The Weekend Word
Matthew 2
The Visit of the Wise Men
- Why are they called wise men? Following the star or getting out of town?
1 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,
- Again, Matthew locates Jesus in real time and historical space.
- What years were the “days of Herod? 47 BC / 40BC – 4BC
- What kind of a time gap might there be between the birth and arrival?
- It seems to me that there are several months at least that have gone by.
- What does v. 11 say? – “And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother”
- So he wasn’t still in the manger and he is called a ‘child’ not a babe.’
- From the East – What is east of Jerusalem?
- If they were people from Babylon, they may have been influenced by Daniel during the captivity to watch the prophets and prophecies.
- When Daniel was told to shut up the prophecies, they were for a later date – perhaps he told people, “I don’t know what, but there is something in here – keep your eyes open.” What were they looking for? Jeremiah 23:5-6
- So who were these guys?
- We have most of our ideas about this fascinating group from the people who draw Christmas cards rather than theologians. The Gospel according to Hallmark.
- Should we use outside texts & tradition or Hallmark?
- The only thing we know about these wise men is some historical tradition and what is said in Matthew. “There came wise men from the East.”
- What is the real story? – there must be more to it to cause the reaction we see in Verse 3.
2 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.”
- Funny statement, calling for “King of the Jews” Where did they pick up that concept? Why would they be looking for anything in Israel?
- How do we picture that the rode into town? Slowly, not to attract attention and just pull up to King Herod’s Palace?
- No! They probably were galloping across the countryside, stopping at every village gas station shouting out –
- “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.”
- God is working here to point to Jesus and the locals have no clue?
- Matthew is using these king makers to show that Jesus is the real king.
- The whole OT is for the sake of pointing people to Jesus and nothing else.
- In the story of redemption to come, God put all these little landmarks – sign (like a highway directional sign) showing the way. When you are on the 5 and you see the sign that says El Toro Rd – well the sign is not El Toro Rd – but it points you to El Toro Rd.
- How much did these guys know? They knew enough that when the star appeared … they went
- We should do likewise.
- And so they came to Jerusalem. A group of official Persian king makers looking for a new king.
- And that is really what Matthew wants you to see, Jesus Christ is King, and these king makers whose business it was to recognize kings knew it. And in a real sense these people were the first fruits of the Gentiles to come to Christ. Imagine that – Gentiles were the first Christians
- Interesting, by the way, the Jewish world didn’t seem to recognize what was going on at all, and that fits the Scripture because it says, “He came unto his own and his own (what?) received him not.” John 1:11
- Numbers 24:17 = “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
- What is the star?
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
- I think we picture that the Wise men came directly to Herod, but I don’t think so – they may have been zig zagging across the countryside looking and asking.
- And then word on the street gets to Herod and he is troubled = agitated
- Perhaps by the time they arrive he has heard this a dozen times and this adds to his trouble / agitation.
- Can you imagine when this entourage comes to town the commotion it causes? Especially with the question / message they are bringing.
- I doubt this was like a couple of guys tossing their suitcases in the trunk of their Oldsmobile and driving from Bagdad to Jerusalem.
- Herod is troubled – Herod is agitated
- Herod was a very insecure king – it went back to how he obtained his position and how he was always afraid of losing it.
- He was the current king, and these guys arrive in town and say, where is the new King of the Jews? And his first reaction is huh!? What new King?
- If we don’t know by now, we will find out – When Herod ain’t happy – ain’t nobody gonna be happy.
- A short listing of who Herod killed to avoid just a family takeover
- His wife – 3 of his son’s and a couple of his brothers.
- So when he hears “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? He is thinking coup.
What will be Herod’s reaction to all of this? Will he welcome these emissaries from the east? Next week
well… interesting extrapolations (mine are no better) i think that they came from the east, but had their roots over there in Babylon… the further east, the longer their journey… i think that they knew where they were going and that they were VIPs and would have gone directly to the King to present their bona fides…
what i don’t understand is why Mary and Joseph didn’t return to Nazareth soon after the birth…did the angel warn them prior to the wise men arriving? i can see why they’d wait to head clear down into Egypt until mother and child were in condition to travel… seems like God doesn’t think we need that information
the picture of Mary, drumming her fingers, and saying, “I wish those wise men would hurry up and get here” wouldn’t make a very picturesque Christmas image, would it? 🙂
These are fascinating guys – like every person / character in scripture, old and new testament alike, they come on the scene, do their part and exit stage left and only Jesus remains center stage.
Interesting, these “wise men”. Astrologers? Why do we think there were 3 of them Hallmark?
I’m fascinated by the the contrast of these guys with the shepherds just doing their and boom, angels appear to them.
*just doing their job
Joel, I think there was a whole posse, perhaps 20 – that is why I think they were noticed and word got to Herod before they did.
