Bible, Theology & Philosophy

Leo Steinberg, writing for Harper’s Magazine in March of 1984, offered a series of fascinating observations about Domenico Ghirlandaio’s The Adoration of the Magi. The work depicts the Christ child, held by the Virgin, being examined by the wise men. They are gazing in rapt astonishment at the undraped Christ. What Steinberg points out—and what is obvious once noticed—is that the gaze of the Magi is directed toward the child’s genitalia.

Ghirlandaio’s painting is anything but unique. Botticelli conceals the child’s genitals from the viewer and permits him to be examined only by one Magus, but the object of the wise man’s gaze is still obvious. Filippino Lippi has the child partially exposed to the viewer as well as to the Magi. Paolo Veronese shows the virgin lifting aside the child’s wrap and presenting him nether-end first to an amazed Magus. In Pieter Aertsen’s rendition, the Christ, hand raised in a gesture of blessing, is fully exposed to the viewer while a basket of folded diapers sits by Mary’s side. Sebastiano Ricci chooses the moment immediately following the inspection: Mary is replacing the cover over the child, while the aged Magus still peers so closely that the Christ places a hand upon his head.

To be sure, not all paintings of the Magi portray the scene in the same way. Some show the Magi presenting their gifts to the child. Others show one Magus kissing the Savior’s foot. Yet others simply depict the Magi in some other act of obeisance. Nevertheless, enough of these paintings (certainly more than I have listed) show the wise men gazing at the baby’s genitals that there can be no mistake—these artists had a lesson they wanted to emphasize.

As a matter of fact, their point is a doctrinal one. Their paintings constitute a theological reflection on the nature and significance of the incarnation. They are telling us something about who the Christ is and what He does.

Christmas is all about the incarnation. By the incarnation we mean that the second person of the Godhead, without ceasing to be God, adds to His Deity a complete human nature. He takes humanity into Himself in such a way that His person is not divided, but also in such a way that the natures are never confounded or converted. The incarnation tells us who Christ is.

Reprinted from December 24, 2006

The apostle Paul was under arrest, being transported to Rome by a military guard. Along the way, his ship put in at the Lycian port of Myra, where the Roman centurion found a different ship that was sailing to Italy (Acts 27:5-6). The book of Acts does not tell how long Paul was in Myra between ships.