A look at the Church Calendar, and we see that January 6th is the feast day of Epiphany, the day which celebrates the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. In honor of this day, our Scripture today is from Matthew’s Gospel, where he gives an account of this special event. Let’s take a look at this Scripture passage.
As Matthew begins, he tells how the wise men, or Magi, have come to the capital city Jerusalem, looking for the One who has been born, the King of the Jews. The Magi were originally the priestly caste of Persia and Babylon. They were an extremely well-educated caste, and were experts in the study of the stars. With the Jewish people having been exiled to Babylon, and later Persia centuries earlier, the Magi were very familiar with the Old Testament writings. They knew of the prophecy that Balaam made in Numbers 24:17, of a star that would arise in Jacob, among the Jewish people. They knew that when this special star came, it would signal the birth of Someone great and special, not only for the Jews, but for the world, as well.
The star could have been a planetary conjunction, or a star-planet conjunction. It also could have been a miraculous star. Either one would honor the Creator-God. The Magi followed the star to an unknown land in search of a newborn king. They journeyed by faith to a destination that they were not sure of. The Magi must have had enough faith in Yahweh to believe that the Jewish Scriptures were special, were the Word of God, and that the prophecies contained therein were authentic and believable. They believed and trusted Him, and set off to worship the One the star heralded, and God saw to it that they found the Christ Child.
The star led the Magi to Israel, and they came to the capital city of Jerusalem, where they inquired of the birth of the One who will be King of the Jews (vs. 2). King Herod the Great feared a rival ruler. He was a cruel king, who even had one of his wives and three of his own sons executed. When he heard some news of a newborn king, that was another threat that he was going to be sure was eliminated (vs. 3-8). Herod pretended to the Magi to be sincere in wanting to honor this newborn king in order to have them tell the location of the Child when they found Him. Anyone can pretend to love God, but the proof is in that person’s character. Herod’s character was evil. Later he had all of the young boys in Bethlehem slaughtered (Matthew 2:16-18).
The Magi left Jerusalem, and the star led them on to Bethlehem, where they found Jesus, Mary, and Joseph living (vs. 9-11). The Holy Family had moved out of the stable, and were now in a house. It is possible that at the time of their arrival, Jesus could have been about two years old, as that was the top age that Herod had the boys of Bethlehem killed. Jesus was also called a child here, not an infant or baby.
The Magi brought gifts to the Christ Child (vs. 11). The first gift mentioned was gold. They knew that they were searching for a king. Gold was a gift befitting someone of rank and authority, such as a king. It was a gift of great value, a sacrificial gift, even for one of the priestly caste. The next gift was frankincense. Incense is offered by the priests to God in Temple worship. This is a gift suitable for Deity. The final gift was myrrh, which is a perfumed resin, and was often used to embalm the dead. Had they read and believed the Old Testament Scriptures, and known that this Messiah-King would be the Sacrifice for sin? We don’t know. But myrrh was appropriate for Jesus, whose death brought salvation.
When the Magi left, God instructed them to return home a different way (vs. 12), and they obeyed. Finding Jesus may mean that your life must take a different direction, one that is responsive and obedient to God’s Word. Are we willing to be led in a different way? The Magi’s obedience proved invaluable to the life and safety of the Holy Family.
These men traveled hundreds of miles to worship the Christ Child. When they found Him, they responded with joy, worship, and gifts. That is so different from people today. We expect for God to come after us, prove who He is, and then give us gifts. Those who are wise still seek and worship Jesus, not for what they can get, but for Who He is.
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