Better add 17 more wise men to the nativity set. In Lukes account he writes that the shepherds spread the word after what they had heard and seen. It seems like that kind of story would have got more people’s, including Herods, attention. But as far as we know it took this posse of King makers to really stir things up.
Between pagan magicians (magi in the NASB, from which we get the word magician) and dirty shepherds (in Luke’s account), Jesus started his humiliation right off the bat associating with the wrong crowd.
I don’t see a prosperity message yet. I wonder how brother Osteen preaches these visits.
Jesus didn’t have enough faith to be prosperous.
God seems to have any affinity for outsiders….
“He is despised and rejected among men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with weakness; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
JoelG,
I’m counting on your observation.
Scholars have laboured to discover what Matthew’s ‘star’ might have been. Halley’s Comet appeared in 12–11 BC, but that would be very early for this story. Or it could have been some kind of supernova. More likely is the fact that the planets Jupiter and Saturn were in conjunction with each other three times in 7 BC. Since Jupiter was the ‘royal’ or kingly planet, and Saturn was sometimes thought to represent the Jews, the conclusion was obvious: a new king of the Jews was about to be born. We cannot be certain if this was why the ‘wise and learned men’ came from the East. But, even if it wasn’t, nothing is more likely than that thoughtful astronomers or astrologers (the two went together in the ancient world), noticing strange events in the heavens, would search out their earthly counterparts. If, as it appears, they were also wealthy, they would have no major difficulty in making the journey.
Matthew is not telling us all this simply to satisfy astronomical curiosity. Nor is he offering us the kind of cosy, picture-book story we have created for ourselves out of it, with strange but gentle oriental kings bringing gifts to a child in a stable. (Matthew says nothing about a stable; as far as we know from his gospel, Mary and Joseph were simply living in Bethlehem at the time, only moving to Nazareth later (2:23). Nor does he say the visitors were themselves royal.) The overtones of his story are quite different.
What he tells us is political dynamite. Jesus, Matthew is saying, is the true king of the Jews, and old Herod is the false one, a usurper, an impostor. As we shall see, this Herod died soon after Jesus’ birth; but his sons ruled on, and one of them, Herod Antipas, plays a significant role in the developing story of Jesus himself. The house of Herod did not take kindly to the idea of anyone else claiming to be ‘king of the Jews’.
The arrival of the ‘Magi’ (that’s the word Matthew uses for them; it can refer to ‘magicians’, or ‘astrologers’, or experts in interpreting dreams, portents and other strange happenings) introduces us to something which Matthew wants us to be clear about from the start. If Jesus is in some sense king of the Jews, that doesn’t mean that his rule is limited to the Jewish people. At the heart of many prophecies about the coming king, the Messiah, there were predictions that his rule would bring God’s justice and peace to the whole world (e.g. Psalm 72; Isaiah 11:1–10). Matthew will end his gospel with Jesus commissioning his followers to go out and make disciples from every nation; this, it seems, is the way that the prophecies of the Messiah’s worldwide rule are going to come true. There are hints of the same thing at various points in the gospel (e.g. 8:11), though Jesus himself did not deliberately seek out Gentiles during his ministry (see 10:5–6). But here, even when Jesus is an apparently unknown baby, there is a sign of what is to come. The gifts that the Magi brought were the sort of things that people in the ancient world would think of as appropriate presents to bring to kings, or even gods.
There is another way as well in which this story points ahead to the climax of the gospel. Jesus will finally come face to face with the representative of the world’s greatest king—Pilate, Caesar’s subordinate. Pilate will have rather different gifts to give him, though he, too, is warned by a dream not to do anything to him (27:19). His soldiers are the first Gentiles since the Magi to call Jesus ‘king of the Jews’ (27:29), but the crown they give him is made of thorns, and his throne is a cross. At that moment, instead of a bright star, there will be an unearthly darkness (27:45), out of which we shall hear a single Gentile voice: yes, he really was God’s son (27:54).
Listen to the whole story, Matthew is saying. Think about what it meant for Jesus to be the true king of the Jews. And then—come to him, by whatever route you can, and with the best gifts you can find.
Wright, T. (2004). Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (pp. 10–12). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Probably getting ahead of myself, but I don’t think the “star” was an actual star or any other space object. It appears to me the “star” came as a sign of an event and it does not seem like anyone else saw it or was aware of it. When the wise men get to Israel it does not seem that the “star” is giving direction and when they are asking where, they don’t point it out to the folks they encounter.
Then it seems later the “star” returns to direct them to Casa Jesus. I think we see throughout scriptures that “stars” are angels / messengers. Think of Tinkerbell flying ahead to point out where Jesus lives.
