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Sunday Devotional: Matthew 2:1-6

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1 Now when Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and we have come to worship him.” 3 Having heard [this], King Herod was alarmed and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and gathering all the chief priests and scribes of the people he inquired from them where the Christ is to be born. 5 And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it was written through the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, [in the] land of Judah, by no means least are you among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.'”

Sometime after Jesus’s birth, “magi” arrive in Jerusalem from the east. The term “magi” is often translated “wise men” in English Bibles, and that’s a reasonable, catch-all term to describe them. Back in the first century, there weren’t professional astronomers, astrophysicists, sociologists, mathematicians, or political scientists. Many of those functions were performed by “philosophers” and “magi.” Sometimes, magi took their craft into dark areas and practiced sorcery and divination. Other times, they were simply well-read men, scholars perhaps, who had a fascination with the world around and the sky above. They believed that the movements of stars and planets could provide insight into the events on earth. We might call this astrology, though that may be too simplistic. This is why I’m happy to go with “wise men” as an alternative to “magi.”

Matthew tells us these wise men came “from the east.” The Greek here is plural, “from the easts” or “from eastern places” without giving us any specific countries or regions in the east. While places like Parthia or Arabia have been suggested, given their knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures it’s probable they were from Persia. If you recall, almost 600 years before Jesus’s birth, many of the Judean Jews had been exiled to Babylon which was at that time under Persian rule. No doubt they took their Scriptures with them, and books from the Old Testament were added to the great libraries of the east as well as the libraries of magi. The fact that the magi knew about a prophesied king of the Jews and that a star might signal his coming indicates they had perhaps read Numbers and Daniel (Numbers 24:17, and various passages from Daniel including 7:14).

These magi (the text just says “magi” so we know there was more than one, but not necessarily three) made the weeks-long trek to Jerusalem to see this king. They probably went to Jerusalem because it was the capital city, the most likely place to find a newborn king. They asked around and word got to Herod that these strangers from the east were looking for a new king.

Herod, king of Judea, was a friend of Rome and a paranoid ruler, especially at this late stage in his reign. He had executed family members because he believed they were conspiring against him. Word of a challenger to his throne would certainly cause him concern, especially if this challenger appears to fulfill Messianic prophecy. Even if Herod didn’t believe the prophecies (what faith he had was likely nominal), he would have feared what the people might do if they believe a legitimate Messiah had been born. So he summons the religious leaders and scholars and asks them for the exact prophesied location of the Messiah’s birth. Quoting from Malachi 5:2, they tell him Bethlehem.

The following verses tell us that Herod had a secret audience with the wise men where he asked when the star appeared and told them to go to Bethlehem and locate the child so he could join them in worship. Since we know the rest of the story, we understand that Herod had no such intention. The wise men see the star, confirming the location of the new king, and they hurry to see him. On arrival, they fall down before Jesus and worship him.

There are many points of interest in this story, but for our devotional, I want to highlight an important contrast.

First, consider the magi. These were gentile scholars who knew enough of the Jewish Scriptures to recognize that the strange star signified an important event. However, they didn’t know enough of the Scriptures to get an exact location, or perhaps to know anything more about this event other than a king was to be born. Despite this, they were willing to travel for weeks to find where the birth would take place. When they finally arrived at the house where the family was staying, they were beyond overjoyed, and they worshiped at Jesus’s feet, bestowing upon him costly gifts as part of their worship and adoration.

Next, consider the chief priests and scribes. These were the professional theologians, the ones who knew their Bibles and lived in or near Jerusalem where all the activity was happening. They had all the Messianic prophecies at their fingertips and probably knew many of them by heart. They lived only a few miles from Bethlehem. And yet when Herod asked where the Messiah was to be born, they told him but did nothing more. Given that all of Jerusalem was alarmed by what the wise men said, these religious scholars must have known why these wise men were in town. There’s no way they couldn’t know why Herod was asking about where the Messiah was to be born. And yet only the wise men show up at Jesus’s door. Why weren’t these devout students of Scripture also there? Where was their enthusiasm for Christ, their desire to give gifts and worship at his feet?

The Holy Spirit was clearly at work in the wise men, leading them to Christ and turning their hearts to excitement and worship when they saw him. We might assume that the same would be true for the religious scholars who had all the Scriptures, knew them well, and claimed to be good, devout Jews. But without the Spirit of God, all that knowledge was useless. It may have earned them the respect of their peers and the honor of the king, but it counted for nothing before the Lord. Whereas the magi coming with all they had in humble worship were commendable in God’s sight.

Knowledge is good, and it’s important that we study, especially Scripture, and know God’s word well. However, we must never mistake knowing the word of the Lord for knowing the Lord. Indeed, our study of Scripture should drive us to worship, just as our worship should drive us to Scripture.

May we take the magi’s example and fall before the Lord in worship as we meet him in his word.


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