Magi

Matthew 2:1-12.

The iconic scene that accompanies anyone who believes or understands Jesus is the manger or nativity scene

This scene typically contains Mary and Joseph, Baby Jesus, some animals, shepherds, often an angel, sometimes a little drummer boy and Magi.

some of these traditional looks at the Nativity are traditions and not Biblical.

The outdoor wooden barn shelter is one thing that is modern tradition, but not accurate to the time and place of His birth

cave

There is no Scripture that points to a little boy playing drums for Jesus

Then we have the Magi

For this we are going to explore what Scripture actually says about these mysterious men, who were not there at the birth of Christ, or immediately after.

vs. 1

The New International Version Chapter 2

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

So, immediately in the text about the Magi, we see that it was after Jesus was born that they traveled to Jerusalem first.

They went to the king to find out about the new king.

They are likely astrologers

Not like we know astrologers today

but ones who looked to the stars to study their movements and trying to understand the meaning of it.

when they saw the star, which was likely the lining up of planets rather than an actual star

they recognized it as a sign of the king of the Jews because of the book of Micah chapter 5

vs. 3

The New International Version Chapter 2

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

A few things we can take away here

Herod was disturbed, so he had no idea until they came and told him

They knew he was to be born in Bethlehem, but they did not go straight there.

why?

because enough time had passed, they were looking for Him in the palace in Jerusalem, where a king should be in their minds.

Herod, was disturbed because he was the ruler of the Jews.

He was not Jewish, but made to be their ruler by the Romans.

Then we see he called them separately to find out when exactly this star appeared.

vs. 9

The New International Version Chapter 2

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

So when they left Harod, the kept following the star.

until it stopped at the place where the child was.

They came to Him in a house, not lying in a manger, but in a house.

Now, if we jumped up to vs. 16, we find that Herod ordered the death of boys ages 2 and under, which means, from the knowledge he got from the magi, he chose the age of 2.

This tells us that Jesus could have been up to 2 years old at that time.

Recognize they gave 3 gifts.

Nowhere does Matthew tell us that there were three of them.

it could have been 2 or it could have been a caravan.

We also have no text sharing that they are kings.

Magi, or wisemen is what we know.

So where does the idea of kings come from?

Isaiah 60 tells us that kings will come to the brightness of your dawn and nations will bring you frankincense and gold

We don’t know very much about the specifics about these people who came.

We don’t even know that they traveled by camel

Guess what, the story isn’t about them.

What they did is lined up to the story of the birth of Jesus Christ

So it is appropriate to include them, though not accurate to include them in the nativity

The importance here is to recognize the truth

at least 2 men traveled a great distance bearing gifts for what could be as long as 2 years to worship this king.

How much are you willing to do to worship him?

We have way more information at this point than these men had at the time.

So how much are you willing to inconvenience yourselves to worship Him?

What better time than to start now?

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