That’s my guess – but like most writers of commentaries, I too get my information from the white spaces on the page. 🙂
#12 … ah yes, i seem to remember hearing something about the legend of Tinkerbell having it’s beginning 2,000 years ago in a tale told by shepherds in the holy land 🙂
but it well could have been that the heavens really lit up that night – probably the wise men and the shepherds were the only ones looking skyward? … but you’d think everybody in Bethlehem would have heard the music….
Many if not most biblical references to stars are about angelic beings or God sent messengers.
Since our Sun is a small star I just don’t see how it hovered over Jesus’s house.
The word being translated to “wise men” is the same word Luke uses in Acts 13:6 in reference to Bar-jesus. There, it translated “sorcerer” in the Holman.
So God used “sorcerers” to glorify Jesus. The Bible was clearly not written by conservative evangelicals who would never allow such worldly heathens to be part of the Story.
We’re all worldly in one way or another. I’m thankful the Gospel isn’t for the righteous, or I’d be in real trouble.
Yeah. It was apparently a big controversy in the early church as well. Tertullian theorized that God only used astrology up through the time of the Gospel, but not after.
So, I know we hate evangelicals, but this one has been around a lot longer than that.
“So, I know we hate evangelicals, but this one has been around a lot longer than that.”
Who hates evangelicals? They’re a great mission field.
I just find it ironic, always. In # 15, a conservative evangelical makes a certain point. in #16 someone says “Well, a conservative evangelical would never say that.”
I guess I should just roll my eyes and let it go, but it gets on my nerves.
Sorry Josh. No hate. Resentment? Yes. Not you. The ” us vs. them” thinking is alive and well in the conservative evangelical circle I’m in. I don’t think my observation is too far off based on what I hear on a regular basis.
My point, JoelG, is that the same conversation was going on in the early church, before 200 AD. It’s not just evangelicals who have problems with sorcerers.
Interesting. I guess we shouldn’t limit who or what God will use for His purposes even if we have a problem with it.
Absolutely. And God using someone is not the same as God endorsing someone. Jeremiah tells us that God used Babylon as a hammer against His people.
Most of the scoundrels that have been exposed on this site, God has used in mighty ways.
Do you remember the woman who anointed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair? There seems to be a theme in the NT that the good and moral people aren’t very good, in fact they’re terrible, at recognizing their Savior. Conversely, the “unclean” and immoral folks seem to recognize and cling to their Savior. Pride in oneself appears to be a very dangerous disposition.
And sorry for snapping back at you there, Joel. What you said was not egregious, or even incorrect. It’s juts that often on this site evangelicals are painted as the cause of all the world’s ills. I guess I’ve developed an itchy trigger finger.
Good word @ 26, Jean.
I don’t know that these guys are the bad kind of magicians or astrologers. I don’t have time to look it up but wasn’t Daniel the department head of these guys back in the day?
I don’t want to do it now, but I think these guys were among the very first believers and definitely the first gentile believers – which I think dispels the case for Jesus being the messiah to the Jews – but to the whole world.
MLD at #29, I like the way Simeon put it (in his Nunc Dimittis):
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)
Jean – you just like to say Nunc Dimittis 😉
No worries Josh. I’m just venting before I go to small group tonight and learn to “Desire God” more like John Piper. *sigh*
Joel,
“Desire God” more like John Piper. *sigh*
Doesn’t the Bible tell you it is better to cut off your hand or poke out your eyes than to go to such studies? 🙂
MLD it’s my wife’s brothers family and some friends. As much as I’d love to not go, and don’t go frequently, I have no excuse tonight. I will grit my teeth and try to convey some of the things I’m learning from the Lutheran tradition about the Gospel.
Going back to the star being an angelic, or angelic type being sent by God I think we see God’s election in progress as He draws the wise men to Christ.
Matthew is not interested in the journey of the magi; his interest is in the confrontation with Herod. Only a single bit of information is given about the magi: they come from “the East”—a place not further defined—the origin of magic, astrology, and religious wisdom. The readers know that magi are Gentiles; the evangelist underscores this by having them ask in v. 2* about the birthplace not of the king of Israel but of the “king of the Jews.”83
Μάγος initially means a member of the Persian priestly class, but the meaning expands, and beginning with the Hellenistic period it also includes other representatives of Eastern theology, philosophy, and natural science. The boundary between magicians, astrologists, and theurgists becomes fluid. According to ancient traditions magicians also predict major events Beginning with Sophocles and Euripides, μάγος is also used in a negative sense: magicians/ magi are sorcerers and charlatans.
