The wise men (‘Magi’) visited Jesus. This visit showed three things about Jesus. He is a king. He is a priest. He is God himself. It suggested something else too. He would suffer greatly because he always obeyed God.
Matthew 2:1–12
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, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
Matthew did not tell us about Jesus’ birth. He had a main interest. He wanted to explain why it was important. He did this by describing some strange events. They happened after Jesus’ birth.
Jesus’ birth was exactly as the Old Testament had said that it would be. The prophet Micah lived more than 800 years before Jesus. Micah had promised that a great ruler would come. His birth would be in Lesser Bethlehem. This was the place where David was born. Micah 5:2 says,
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
The people knew that it would be after the time of the exile. But, nobody had come. So, the people were still waiting. But this small village was exactly where Jesus was born!
Matthew recorded the gifts that the Magi (wise men) brought. So, he must have thought that the gifts were important. He believed that each one shows us something special.
Gold shows us about royal things. This is true even today. Gold for a King.
Frankincense is a perfume. Jewish priests used it in the Temple. It was one of their duties. Frankincense for a Priest.
Myrrh was another perfume, but one used for preparing the bodies of the dead. It helped to make the funeral less awful. Myrrh was also a sign that people were loyal to God. Myrrh for a Sacrifice.
Matthew believed that these gifts were signs. They showed the fact that Jesus was a holy king. He obeyed God. Because he served God, he would suffer and die. Matthew might have wanted us to think about something else too. People had different reactions to the news about Jesus’ birth. King Herod knew and believed God’s word. Herod had no doubts that the Magi would find the Christ in Bethlehem. He said, ‘When you find him’ (verse 8). But Herod was more interested in himself. He had his own ambitions. So, he tried to defeat God!
Also, there were the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They had a different problem. They were professional Bible experts. But they failed to use the Old Testament in their own lives. They showed little interest in the Magi’s news. All of the Old Testament points to Jesus. But these men still had no interest in him.
The wise Men had little knowledge about Jesus. But they traveled great distances. They dealt with many difficulties. They really wanted to find him. When they first saw him, they gave him honor. Yet, he was only a child. These men ‘worshiped’ Jesus. Worship is for God only. Matthew tells us that this child was God himself. In some way, even the Magi knew this!
Herod
The Bible mentions several people who were called Herod. Herod the Great ruled Israel at the time of Jesus’ birth. Herod the Great was born in 73 BC. (Note: BC means Before Christ. Christ means Messiah.) Herod killed many people. So, he was always afraid that someone would kill him. At the time of his death, he had evil plans. He was planning to kill more than 3000 people. He had already killed his wife and his sister’s husband. He even killed his mother and some of his sons. This was because he was afraid of them.
All this explained Herod’s reaction to the report of the wise men. It helps us to know why the news affected ‘all the people in Jerusalem’ too. When Herod worried, other people usually suffered! Soon, the mothers of Bethlehem would know this. They would suffer from the cruelty of the king.
Maybe Herod was worried most about something that the Magi said. They spoke about someone who was ‘born as the king of the Jews’. Herod knew that he was not the proper king. He became king by using evil methods.
The Wise Men and the star
Magi or wise men were not religious leaders. They were the wise men in Persia and Media. This is now Iran and other countries near there. They were astronomers and studied the skies. We do not know how they knew about Jesus, maybe they had studied the prophecies or maybe it was a shared in a dream.
The chief priests and the teachers of the Law
These men were religious and political leaders. They ruled in ancient Judea. Judea was a part of Israel. They met together in a group. The name of this group was the Sanhedrin.
The chief priests included the present and previous High Priests. They also included priests from whom they would choose the new High Priest. They were all members of another group. The name of this group was the Sadducees.
Also, there were the teachers of the Law. ‘Scribes’ is another name for them. (Some English translations of the Bible use this name.) They must make sure that people obeyed the laws. They must also teach God’s words. They were the experts in Jewish religion. They were usually Pharisees.
Questions
1. People in this passage had different reactions to Jesus. What lessons can we learn from them?
2. Jesus came into this world for a purpose. He came to obey his Father. He came to serve us. He also died for us. What does this mean for the life of your church?
3. We must tell the Good News (gospel) to other people. What does this passage tell us about the gospel’s contents?