I spent some time this week thinking about the wise men, the magi, that traveled hundreds of miles to find the Christ-child. Who sent them? How did they know? Where did they come from? What can I learn from them?
The Bible tells us that "some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 'Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and we have come to worship him.'" (Mathew 2:1-2 NLT) King Herod was disturbed when the wise men showed up at the palace and called a meeting with the leading priests and teachers of religious law to find out where the Messiah was supposed to be born. They quoted Micah 5:2, saying he would be born in Bethlehem in the land of Judah. (Matthew 2:3-6 NLT) King Herod then met secretly with the wise men, telling them to search for the baby and then come back and tell him where the baby was. (Matthew 2:7-8 NLT) Then "the wise men went on their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." (Matthew 2:9-11 NLT) "When it was time for them to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod." (Matthew 2:12 NLT)
Although Christmas songs and nativity displays indicate there were three wise men, their number is not mentioned in the Bible. Neither is their homeland specifically. Some theologians speculate that there were probably more than three and that they came from different nations. Perhaps some of them came from Babylon where the Israelites were exiled and that's how they new about the prophecy.
What I do know is that God sent them. He provided the star that was so different from anything else they had ever seen or heard about that they followed it. He ensured they had access to the prophecy - they knew about "the newborn king of the Jews."
The wise men sought the newborn king of the Jews and worshipped him. They recognized his deity. They were filled with joy. And they recognized God's voice and obeyed when He warned them not to return to Herod - they returned home by a different route.
These foreigners, the wise men, recognized the baby Jesus for who he was even though the Jews, the people who were expecting the Messiah, did not.
I am thankful for the magi mentioned in Matthew 2 because they show me the proper response to Jesus - to bow down and worship Him! They persevered as they traveled a great distance, they listened to God and obeyed Him. They were wise men, indeed.
Merry Christmas!
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