The Visit of the Magi as told by Matthew                                                      Lesson 9

The Visit of the Magi – Matthew 2:1-12

 ¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ²and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." ³When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" ⁷Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." ⁹After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹On 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 and of incense and of myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Who was Herod I or Herod the Great?

• Born 74 BC, died 4 BC from intestinal cancer and dropsy.
• Elected king of Israel by Roman Senate. The historian Josephus tells us this occurred in 40 BC but another historian indicates it happened in 39 BC. His father Antipater held power and favor with the Romans and drove Herod into a political and military career.
• History note: Maccabean John Hyrcanus conquered  Idumaea (Edom- Hebrew Bible) in 140-130 BC and required all Idumaeuans to convert to Judaism and obey Jewish law or to leave. Those who had interests in the area were forced to capitulate although the Jewish teachings were not really followed which resulted in long term resentment from the Jews. Herod was from Idumaea decent. This Maccabean dynasty is also called the Hasmonean dynasty (142 -37BC) and lead to the Pharisees and the Essenes established by the religious minded supporters and the Sadducees which were birthed from the aristocratic and politically minded supporters of the Hasmonean priest kings.
• Great builder
• 20-19 BC (18^th year of his reign) rebuilt the Temple. He complied with Jewish law and employed 1,000 priests as masons and carpenters. This was one of his greatest achievements although it was not done because of the Jewish faith (which he did not share) it was done to appease the Jewish community.
• Considered by most to be a “mad man”
• He killed 3 of his sons; executed his trusted friends, his barber and 300 military leaders; murdered his wife’s father, drowned her brother and eventually killed her even though she was reported to be his favorite wife; he also killed another one of his wives.
• The Historian, Josephus states “Herod inflicted such outrages upon (the Jews) as not even a beast could have done if it possessed the power to rule over men” (Antiquities of the Jews 17:310).
• Don’t confuse with Herod Antipas who ruled Galilee 4 BC to 39 AD during Jesus’ ministry.

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ²and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

• They came from the east = Babylon or Persia (Parthia)

Who were the Magi?

• Some believe they came from Babylon
• Daniel 2:48: "Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many gifts, and made him ruler of the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men (Hebrew/Aramaic word was Magi) of Babylon. "
• There were a great many Jews living there.
• Most believe they were from Persia (Parthian)
• Ruled parts of Persia and Babylon and was the only empire Rome couldn’t conquer.
• 20 BC: a treaty between Rome and the Parthians fixes the boundary between the two empires along the Euphrates river (Iraq)
• A scholar names Steven Collins believes that since the Jewish people were dispersed through out the region that the Parthians the Magi were decedents of the “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel,” and of royal decent. 1 Chronicles 3:17-24 lists the “Royal Line After the Exile.” And 2 Kings 25: 27-30 verifies that the Royal Line was given a place at the King’s table.
• So part of the homage paid to Jesus might have been that many of the ruling class in the Parthian Empire could have been from the line of David.
• In Acts 2:1-12 we see that those in attendance on the day of Pentecost included Medes, Persians, Elamites, Phrygians, Mesopotamians, and Cappadocians from the Parthian Empire.

¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.  ⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

o   Eastern tradition indicates that 12 Magi when to worship the Messiah. One is said to be Gaspar or Gathaspar. Some claim that this can be traced to a Parthian prince named Gundophar who rose to the throne in 19 AD.

o   Numbers 24: 17 holds a prophesy from Balaam, a profit of Midian

¹⁷ "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.

o   Moses’s father-in-law Jethro was a priest of Midian which was later absorbed into the Medo-Persian Empire.

How many Magi were there?

Throughout the years the assumption has been made that there are three because the Bible mentions three gifts. In the middle ages the three wise men were given names: Balthasar, Gaspar (or Casper), and Melchior. However, the biblical accounts do not mention a number. Scott Collins, mentioned above, believes that there were 12 – one representing each of the 12 tribes although I could not find any supporting evidence. Having said that I do believe there were several because the scripture tell us that “all of Jerusalem was troubled;” this would seem to indicate that it was a very public arrival:

³When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him

What would have a caravan entailed?

High officials would have to prepare for the journey by gathering supplies and people as they would have traveled with servants, animal handlers, cooks, and most probable a security detail to protect themselves and their treasures. Josephus records that caravans bring expensive offerings to Jerusalem from Jewish people lining in Parthian territory did so with “as many as 10,000 men.” Remember, these Magi were coming to worship a “King.” A large caravan would have caused Herod and all of Jerusalem to be disturbed, after all, the truce between the Roman and Parthian Empire was not a comfortable one. Additionaly, you should note that the Magi visited a "child" not a baby. By the time the star was seen and a caravan prepared and the time it would have taken to travel, Jesus was probably close to two years old. In the next lesson you will discover that Herod orders the death of children two years old and younger.

Thought to Ponder:

Could the Magi be a foreshadowing of the many Gentiles who will come to know Jesus as the Christ?

⁴When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” ⁷Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

o   Proof that Herod was not Jewish at heart as he did not know Jewish scripture.

o   Herod finds out from the Magi (in secret) when the star appeared.

⁹After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹On 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 and of incense and of myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

•  Special Note: Myrrh was a perfume that smelled of death and was used to embalm a corpse
• John 19:39

³⁹He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

Thought to Ponder:

What in the passage of the Magi led you to believe that God thought these righteous men?

The star to lead them, coming to them in a dream, Myrrh?

Click Here "Escape to Egypt" lesson 10.