Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Mat 2:1-3 1
When the wise men arrived, they created quite a stir in Jerusalem. We always make the assumption that there were only three wise men because there are three gifts mentioned. However, this is not in the Scriptures. We don't even know how many gifts they gave the King. We do know of the three specific gifts because of their significance to the roles of Jesus as we discussed yesterday.
We often read these verses that tell of the Magi's visit and picture them following the star on a journey across lands to reach Jerusalem where once they reach the capital of Judah, they get lost. But that is not what the text says. The Magi reported seeing the King of the Jews' star in the east, so they had come to Jerusalem, where the seat of power was for the Jews at that time. They had made the journey to come and worship the newborn king. They went to the place they expected the King to be - in the palace. However, it was Herod sitting on the throne.
The Magi arrived at the palace and asked Herod a question that would have been a slap in the face to him; "Where is He who has been BORN King of the Jews?". Herod was not the King of the Jews by birth. Herod was king because of his loyalty and alliance to Caesar. He was a friend of Rome, and being the Roman procurator in Judah was his reward, as was the title King of the Jews. But Herod was not even a Jew by birth. He was an Idumean, which is to say he was of Edomite ancestry. The Edomites were descended from the family of Esau, Jacob's twin brother. So, imagine what Herod must have thought or felt when the Magi arrived in his palace looking for the One who had "been born King of the Jews," ...someone who had a rightful claim to the throne of the Jews.
But how did they know to look for the King? How did they know there would even be a King of the Jews? How would they know to look for His star? The term translated "wise men" or "magi" in scripture comes from the word "magos." It was a name given by the Babylonians and Chaldeans for their wise men, teachers, astrologers, and interpreters of dreams. So how would this group of magi from the east even know about the King of the Jews? For the answer to that, we need to take a trip to the Old Testament to the book of Daniel. Daniel had been taken into captivity, but was being trained in all things of the literature and language of the Chaldeans. When in Daniel 2 Nebuchadnezzar has a dream he can't understand he calls for the following:
[Dan 2:2 NASB] 2 Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
But they could not help Nebuchadnezzar, which infuriated the king. As the king is ordering the death of all the wise men, Daniel finds out what is going on. You can read the full account in Daniel 2. For our purpose, Daniel by the power of the Holy Spirit is able to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue. Nebuchadnezzar rewards Daniel because of this:
[Dan 2:48 NASB] 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
The definition for wise men in this verse is magi. Daniel the prophet was made the chief ruler over the magi of the Babylonians and Chaldean astrologers. What does this have to do with the coming of the wise men you may ask. Daniel is also the prophet who was given the exact timeline of the arrival of the King of the Jews. He was given a "when to start the clock" event and then the number of days it would be after this event. If someone knew the initiating event, they would know when to begin looking for the arrival of the King. That initiating event happened to be a decree the ruler of Babylon would make. Daniel 9 gives the prophecy of the coming Messiah with the timeline for His arrival and death.
With all of this in mind, is it surprising that there was a group of Magi who knew to look for the coming King? Is it any surprise that they passed this on from generation to generation in anticipation of this event? How like God it is bring the knowledge to the Gentiles of His coming Son by the mouth of a Hebrew prophet! This is exactly how God revealed everything to do with His Son's coming.
I love how God made sure the rulers in authority and the people of Israel knew the King of the Jews had been born by having the Magi go to Jerusalem and deliver the news and inquire of where He would be. The specific place of birth was not part of the prophecy Daniel was given. Herod found out where it was to be by inquiring of those who should have been watching for the King's arrival:
Mat 2:4-6 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'"
Herod did not find out the location with good intentions in mind. He he was hatching an evil plan, but we will have to save that for another day.
Mat 2:7-10 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him." After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
So, after their visit to King Herod, we are told the star continued on before the Magi and led them to the baby King. They found the One they had journeyed so far to meet. These men had, upon seeing the star of the King of the Jews making its appearance, traveled to bow down and worship Him. They took a journey that would have been wrought with dangers and unknowns, but this did not deter them. They wanted to bring Him gifts and worship Him. I love how scripture tells us they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. I love how they fell to the ground to worship the King of ALL kings.
Mat 2:11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
What a beautiful picture for us this Christmas season. Do we rejoice with exceedingly great joy because our King was born in Bethlehem? Do we fall down and worship Him? Do we offer up the sweet incense of our prayers to the One Who, by His precious mercy, paid it all for us? Do we offer our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to Him in worship?
Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Rev 4:11 "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."
Rev 5:13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."
Praying you feel the presence of our Lord and King this Christmas season and throughout the year. I pray we continue to focus on Him and put Him first in all that we do today and every day. Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!
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