Becoming Us: FIVE, The Story of the Magi

Then we will be applying the Enneagram types to characters in the Bible and what we can learn from each of them about us and our relationships.This week is FIVE: The Observer or Investigator. I chose this type first because our main stars for tomorrow are the Magi and their visit to the King of Kings. And I can’t think of better FIVEs than these astronomers and court sages ( wise men). What makes them a FIVE? Find out this week and that maybe you are a FIVE too.

‘The Road Back to You’ allows you to peek inside each of the nine Enneagram types.Not only will you learn more about yourself, but you will also start to see the world through other people’s eyes, understanding how and why people think, feel, and act the way they do. Find your unique strengths and weaknesses. Get on the road that will lead you to your truest self. Order a copy here

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PJ Pondering

All of this begs the question why are some Christians enthusiastic about the Enneagram? Maybe its a need for a simple way to relate to each other. In the 1970s, some people would say, “I’m a Capricorn,” referring to their astrological sign. In the 1990s, people were likely to say, “I’m INTJ,” referring to their Myers Briggs personality type. We also think our Spiritual Gifts are important. In each generation, we want a simple way to both convey information about our personality to others and also to identify personality traits of other people.

PJ Pondering

How do you know what type you might be? The oldest forms of Enneagram typing are based on self-assessment, where you choose the number that best fits your personality type. This is sometimes aided by a brief questionnaire. As Don Riso says in his book, Understanding the Enneagram, there are several “rules of thumb” that can help determine if we’ve “correctly chosen our correct type.” “If the type you have chosen not only stirs up deep feelings but also helps you understand aspects of yourself you have never seen before, then it is probably your type,”. “If your choice leads you to make new connections and see new patterns in yourself and your relationships, then you have probably accurately typed yourself.”

PJ Point

So the first type we will be looking at is FIVE. FIVEs are some of the unsung heroes of the Enneagram. They don’t seek to be honored at banquets or showered in the spotlight with public praise. FIVE know what they know and they do what they do – and they do it well. I’ve never met a FIVE who wasn’t at least somewhat knowledgeable in virtually everything. FIVEs are the researchers behind the project. They are the quality engineers making sure your new car runs perfectly. They are chemists developing new, safer, sustainable formulas and medicines.

PJ Point

If you have a five in your life, you know they are great to have around like a walking Google search. Ask them a question, and they can probably give you an answer. If not, they’ll disappear for a while and then come back with one. FIVEs read the Encyclopedia for fun as children.FIVEs, often called Observers or Investigators, are not typically very outgoing – FIVEs tend to keep to themselves at parties and family gatherings.

PJ Point

Most FIVEs will have a “fortress of solitude” where they can disappear for a while. It’s their space, and no one else is allowed in unless invited and accompanied by the FIVE.

Being around large groups of people or in the spotlight for extended periods of time saps the emotional energy right out of a FIVE. But if you give them a task – a research project or something requiring their technical expertise – they will work on it for hours or days or months continually and do it better than anyone.

PJ Point

So maybe that is why when I think of FIVE’s in the Bible the first one I came up with is the Magi. They to me fit the description of a FIVE to a tee. They were ….Magi a term that refers to the Persian priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science. Astronomers of their day.

Another FIVE I think was Thomas. The favorite of all the disciples for me. The Doubter. The Investigator.

PJ Point

And another FIVE in the Bible is probably Nicodemus. He only appears in John’s gospel account, but he must have made an impact on John. He first appears in John 3 and pops up three times. If Nicodemus is a FIVE, he’s a FIVE on a journey toward something greater than he could have imagined.

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a Jewish leader. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could do these miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.”

John 3:1-2

PJ Point

Here are a few things we know about him, and they fit really well with a FIVE. 1) He was a Pharisee. Pharisees were concerned with doing the right things in the right ways and they would be very appealing to FIVEs like him. 2) He was a member of the Jewish ruling council – also known as the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was comprised of the top 70 law experts from both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. 3) He came to Jesus at night. Why at night? Was he scared? Maybe. But if I view Nicodemus as a FIVE, then he wasn’t afraid of the crowds, he just wanted Jesus to himself.

