Epiphany A

2:1 The word magi originally described members of the Median and Persian priestly caste who advised the king and interpreted dreams. The term later was used more broadly to denote those who possessed mystical knowledge as priests, astrologers, soothsayers, or sages. Their popular association with kings today may be based on Old Testament passages that recount kings bringing gifts to the royal Davidic son (), including gifts of gold and frankincense (). In the Jewish tradition magi would bring to mind the opponents of Daniel in Babylon, who were associated with enchanters and sorcerers and claimed to interpret dreams and signs (; ; ; LXX). Hence, one would not expect magi from the east to be among the first to pay homage to the Jewish messiah. This account thus sets up a theme that will be repeated throughout Matthew’s Gospel: Israel’s king is welcomed by those one would least expect while Jewish leaders work against him (2:4).

2:2 The idea of a star signaling the birth of a great person or king was popular in the ancient world. Various explanations have been offered as to what this star guiding the magi was. One shortcoming of naturalistic explanations is that the star in Matthew’s Gospel leads the magi and then comes to rest over a house (2:9)—things ordinary stars do not do. This suggests that—whatever the nature of the star in might have been—God intervened in an extraordinary way to lead the magi to the messiah. One interesting proposal is that the star guiding the magi represents an angelic figure. In the Jewish tradition stars were associated with angels and the guiding star in Matthew’s Gospel recalls the angel God sent to guide the people in the desert on their way to the promised land ().

The account of the magi following a star and searching for a king underscores Jesus’ kingship by recalling the prophecy of Balaam in . In this episode the Moabite king, Balak, called upon a seer named Balaam to pronounce a curse on Israel. However, each time Balaam tried to curse Israel God took control of his speech and words of blessing came out of his mouth instead. In his last attempt to curse Israel, the Spirit of God came upon him and he prophesied about a future king arising out of Israel. According to this oracle, a star would be the sign of the great king’s arrival ().

All this foreshadows the events associated with Herod, the magi, and the birth of Jesus. Just as Balak sought to use the pagan seer Balaam to destroy Israel, so Herod seeks to use the pagan magi to destroy the Christ child. And just as Balaam failed to cooperate with the king’s plan, uttering blessings instead of curses, so the magi fail to assist Herod in his plot to destroy Jesus, paying the child homage instead of reporting his location to Herod. Balaam prophesied about a star heralding the coming of a great king to Israel; the magi see that star and come to worship the newborn king. Thus the magi stand as “successors to Balaam” in the sense that they pay homage to the king that Balaam foretold long ago.

2:2 The idea of a star signaling the birth of a great person or king was popular in the ancient world. Various explanations have been offered as to what this star guiding the magi was: (1) it was a comet, such as Halley’s comet that appeared in 12–11 BC; (2) it was a planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which gave the appearance of a bright, single star in 7 BC; or (3) the star was a stellar explosion—a nova—which is reported to have been sighted in 5–4 BC. One shortcoming of these naturalistic explanations is that the star in Matthew’s Gospel leads the magi and then comes to rest over a house (2:9)—things ordinary stars do not do. This suggests that—whatever the nature of the star in might have been—God intervened in an extraordinary way to lead the magi to the messiah. One interesting proposal is that the star guiding the magi represents an angelic figure. In the Jewish tradition stars were associated with angels and the guiding star in Matthew’s Gospel recalls the angel God sent to guide the people in the desert on their way to the promised land (). Thus while some natural stellar phenomenon might have initially led the magi in search of a king, Matthew is telling us that God is providing a supernatural guide to lead the magi to Christ, just as he provided Israel with an angel to lead them through the desert.

2:3–4 When news about the magi’s quest spreads around Jerusalem, King Herod becomes greatly troubled. Herod was not born king of the Jews. He was an Idumean, whose family got itself appointed by Rome to rule over the Jews. Magi following a star and seeking the newborn king of the Jews would have been quite alarming to the ethnically non-Jewish Herod, especially in these later years of his life when he was violently paranoid about any potential rival to his throne.

Herod gathers together the chief priests and the scribes (see Biblical Background sidebar on page 57), who were part of the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem under Herod, and inquires of them where the messiah is to be born. Matthew notes that Herod was assembling them, which recalls a passage from foretelling that the rulers of this world will assemble against the Lord’s anointed king (). This word for assembling is used often in Matthew’s Passion Narrative to describe the chief priests and scribes assembling against Christ to plot his death (26:3, 57; 27:1, 17, 27, 62). By using this same word to describe the chief priests and scribes gathering with Herod, Matthew emphasizes that at the very beginning of Christ’s life the Jewish leaders are already working against the Lord’s Messiah, playing the role of the wicked rulers in .

