After
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from
the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king
of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
– Matthew 2:1-2.
I must confess, the Wise Men in the book of Matthew fascinate me. One day I hope I can do a
series on them and do them justice to who they were and why they decided to
show up in Judea. But for now, I marvel at their faithfulness and humility.
They were completely atypical in that despite their social status, they did not
try to hoard glory and power, but honestly knew who they were in light of all
creation and the universe.
Let me give a little background
info first, though. The term “Magi” is the plural rendering of the Greek, magoi.[1]
This word is traditionally translated as “wise men,” but actually refers to a
larger body of individuals who were gifted in discerning the signs of the
present days, and predicting the future.[2]
If we go back to Daniel 2, we see that magicians, enchanters, astrologers,
sorcerers, and diviners are all considered “wise men” (Daniel 2:2, 12, 27, 48),
and thus were advisors to the King. Now, Scripture forbids practicing divination or sorcery (Leviticus 19:26),
and seeking the advice of mediums or
spiritualists (Leviticus 19:31), because this was how the Egyptians lived.
The Israelites were to trust God and God alone, and not in creation or created
beings for their provision and future. God even says in Deuteronomy 18:10-12:
Let
no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who
practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or
casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone
who does these things is detestable to the Lord,
and because of these detestable practices the Lord
your God will drive out those nations before you.
It wasn’t just a sin to consult such people, God made it
clear that this was the reason that the Canaanites were forfeiting their land
to the Israelites. If the Israelites began to practice these things, they too
would forfeit the land.
So now we get to Matthew 2, and the Magi who appear from the
East looking for the recently born King of the Jews. These Magi came out of the
Babylon/Persia territory, and quite likely were trained in the Babylonian and
Persian wisdom traditions. This means they too were magicians, enchanters,
astrologers, sorcerers, and diviners. Therefore, they were not welcome amongst the Jews, and yet they still came.
These wise men were not simpletons, or uneducated. If you
refer to my post back in 2012 on The Literature and Language of the Chaldeans,
you’ll note that Daniel and his three friends had quite a curriculum before
them. They weren’t just learning about magic and astrology, but also
mathematics, science, and medical practices. The Magi were not slouches when it
came to intelligence. They were expected to be experts at many subjects and to
draw on their vast knowledge of the world and how it functioned in order to
provide sound advice and wisdom to those who consulted them.
Therefore, when the strange star appeared in the night skies
above them, they interpreted it correctly. That’s right, these pagan,
detestable Magi, got it right. And not only did they get it right, they took
the appropriate action – they followed the star to go worship the great king
that had been born. Their studies of creation had led them to the conclusion
that there was more going on in the Universe than themselves. These were
respected and probably powerful men in their society, yet they did not think so
much of themselves that they were threatened by the birth of a great king as
Herod the Great was.
Thus we come to the crux of the matter: “The people least
expected to worship the Christ Child come to do so, while those who should have
been awaiting him are threatened by his arrival.”[3]
The Jews weren’t waiting or watching. But the pagan Magi were. The Jews hadn’t
noted the strange star, and the news of angels singing in the fields near
Bethlehem obviously didn’t make much of an impact either. Luke 2:17 says that
the shepherds who visited Mary, Joseph, and Jesus spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child…But
this was the word of shepherds, not
teachers of the law or priests.
Matthew 2:3-6 continues:
When
King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called
together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them
where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they
replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But
you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
The Magi show up, proclaim the King is born, the chief
priests and teachers of the law confirm that there is a prophecy about such a
ruler to come, and the Magi are sent on their way to find the king. But when
they get to the house in Bethlehem where Mary and Joseph are staying, they
can’t even get to the door because of the hordes of people blocking their way.
They get lost in the crowd and only glimpse the newborn king from a distance.
No, that’s not what it says. The Magi enter the house and walk right up to Mary
and Jesus because there is no one else
there. None of the priests or teachers of the law bothered to investigate
the matter for themselves. There were weird things happening (mysterious stars
appearing, Magi showing up asking about a prophesized King, angels singing in
fields to shepherds, etc), and no one was even curious enough about it to make
the trip down there. It wasn’t just Herod, the priests, and the teachers of the
law that knew about it, all Jerusalem
knew about it and was disturbed.
We’re talking about an 8 mile trip here, which would probably have been about a
half days journey. And no one else was there.
The Magi traveled probably 300-500 miles to Judea to find
this king, worship him, and bring him fine gifts. They were traveling with
valuables so it wasn’t like it was just three guys on camels. They probably had
an entourage of body guards and servants coming with them. And this trip was
most likely not financed by their own rulers. They paid for this themselves.
When they reached Bethlehem and found Jesus, they were overjoyed and bowed
down and worshipped him (Matthew 2:10-11). They did not consider their
positions too stately to get on their knees before a baby, but were filled with
joy at the opportunity before them.
1 Corinthians 1:20 and 28 says:
Where
is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher
of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?...God chose the
lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are
not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.
God chose shepherds in a field to be the first to welcome
the King of Kings into the world. He chose foreign wise men who practiced
detestable arts to be the ones to bring kingly gifts to him. Where were the
Jews? They were right there, but not paying attention. They were the ones that
Jesus came to save, they were the ones that needed what he came to offer the
most. But truly, Jesus came for all the people in this story, not just to be
the King of the Jews, but to be the King of all Creation, including the Magi.
Leviticus 20:6 says that the Magi would have been cut off from the God, and prohibited from His presence, yet Matthew
2 shows us that they were given the amazing opportunity to come into the
presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The faith and watchfulness of the
Magi should challenge us! They were watchful, and action oriented, and are thus
immortalized in the Nativity story. This season is about preparing our hearts
for the King. We know him, we have his word, his promises, and his grace. Are
we waiting for him and giving his free gift of mercy and grace away? Or are we
fighting our way into stores for last minute gifts, worrying about the family
Christmas photo, and embracing being busy so that we can’t take the time to
come and worship the King? The Magi had numerous reasons not to go to
Bethlehem, the financial burden alone was probably prohibitive, let alone the
cost of the gifts they brought. But, they recognized the opportunity before
them and chose to embrace it. Do we? Will we?
We celebrate Christmas every year, but don’t let it become
tame and expected. There is nothing tame and expected about the God of all
Creation humbling himself and becoming a creature in order to redeem creation
that his creatures messed up. This should fill us with awe and wonder every
year; that we get to worship such an amazing God. He has made a way for us,
even the most detestable of us, to love Him and be a part of His Kingdom. How
can we not worship?!
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