Matthew 2:1-12

Searching For the King of the Jews

The primary purpose of the gospel of Matthew is to present Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, the Redeemer for whom the Jews had been waiting for thousands of years, and as the King of the Jews.

Most of our mental pictures of the events around the birth of Jesus are from Christmas greeting cards, songs, and marketed objects rather than from the Bible. Generally, they are misleading and inaccurate.

Consider many of the pictures on Christmas greeting cards. There is a manger that is located in some obscure wooden shed. In the manger is a Baby [Jesus] who oftentimes has a halo and a light-shining face. Alongside Jesus are Joseph and Mary (she also gets a halo) and, typically, sheep and oxen that help us conjure up images of a religious petting zoo!

Of course, there are always the "three wise men". Generally, they wear robes and have gold crowns atop their heads, because they are supposed to be kings ("We Three Kings of Orient Are…"). The wise men/kings always arrive at the birthplace of Jesus on camelback.

There were visitors who came from the east to see Jesus, but they did not go to the manger. And, unlike tradition dictates, there are many more than just three visitors and they were not riding on camels. They were not even kings; they were magi.

Father, thank You for this passage. Thank You for that Baby -- Jesus -- because as we will see, He was certainly no ordinary human being. Although, having said that, in a way He was a normal human being. Jesus was a human being like us, except, He was the incarnation of the Eternal God, of You.

Would You help us to not make the mistake that Herod, those in Jerusalem, and the chief priests and scribes made -- to overlook this Child.

Father, give us insight into Your Scriptures through Your Holy Spirit.

We pray in the name of Jesus, our King. Amen.

How Do We Know About the Magi?

Onto more truthful accounts…

Unlike what many would have us believe, there is a lot to glean about the magi; learning about them will help us understand Matthew's biblical account of Herod.

There are three sources for recorded history about the magi:

The magi first appear in recorded history about the time Abraham was in Ur of the Chaldeans. They studied the stars. Whether the magi were considered astronomers or astrologers is difficult to say, because in those days there was not much differentiation. They continued their practices through the time of Babylon (present day Iraq), the first great World Empire.

It is during the time of Nebuchadnezzar's days in Babylon where we first read about the magi in the Bible.

Who Were the Magi?

The magi had very high positions in Babylon and they were consultants to all the Babylonian rulers. They were occultic and they cast spells, making them similar to the magicians of Pharaoh's court in Egypt. The magi were astrologers -- there was no blurring of astrology and astronomy roles here.

Around 600 B.C. they became monotheistic (worshipped one god). Shortly thereafter, the magi developed a priesthood that was perpetuated by descendants, a practice very similar to the priesthood established by God for the Israelites. Even the robes they wore were jeweled like those of the Israelite high priest. Again, like the Israelites, the magi began separating clean and unclean animals and offering sacrifices for sins.

What Happened to Cause a Drastic Shift in the Magi's Thinking?

Daniel 1 tells us that in the year 605 B.C., a godly young man named Daniel was taken captive in Judah and brought to the court of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. There he was appointed a daily ration of the king's choice food and wine. But Daniel determined not to defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine, so he asked instead for vegetables to eat and water to drink. His request was granted and at the end of a 10-day test period his appearance was better than that of the youth who had been eating the king's choice food.

That caught the magi's attention and caused a drastic shift in their thinking.

Daniel 2 tells us that Daniel rose to prominence because of a dream Nebuchadnezzar received. This dream troubled Nebuchadnezzar, particularly because he did not know its meaning. So he called for help from [whom else?] the magi!

Nebuchadnezzar ordered the magi to do two things: (1) tell him the dream he dreamed, and (2) give him its interpretation. The magi probably thought that they could fake the second part because that is what they always did. However, they knew they could not tell him what he had dreamed. For the first time they confessed their abilities (or lack thereof) to Nebuchadnezzar and they told him that nobody on earth could tell him his dream.

Not true! Little did they know that Daniel would ask God for the mystery so he would not be destroyed with the magi according to Nebuchadnezzar's crazy command. God revealed the dream and its interpretation to Daniel, Daniel repeated it to Nebuchadnezzar, and thereafter, Daniel came to prominence as the Prime Minister of Babylon.

What was Daniel's specific job in Babylon? He was in charge of the magi.

Is there any doubt that this change in the theology of the magi was related to Daniel's coming to Babylon? Was this just a coincidence? No, obviously, it was Daniel's influence.

Daniel received specific revelation from God about the whole scope of world history beginning in his time and going through the present. In addition, Daniel received very specific knowledge about the coming Messiah. He was told the very day the Messiah would present Himself as King. That is pretty specific, is it not?

These pagan magi in the east now would have additional knowledge that they would have received from Daniel. What did they know that was new?

1. They knew a King was going to come and that He would be the King of the Jews.

What else did they know?

2. They knew the exact day the new King would come.

Remember that Daniel would have told them.

Who Were the Magi to the Rest of the World?

What Happened to the Magi?

Though Babylon had been conquered by Persia, the power stayed in the east because that is where both Babylon and Persia are located. The magi retained their political power even after that transition. The famous law of the Medes and Persians, mentioned in the books of Daniel and Esther, was written by the magi.

Later, the Greeks conquered Persia. Now the world power was not in the east; it was in the west in Greece. Thereafter, Rome conquered Greece that solidified the west as ruling the world, but the east never became a third rate power. Though Rome ruled the world, they were always uneasy about Persia and Rome never felt they totally dominated the east.

Who was the big political power in the east? It was the magi, or as otherwise known in the west, the king-makers. Think about this: during the initial days of the Roman Empire, one of the things that made Rome uneasy was the king-makers in the east!

During this time, the king-makers believed that the time was close for a new King to be born. Remember that they had been with Daniel, and he would have instructed them according to God's word. Not only was there an attitude of expectation, but they could count the very number of days when the Messiah would come as King.

They knew the time was close; and, it was known throughout the world that these king-makers in the east were looking for a new King.

In addition, there was a general expectation throughout the world that a new leader was coming. That was partly because the Jews had been dispersed around the world and they carried that expectation with them.

Herod was a paranoid ruler. He was always afraid of losing his position as "king". In fact, he was so scared of somebody overturning his kingship that he killed his mother, his sons, his brothers, and anybody else that he feared for such a reason. He was so brutal to those surrounding him that even Rome's Caesar said that it was much safer to be Herod's pig than his child.

As a puppet of Rome, Herod was well aware that Rome was nervous about the king-makers in the east. And Herod would have shared that concern!