Christmas is over, and we are well into the new year. However, some churches recognise 6 January as what they call Epiphany, when they celebrate the arrival of the wise men at the home of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. In some cases, the wise men are withheld from the nativity scene until this date. Of course, we don’t know exactly on what day Jesus was born, let alone when the wise men came, but I thought it would be good to consider them, and why they came..
The account of the wise men in Matthew 2 is an amazing story, but one we often take for granted, because we read it every year. There are a lot of questions which arise, and I’m not going to attempt to answer all of them. Sometimes, the Bible doesn’t give us answers, and although we can learn a lot from history, we have to be careful that we don’t look for explanations for everything. If we did, faith wouldn’t be faith. But there is one question we can at least suggest an answer to. Who are these people who have come to be known as the 3 kings?
The Bible doesn’t call them kings at all. It says they were wise men, or in some translations, magi. Interestingly, it’s from the word magi that our English word magic is derived. If we look back into historical records, we can learn a lot about the magi, who were a group of people originating from the east. They were often involved in a lot of occult practices, or what we might call magic arts. They were skilled in astronomy and astrology. However, from a Biblical perspective, this appearance in Matthew 2 isn’t the first time we meet magi.
Let’s cast our minds back to the old testament book of Daniel. It tells the story of a young man who was exiled to Babylon when the Babylonians invaded Israel. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted some of the most skilled exiles to be a part of his court, and Daniel fell into that category. Then, in Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a prophetic dream that no one could interpret. The people he expected to interpret this dream were the magi. They were probably notable for this kind of thing, but on this occasion, they failed. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to have them all killed, but Daniel pleaded for extra time, seeking an interpretation of the dream from God, and when he gave its meaning to the king, he saved not only his life, but the lives of all the magi. Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed with this young Jewish boy that he gave him the job of ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men. And knowing what we know about Daniel’s devotion to the Lord, it would have been impossible for him not to teach them about all the prophecies and wonderful things God was revealing to him. So, if these prophecies and teachings were passed down through generations of the magi, they would have had a wonderful understanding about all the predictions of the Jewish Messiah.
These wise men who journeyed to Israel to find the newly-born king of the Jews may well have travelled up to 900 miles, all the way from what we now call Iran, known then as Persia. Naturally, they went straight to Jerusalem, because it was the capital city, and in their minds, if they were looking for a king, that’s where he was going to be born.
Another amazing fact is that the wise men were led by what the Bible calls a star. We’re told this star appeared to them in the east, and they immediately recognised its meaning. Perhaps they were familiar with such prophecies as the one found in Numbers 24 verse 17, which says: ‘I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a sceptre will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.’
Lots of people have tried looking into what this star actually was. Again, because the Bible doesn’t say, we have to be careful we don’t take what the scholars are saying as fact. All we do know is that many times in the old testament, we’re told that the glory of God, or the Shekinah glory, would appear as a bright light. It guided the Israelites as they headed toward the promised land. They saw it as a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. It also filled the first temple which was built by Solomon. Even in the New Testament, we can read about an incident where Jesus was transfigured in front of some of his disciples, and he glowed a very bright white. So we know that God’s glory, which was the visual manifestation of his presence, can appear to specific individuals, is able to appear and disappear at will, and it can lead people to particular locations. Personally, I believe it could well have been God’s very presence, appearing in the sky like a star, that guided the wise men to Jesus.
Moving on with the familiar parts of the story, we all know why Herod was angry when the wise men turned up on his doorstep claiming a new king had been born. He felt threatened. The foreign visitors soon realised their mistake, when it was revealed that the prophecies pointed to the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, not in Jerusalem. Even the wisest people can make mistakes. I suppose we are all prone to make assumptions. WE hear some of the facts, not the full picture, and we try and fill in the blanks ourselves. WE use logic, but God doesn’t always work in a logical way. Logic would have had the king being born in the current king’s palace, but God’s wisdom had him being born in a stable in Bethlehem, showing he’d come for everyone, and not just the high and mighty.
