Matthew 2:1-2

Matthew 2:1-2

And after Jesus was being born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, magi from the east came into Jerusalem while saying, “Where is the one who was being born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east and we came to worship Him.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Notice what is missing from Matthew?  There are no shepherds.  In fact, there is no real birth story even!  We go straight from an angelic visit to Joseph to some unknown time after Jesus was born.  We actually think that this visit from the magi was likely up to two years after Jesus’ birth considering that in a few verses we’ll learn of Herod’s despicable behavior regarding the children of Bethlehem.  We have no story of the birth, no story of Joseph’s and Mary’s trip to Bethlehem, no story about the room at the inn.  The reality is that lie Mark and John, the birth of Jesus is less significant than the ministry that happens around and through His coming.  I’m not saying that the birth of our savior is in any way insignificant.  But what I am saying is that chapters in the Gospels are dedicated to the death and resurrection of Jesus whereas only one Gospel really even talks about Jesus’ birth.  Perhaps we as people should learn from the Gospel writers and allow Easter to be our preeminent holiday.

Have you ever thought about how only one Gospel has a birth narrative?  Do you personally live with more emphasis upon Easter than Christmas?  What am I really getting at in this point?

Second Thought:

Now let’s talk about these wise men.  The technical term is magi (magus is the singular, not mage).  The word as it is used really just means “a person of unusual understanding especially about the study of the heavens.”  These were astrologers, and pretty skilled ones at that.  They likely came out of the area of the world formerly dominated by Persia – namely Iraq and Iran.  Darius, the Persian King, speaks about having magi in his court in archaeological references that we have been able to find.  We should note that these people are not magicians.  In the context in which it was used it would be more appropriate to call them priests than magicians.  They weren’t people who had any special power.  They were people who possessed an uncommon wisdom and insight.  This is supported by the Bible.  After all, it should say something that Gentiles come to seek the Jewish Messiah while the Jews themselves don’t know that anything happened at all!  It should say something to us about the mission and agenda of Jesus to know that excluding a few shepherds Jesus was worshipped by Gentiles well before He was even known to the Hebrew people.

What does it mean to you to hear that some of the first worshippers of Jesus were actually Gentiles?  How does this actually help us understand the whole point of Jesus in that He came to save the whole world?

Third Thought:

These magi come to worship.  They don’t come to investigate.  They don’t come to judge.  They don’t come to evaluate.  They come to worship.  What a great example.  When these magi approach God, worship is the first thing on their mind!

How can these Gentile magi be a great example to us?  When you come before God, do you come to worship first?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 2:3-4


Extra Note: William Barclay writes the following in his commentary on Matthew 2:1-2: 

"We do not know what brilliant star those ancient Magi saw. Many suggestions have been made. About 11 BC, Halley’s comet was visible shooting brilliantly across the skies. About 7 BC, there was a brilliant conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. In the years 5–2 BC, there was an unusual astronomical phenomenon. In those years, on the first day of the Egyptian month Mesori, Sirius, the dog star, rose heliacally, that is at sunrise, and shone with extraordinary brilliance. Now the name Mesori means the birth of a prince, and to those ancient astrologers such a star would undoubtedly mean the birth of some great king. We cannot tell what star the Magi saw; but it was their profession to watch the heavens, and some heavenly brilliance spoke to them of the entry of a king into the world."