In the Hellenistic age, however, magi are more likely to be regarded positively, understandably so in view of the esteem that Eastern wisdom enjoyed in that day. Judaism, which under the influence of the OT was allergic to any form of sorcery, has a generally negative view, but it is not completely able to resist the influence either of astrology or of the Hellenistic high regard of magi.Christianity takes over the Jewish negative view. We may therefore assume that Matthew’s readers also come to the text with a negative attitude toward “magicians.” The surprise that the story brings for them is then all the greater. Socially their prestige is high; one meets them often at royal courts. Their prestige corresponds to the gifts they bring to the infant Jesus.
■ 2* In our text the magi are not described negatively. The story will show what the readers are to think of them. Initially they are probably ambivalent. In the context of Matthew 1–2 they suspect that the magi are looking for the child Jesus in order to pay homage to him but that they are doing it at the wrong place. Because of the star we cannot completely exclude the possibility that there were associations with astrology, but Matthew if anything represses them by refusing even to intimate how the magi recognized what the star meant. God’s guidance alone is decisive.
A great deal of ink has flowed about the star. The formulation “his star” (αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀστέρα) suggests that Matthew is thinking of the popular idea that every person has his or her own star or that he is thinking of the king’s star.91 However, this star is a miraculous star that shows the magi the way and goes before them to Bethlehem.
Luz, U. (2007). Matthew 1–7: a commentary on Matthew 1–7. (H. Koester, Ed.) (Rev. ed., pp. 112–113). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Joel, is young and restless. 🙂
The Magi were not kings but a combination of wise men and priests probably from Persia. They combined astronomical observation with astrological speculation. They played both political and religious roles and were figures of some prominence in their land.23
The Magi’s question to Herod emphasizes the word “born.” The grammatical construction makes it clear that they ask about who the child is who has legitimate claim to Israel’s throne by virtue of his birth. Herod is thus viewed as a usurper to the throne. A new star in the sky was often believed to herald the birth of a significant person in the land over which the star shone. So the Magi’s question is a natural inference from their observation. If “in the east” is the correct translation in v. 2, then this phrase modifies “we saw” not “his star.” Otherwise the geography would be confused. But the NIV margin “when it rose” is perhaps a more likely translation and would explain how the Magi’s attention was called to this new celestial feature. The statement that these pagans “have come to worship” the Christ child is both remarkable and significant for what lies ahead.
Blomberg, C. (1992). Matthew (Vol. 22, pp. 62–63). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
The Magi were not kings but a combination of wise men and priests probably from Persia. They combined astronomical observation with astrological speculation. They played both political and religious roles and were figures of some prominence in their land.
The Magi’s question to Herod emphasizes the word “born.” The grammatical construction makes it clear that they ask about who the child is who has legitimate claim to Israel’s throne by virtue of his birth. Herod is thus viewed as a usurper to the throne. A new star in the sky was often believed to herald the birth of a significant person in the land over which the star shone. So the Magi’s question is a natural inference from their observation. If “in the east” is the correct translation in v. 2, then this phrase modifies “we saw” not “his star.” Otherwise the geography would be confused. But the NIV margin “when it rose” is perhaps a more likely translation and would explain how the Magi’s attention was called to this new celestial feature. The statement that these pagans “have come to worship” the Christ child is both remarkable and significant for what lies ahead.
Blomberg, C. (1992). Matthew (Vol. 22, pp. 62–63). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
i’m commenting before reading Michael’s above, but could not those Magi have been Jews? so few returned from Babylonian captivity… mixed race? and therefore, i have to wonder if they couldn’t have come from almost anyplace to the east – dunno 🙂
Michael – you are getting ahead on the study.
I had almost 5,000 words for all of Ch2 and had to cut it down. I looked at John MacArthur and he had close to 50,000 words.(yes I ran a word count on his stuff 🙂
Mine was either 2 or 3 classes – some people just have too much to say.
#37 – I’m trouble Jean. 🙂
Em – everything I’m reading says they had to have been Gentiles. Now, if they were like the Chaldeans of Daniel, like MLD mentioned, they would have probably been well-aware of the prophesied King of the Jews.
thank you, Josh
as i read this thread with regard to sorcery i am reminded that, when i was young, to be intellectual was to scorn the supernatural, so it has been surprising to see modern intellectuals, including those involved in scientific disciplines, exploring the supernatural – actually looking for evidence – even for “martians” among us – or flying overhead 🙂
MLD,
Sorry…was just trying to help explain the Magi.
Thank you Michael good stuff. Regarding the Magi:
“Socially their prestige is high; one meets them often at royal courts. Their prestige corresponds to the gifts they bring to the infant Jesus.”
So we’ve got prestigious Gentiles seeking out a Savior following the glorious announcement of a Savior to lowly shepherds of Israel. Seems to coincide with Simeon’s words pretty well.
I believe the Magi were a priestly class in Babylon just as the Druids were a priestly class in the Celtic world.