So, the wise men head off again, and they are led by the star right to where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are staying. The Bible says they are in a house. That isn’t surprising, because I’m sure that after the birth of his son, Joseph would have wanted somewhere much safer and more suitable for his family to stay than a cold old cave filled with animals. We don’t know how old Jesus was when they visited. He could have been anything between 1 day old and 2 years. Since the angry king Herod calls for all the boys of 2 years and younger to be killed once he finds out the wise men have outwitted him, we can presume that Jesus may well not have been a newborn baby when his important visitors arrived.
Now let’s consider what they brought him. Firstly, gold is a very valuable and precious metal. It was a symbol of both Jesus’ divinity, and his role as a king. It shows us he was God in flesh, king of kings and lord of Lords. Secondly, Frankincense is actually a gum obtained from a tree by making incisions in the bark and allowing the gum to flow out. It has a strong smell when burned, so was used as incense in worshiping, and burned as a pleasant offering to God. It is a symbol of holiness and righteousness, showing us that Jesus would be willing to give himself as a sacrifice. Also, incense in the Bible often symbolizes prayer, so Jesus is our high priest, praying for us, and interceding with the father on our behalf. Finally, Myrrh was a spice used for embalming, and was obtained from a tree, in a similar way to Frankincense. It symbolizes bitterness, suffering and affliction, and predicts that Jesus would pay the ultimate price on the cross, suffering in a way no one ever had before, and no one ever will again. And of course, he did it all for us.
So now we understand a bit more about what we’ve read in Matthew 2, what does it all have to say to us today? What can we learn from these wise men, who travelled hundreds of miles to visit a baby? Firstly, they were men who read and believed God’s word. They must have had a good understanding of prophecy, or they wouldn’t have realised what was happening and what they had to do. Likewise, unless we have a good understanding of God’s word, we will flounder in this dark world. Our Bibles are full of insights, prophecies and guidance which will help us. It’ll help us read the signs of the times, and help us keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus. Our lives can get so busy, and sadly, the first thing that tends to flounder is the time we spend in god’s word. The second thing is our time spent in prayer, and this is equally important. The wise men sought Jesus, and they travelled to find him. Praise God, we don’t have to travel. We can meet with him every day in our own homes. We can allow him to walk beside us, and to be involved in everything we do. He wants to be our friend and companion, but friendships are based on time spent together, getting to know one another.
The wise men recognised Christ’s worth. He’s more valuable than anything else this world has to offer. In our days of materialistic values, let’s remember that nothing will ever fill the empty holes in our lives meant to be filled by Jesus alone. The gifts the wise men brought were expensive, and on the surface, silly things to bring a baby, but they knew what they were doing. If we recognise the worth of Jesus, we’ll bring him the very best we have to offer. What he wants most is our hearts, and our willingness to serve. He wants to be number one in our lives, and for us to get our priorities right.
The wise men also humbled themselves to worship Jesus. They were great men of renown, and highly thought of, but they bowed before this tiny child. We have to be so careful of pride. It can puff us up, and make us think we’re something we’re not. Pride is the most dangerous kind of sin there is. It was what caused Satan to rebel against God in the first place, because he thought he was good enough to be like God. Those wise men were intelligent people who’d studied hard, and knew their stuff. They had reasons to be proud, from a worldly point of view, but they were humbled, and recognised they were nothing compared to Jesus. If we become proud, we’ll ignore God when he taps us on the shoulder and shows us something he wants to work on in our lives. We’re all still learning, whether we’ve been Christians 1 day or 50 plus years. None of us is better than the other. We’re all just God’s children. We have to remember that we’re sinners. Without God, we’d be left to our own devices, but praise God, we are sinners saved by his grace. Now we have the Holy Spirit to show us what’s right and what’s wrong, if we’ll only listen.
Finally, the wise men obeyed God rather than man. Herod told them to go back to him when they’d found the young Jesus, but God warned them in a dream that the king intended to harm the child, so they went back home another way. Herod expected to be obeyed, but they knew where the real authority and power was. Do we? If we’re faced with a choice of either obeying God or man, what would we choose? In this world, the advice we’re given is often contrary to what God wants from us. Popular opinion often goes against what we know to be right as we read our Bibles and spend time in prayer. And the Bible tells us things will get worse. So who will we obey? Both in the simple every-day things, and in the big choices we have to make?
In conclusion, wise men sought the saviour at his birth, and even today, wise men and women still do.