Jesus answered, “I assure you, unless someone is born anew, it’s not possible to see God’s kingdom.” Nicodemus asked, “How is it possible for an adult to be born? It’s impossible to enter the mother’s womb for a second time and be born, isn’t it?”

John 3:3-4

God’s Spirit blows wherever it wishes. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It’s the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

John 3:8

PJ Point

You want to talk scientifically, rationally, and logically about God, as if God is a formula? Nicodemus, you can’t even explain the wind, much less God. Even today, we can’t explain everything about the world, atoms, the universe. How much less can we explain the Creator of it all? But we can feel the effects of God all around us.
Fives don’t like that word – feel. Jesus is trying to get Nicodemus to feel something when all he knows how to do is think. God gave us a brain, yes. But he also gave us a heart.

Nicodemus still isn’t picking up what Jesus is putting down. He’s still asking questions. (Fives are the most inquisitive number on the Enneagram.) So Jesus tries to put it in terms Nicodemus just might finally get.

Nicodemus said, “How are these things possible?” “Jesus answered, “You are a teacher of Israel and you don’t know these things? I assure you that we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you don’t receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

John 3:9-12

No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Human One. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Human One be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life.

John 3:13-16

Nicodemus, who was one of them and had come to Jesus earlier, said, “Our Law doesn’t judge someone without first hearing him and learning what he is doing, does it?”

John 7:50-51

PJ Point

When FIVEs are in health and security according to the Enneagram, they become a different number, in this case, Type 8, the Challenger. FIVEs then are more willing to make their voice be heard and to stand up for their beliefs. Nicodemus becomes an Eight because he’s more secure in who he is and what God has called him to do. He gets chastised and mocked for it, but he doesn’t back down. If a FIVE believes in something deeply they will not back down. They go forward no matter what the obstacle.

The final time we see Nicodemus is at what they thought was the end. After Jesus died, he was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph was joined by Nicodemus in preparing the body for burial. Don’t overlook what it says about him.

PJ Point

Seventy-five pounds of aloes, oils, and spices?! That’s a ton, and it would have cost a ton, too.

Why is that important? Because here is the dark side of a FIVE. The major vice of a Five is greed. Fives can tend to be borderline hoarders. Fives will often keep the most random stuff and stockpile it because who knows? We might need that someday. Fives can be very stingy with their knowledge, their possessions, their time, and their emotions. Fives keep things to themselves – literally.

But when Five moves to a place of health, they can become some of the most generous people in the world. They no longer operate out of a scarcity mindset. They realize that they have more than they need, and there’s plenty to go around. Healthy Fives can be some of the best teachers and mentors and philanthropists.

Nicodemus, in one last act of faith, offered up probably thousands of dollars’ worth of burial spices that he had likely been storing away for himself or a family member – because you never know. But then he saw someone else in need of what he had, and he gave it freely.

Nicodemus, the one who at first had come to Jesus at night, was there too. He brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe, nearly seventy-five pounds in all.

John 19:39

PJ Final Point

Nicodemus wasn’t in the spotlight. He quite literally avoided it. But his transformation is incredibly apparent in such a few verses. We see that also in Thomas and definitely in the Magi as they return home.

For FIVEs, the greatest distance between two points in our body is not from the top of our skull to the flats of your feet. The longest journey you will ever take is the 18 inches from your head to your heart. Nicodemus didn’t experience real transformation until Jesus opened up his heart to feeling what God was doing.

Sometimes there are no explanations. Sometimes there is insufficient evidence. FIVEs force us to ask the question: Are you able to believe anyway? Do you trust God even when it doesn’t make logical sense? Are you a FIVE? What’s YOUR number?