes.
After a few more days of travel, it became clear that the star was leading us into Judaea – one of the provinces where the Israelites lived. My master and the other wise men decided to stop in the city of Jerusalem to visit the Israelite ruler, King Herod. My master believed King Herod would know where we would find the King we were seeking. As we entered the city, people stared and pointed at us. I couldn’t imagine that they had never seen a caravan. But I could see they dressed very plainly. The bright colors of our clothing and robes must have looked very strange to them.
When we arrived at the palace, our masters were told they could enter to see the king but the rest of us would need to wait in the outer courtyard with our animals. My master instructed me to stay with all of our belongings, including the chest of frankincense. The other servants were told by their masters to do the same. The palace servants were curious about the special gifts we had on the backs of our animals. They were surprised that our masters had not brought those gifts for their king.
After a long while, my master and the others returned to us and told us we would continue our journey. We would travel a little further to a small town called Bethlehem. King Herod had told my master that we would find the special King there.
Given the strange welcome we had received in Jerusalem, my master and the others decided not to ask anyone on the streets of Bethlehem to direct us. Instead they would trust the star to guide us. The star eventually stopped over a house that was built beside a hill. When my master and the other wise men knocked on the door, the master of the home greeted them. But like everyone else we had met along the way, he was very surprised to see us.
My master explained that they were there to honor the newborn King. “We have followed the star and it has led us to this home,” my master said. A woman, who appeared to be the wife of the man at the door, stepped out from behind him and quietly told my master and the others to follow her.
The rest of us waited outside. I couldn’t help but think this was a funny place for the special King to be staying. The house was very small and simple – not like a palace at all!
My master sent word for me to bring the chest into the house. The other wise men’s helpers brought in their masters’ gifts, too. We were led up to the third floor and down a narrow hallway to a small room. When I arrived at the door, my master motioned for me to enter the room. I was being allowed to enter into the King’s presence!
As I walked into the room, I bowed my head and looked at the floor. I don’t have the words to tell you how I felt. After I handed the chest to my master, I knelt down on my knees and kept my eyes lowered. I knew I was in the presence of One who deserved great honor.
My master kneeled, too, and gave his gift to the mother and baby. As he opened the chest, the sweet smell of frankincense filled the air. The smell caused me to look up. The baby’s mother was smiling at us. She and the baby were dressed plainly – not in the fine clothing I had expected. But as I looked into His eyes, I knew He was the King!
I looked at my master as he too knelt before the baby. And I realized he and I were the same before this baby. This little One is the King before whom every knee must bow. I knew He was my King – just as much as He was my master’s King. And I knew I would always be welcome in His presence.
I wanted to stay in the room with the baby forever! But soon my master said it was time for us to leave. “Yanzu,” he said, “you have knelt before a special child tonight. He is not just any king, but the King of all kings. The star has led us to Him. Though we must leave Him now, be sure to keep Him in your heart wherever you go.”
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About Yanzu
Yanzu is not in the Bible, and neither is Balthazar by name. However, we do know that wise men traveled a long way to follow the star to a home in Bethlehem where Jesus was staying. The wise men and their helpers would have had many of Yanzu’s same feelings when they met the baby Jesus.
You can read about the visit of the wise men in Matthew 2:1-12 in the Bible.
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This story is taken from Not Too Little To Know, a collection of ten illustrated short stories written for ages 8 and up for the Advent season. The book is available through Amazon in hard cover, paperback, and for Kindle or Kindle app. It is also available as an audiobook. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain a copy.
Copyright © 2023 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
Photo by LUMO-The Gospels for the visual age on Lightstock