The magi’s long journey reaches its climax as they enter the house and see the child with Mary his mother. This reference to Mary and the child in a house in Bethlehem can stand in complete harmony with Luke’s account of the child being laid in a manger (). Since first-century peasant homes in Palestine often had the lodging place for persons on one level and animals dwelling with a manger on a lower level, the house the magi visit in might be the same house where Jesus was born in . Another possibility is that Jesus was born in a cave near Bethlehem (a tradition that goes back to second-century pilgrims traveling to Bethlehem) and that later the holy family moved to a more comfortable dwelling, a house, which is where the magi find them.

2:5–8 The chief priests and scribes tell Herod that the messiah was expected to be born in Bethlehem, a city charged with Davidic hopes. This was the place where David was born and, according to the prophet Micah, the new Davidic king was expected to come from this city (). The Jewish leaders quote this passage and then go on to say that this ruler will shepherd my people Israel—an echo of God’s words to David at the beginning of his reign ().

Before directing the magi to Bethlehem, Herod ascertains from them the time of the star’s appearance, in order to estimate the date of the child’s birth. This will serve as the basis for Herod’s massacre that targets the male children two years old and younger (2:16). With the hope of discovering the exact location of the royal child in order to destroy him, Herod sends the magi off as unwitting spies (2:8).

2:9–12 For the star that preceded them and stopped over the house, see 2:2.

The magi’s long journey reaches its climax as they enter the house and see the child with Mary his mother. This reference to Mary and the child in a house in Bethlehem can stand in complete harmony with Luke’s account of the child being laid in a manger (). Since first-century peasant homes in Palestine often had the lodging place for persons on one level and animals dwelling with a manger on a lower level, the house the magi visit in might be the same house where Jesus was born in . Another possibility is that Jesus was born in a cave near Bethlehem (a tradition that goes back to second-century pilgrims traveling to Bethlehem) and that later the holy family moved to a more comfortable dwelling, a house, which is where the magi find them.

The magi do not simply kneel before Christ; they prostrated themselves on their faces and did him homage. Though prostration before kings was common in the ancient Near East, elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel prostration and giving homage are associated with divine worship (4:9–10; 14:23; 15:25; 28:9, 17). The Gentile magi, therefore, offer Christ the worship that Herod, the chief priests, and scribes failed to offer.

The gifts of gold, frankincense (an expensive perfume used for incense in worship), and myrrh (an exotic spice) represent luxurious gifts fit for a king. This scene underscores that Jesus is not just king of the Jews (2:2)—he is king of the whole world.

"So the Gentiles, who were the last, become the first: the faith of the Magi is the first fruits of the belief of the Gentiles.”

Living Tradition

The Magi: First Fruits of Gentile Belief

“Today the Magi find crying in a manger the one they have followed as he shone in the sky. Today the Magi see clearly, in swaddling clothes, the one they have long awaited as he lay hidden among the stars.

Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die.

So the Gentiles, who were the last, become the first: the faith of the Magi is the first fruits of the belief of the Gentiles.”

Reflection and Application (2:1–12)

A number of Church Fathers marveled over the faith of the magi, who through human eyes see only an ordinary child in Bethlehem but by faith see so much more. They fall down and worship God in human flesh and offer him gifts of gold for his kingship, frankincense for his divinity, and myrrh for his humanity.

This is the type of response we should have even today when we meet Jesus in the Eucharist. Though with the eyes of our bodies we see what appears to be only bread, with the eyes of faith we know it to be the very body of our Lord. The Council of Trent mentions the magi’s worship of the Christ child as a model for our adoring him in the Eucharist: “For in this sacrament we believe that the same God is present whom the eternal Father brought into the world.… It is the same God whom the Magi fell down and worshipped.” We, like the magi, can show Jesus great reverence when we kneel before his Real Presence in the Eucharist. We too can bring him gifts, perhaps not gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but the gifts of our hearts in praise and thanksgiving, which would be, according to St. Gregory Nazianzen, great “spiritual gifts, more sublime than those which can be seen with eyes.”

Mitch, C., & Sri, E. (2010). The Gospel of Matthew (pp. 50–54). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.