Christmas: Wise Men Seek Him

Matthew 2:1–12 ESV

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.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

The story of Christmas is so amazing. An angel comes to a virgin and tells her she will conceive by the Holy Spirit. Her fiancé also has an angel come to him in his dreams telling him to take Mary as his wife.

Late in her pregnancy, they are forced to travel a 3-day’s walk to their ancestral home of Bethlehem to partake in a government census.

Once in Bethlehem, they discover the place to be overcrowded. They take refuge in a stable.

Angels appear to nearby shepherds and proclaim the birth of Jesus.

And then we learn about the wise men—the magi—who arrive to worship Jesus. It’s amazing that these foreign men, who are not even Jewish, found their way to Jesus and recognized him.

Where did they come from? What made them come at this time?

We don’t know much about these men. The gospel of Matthew says that they came from the east, a very vague description. Most of what we can figure out about them comes from sources outside the Bible. One source says that the Greek word “magi” used in the original language was used to refer to a group of men from Persia. Persia is the empire that conquered and replaced the Babylonian empire. According to the book of Daniel, the Babylonians conquered Israel and took Daniel and his friends captive.

When King Nebuchadnezzar had his strange dream, he consulted his wise men. When they could not advise him, he consulted Daniel who interpreted his dream. When Persia took over, Daniel was already one of the magi. The king, Darius, appointed Daniel as the head of the magi. It was his job to train these men. Therefore, it is very likely that Daniel shared his faith with them, teaching them about how God walked with Israel, how Israel’s fall had been foretold, and how God had promised to send a Messiah to be a light to all people.

So the men who sought out Jesus could very easily be the descendants of those who Daniel had taught. If so, then that means that these men are the result of Daniel’s faithful witness more than 700 years before!

The gifts these men brought show that they had some understanding of who Jesus really was.

They brought gold, a gift for kings. They brought frankincense, which was used in the tabernacle by the high priest, thus speaking to Jesus’ role both as our high priest and as God. Finally, they brought myrrh, which is a fragrant resin used in ancient middle eastern burials. Thus, their gifts identified Jesus as our king, our high priest/mediator, and our sacrificial lamb.

The thing is, we call them wise men because they were extremely well educated. Their job title was literally “wise men.” But we all know that being smart is not the same as being wise.

So what makes them wise?

It’s the fact that they recognized the signs and followed those signs to Jesus. They could have dismissed the teachings of some Jewish guy some 700 years ago, but they chose to believe. They journeyed for months, following a star because they believed what they were taught.

What is the takeaway?

Sometimes we are afraid that any witnessing we do will fall on deaf ears. We don’t see any immediate results, and we worry that our message is not being heard. Daniel didn’t see immediate results either; but 700 years later, his students’ students knew that the Messiah had been born, and the went to find him and worship him.

Today, we rejoice in the fact that Jesus came to earth as a baby in a manger. We rejoice that we found him and that he now lives in us. But, if we are wise, we will keep seeking him, getting to know him better, allowing him every day to do an even deeper work of grace in our lives so that we become more like him and reflect his glory to others.

And as we continue to seek Christ daily, we can trust that our example will inspire others to do the same, even if we don’t see the results right away.

Prayer