The Gifts of the Magi

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2)

There is a sharp contrast between these wise men and the people of Jerusalem. The wise men are not Jews, yet they are seeking the King of the Jews. The people of Jerusalem did not seem at all interested in seeking and finding out the meaning of these things. The Jews had special revelation about the birth of their King in David’s City (See Micah 5.2). Yet, they were not as interested in finding out if the prophecy had been fulfilled as these foreigners were who had been willing to travel great distance. The wise men did not have special revelation in Scripture and were only guided by a star.

This shows that God has revealed certain things to all people, not just to the Jews or those who have the Scriptures. The wise men had what we call natural revelation. The Jews had special revelation – the inspired Scriptures. However, the Jews were not responding to this special revelation while the wise men were responding to what God had revealed to them.

The wise men are also called magi which are also mentioned in the book of Daniel. These were pagan men who were experts in spiritual mysteries and specialized in astrology. This was the ancient belief that the stars and planets controlled events on the earth. God does not approve of astrology, yet He spoke to these men using something that they understood. And when the wise men saw this sign, they paid careful attention to its meaning and significance. Unfortunately, not everyone is so spiritually sensitive, even though we have much more from God today than a star.

The wise men represent the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s plan. We are not certain about the national origin of these wise men. Most scholars believe they came from Persia or the region that was once ancient Babylon. There were hints in the Prophets that God would eventually include the Gentiles in His Kingdom and that the nations would come to Jerusalem (See Isa. 11.10; 49.6; Micah 4.2). These wise men serve as a kind of foreshadowing of the first Gentile believers. The Jews had a difficult time believing that God would accept Gentiles. Even the first Jewish Christians took some time before fully accepting the Gentiles and this was a point of great controversy in the early Church. This may have been why the Jewish religious leaders did not show any interest in checking on this baby born in Bethlehem. What do these Gentiles know about such things?

But God is no respecter of persons. God accepts anyone from any nation who seeks Him with a true heart. This in no way minimizes the importance of the Jewish people in God’s plan. However, many of the Jews rejected what God was doing in their midst. It is clear that God accepts those who believe and not just those who are of the family of Abraham. Even Gentiles can be children of Abraham if they manifest Abraham’s faith. These wise men, though they did not have a complete knowledge of these things, are examples of what faith does. All the wise men knew was that the King had been born in Israel.

Jesus was born to be the King and is therefore a threat to all opposing Kingdoms. It was commonly believed in ancient times that the birth of a powerful ruler was accompanied by signs in the heavens. This is why the wise men were quick to recognize this star, which was probably a special sign prepared by God for them to see and follow.

The wise men were right in their assertion that the King of the Jews had been born. They did not know that he had been born in Bethlehem and they first went to Jerusalem. The rulers in Jerusalem, both the religious and the secular, were surprised and somewhat disturbed by the birth of a king, should it prove to be true.

Herod the Great was ruling in Jerusalem and he was a usurper who had no rightful claim to rule. Herod was a paranoid maniac who would do anything to keep a rival from the throne. Herod was only interested in keeping his own kingdom and would have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God. Even the religious leaders of Israel, though they knew Micah’s prophecy that Bethlehem would be the place of the Messiah’s birth, showed no interest in these things spoken by the wise men. We know that the religious leaders were later jealous of Jesus and sought to kill Him to protect their own position of authority.

These reactions to Jesus are no different from how people respond to Him today. Most people would rather rule their own lives than submit to the authority of Jesus.

The wise men left the capital city of Jerusalem and were guided by the star to the little town of Bethlehem. This shows us that we come to Christ only through Divine revelation. There are some things that we can know only because they are revealed from heaven. The world by its wisdom cannot know God.

I suppose the wise men could have refused to follow this star, not believing that it meant anything significant. In the same way we can refuse to believe God’s revelation. No one would have known who Jesus was unless God had revealed it. God had sent an angel to both Mary and Joseph to reveal the birth of Christ. Angels also made a special announcement to some shepherds to come and see the Christ. And then these wise men came from a distant country, guided by a Divine revelation.

Later there were two older saints, Simeon and Anna, who recognized who the baby Jesus was when Mary and Joseph brought him to the Temple. Both of these saints were also given a special revelation from God. Only a few people were given these direct revelations of Christ when He was born. But now the whole world has been given this revelation about Christ and it is left to every man and woman to respond.

The only proper response to Christ is to worship Him. The wise men came to worship Christ. They recognized that He was a king and so they worshiped him as a king deserves. They presented Him with precious and costly gifts fit for a king.

Most people in western culture fail to understand what it means to worship a king. In the ancient world people would literally bow with their faces to the ground before a king to show humility and obedience. The original word that is translated in the New Testament as “worship” literally means “to kiss toward” and refers to this act of bowing and kissing the ground at the feet of a king.

Not only is this act something foreign to the experience of most modern people, it also seems inappropriate and even objectionable. Most modern people believe that they are free from having to blindly obey a ruler with absolute authority. This kind of authority is something we have mostly worked to eradicate and establish a democratic form of government. In other words, most modern people want to be free from authority. This freedom is one of the great values of Western society.

Yet the Scriptures call Jesus “Lord” without any apology or qualification. Coming to God means acknowledging the one whom He has appointed to rule and reign over this world and all the people in it. Eventually every knee will have to bow and every tongue will have to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! To make this confession now leads to our salvation.