The Magi. [Matthew 2:1-12]
It is appropriate that we consider the Magi who came “… from the East …” [Matthew 2:2] to worship the baby Jesus after the close of Christmas. That is because, current traditions of presenting the Nativity notwithstanding, they were not present on the night of Jesus’ birth. Rather, they came “… after Jesus had been born in Bethlehem …” [Matthew 2:1].
There are a number of assumptions or myths that surround these people. Let’s look at a few of them and thereby, it may be possible for us to gain an improved understanding of their significance to the Christian faith.
Myth 1. There were three wise men.
Honestly, we really don’t know whether this is a myth or not. That is because the Bible does not say how many wise men there were. It just says “some” wise men. The idea that there were three is drawn from the three types of gifts they are reported as having given to the baby Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. If each gift was given by one man, there must have been at least three of them.
However, men of the time who were traveling with gifts such as those listed would almost certainly have been men of wealth, and as such would have probably brought an entire retinue of servants and fellow-travelers with them. So, it is highly probable that there were more than three men who arrived in Jerusalem to ask Herod about the birth of the “infant king.”
Regardless of the number, there is much symbolism in the fact that men “from the East” came to worship the Christ child. Biblical scholars and theologians have concluded that their arrival and homage presage Jesus’ intended ministry to the gentiles. Their journey, their questions asked of Herod, and their subsequent bowing down before the infant in worship and submission, all indicate that they possessed a deep knowledge of the Jewish writings and a belief in their prediction of the Messiah. In other words, while they were probably not Jews themselves, they were knowledgeable of (and possibly believers in) the Jewish religion, and readily accepted Jesus’ divinity and position as King of the Jews; something that the Jews themselves would later reject.
Also, Herod’s intention of killing the young child is seen as a precursor to Rome’s persecution of Christians.
Myth 2. The gifts given to the child were of immense value.
Again, we really don’t know whether this is true. Considering that Joseph returned to Nazareth and continued his work there as a carpenter, I think it’s safe to assume that the economic value of the gifts was not great. But the gifts were important more as the symbols they represented than for the economic wealth they brought.
Gold was seen as the province of kings and rulers, not ordinary people. The fact that the wise men presented gold to the baby is indicative of their recognition of Him as their sovereign and king.
Frankincense and Myrrh had both been used and traded in the Middle East for thousands of years before Christ came.
Frankincense (still used today in some religious rituals) is hardened resin harvested from trees of the Boswellia family. Production at the time of Christ was largely from the Arabian Peninsula, but it is produced in other parts of the world as well today. It was deemed of great value due to the difficulty of harvesting and to the fact of its limited production. It was used to call to or invoke divinity (in the case of the Jews, God). It’s inclusion among the gifts offered by the wise men indicates their recognition of the divinity of Jesus.
Myrrh is also a resin harvested from trees, but from the species Commiphora. Again, the primary area of production during Jesus’ time was the Arabian Peninsula, but it was found in other parts of the world also as it is today. Myrrh can be both burned as an incense or used to produce a fragrant oil or perfume. Its inclusion among the gifts to Jesus is interpreted to indicate the Passion that was to come.
The three gifts, together, stood to symbolize Jesus’ sovereignty, His divinity, and His Passion well before the Jewish leaders had even heard of Him. Thus, the wise men represented His mission to the greater world, the world outside of Judaism.
Myth 3. The wise men were Muslim.
There were many religions practiced in the world at the time of Jesus’ birth, but Islam was not one of them. Although many Muslims trace the origin of their religion back through Jesus and other notables of the Old Testament, it did not coalesce into an identifiable and cohesive religion until Mohammed began his pronouncements shortly after 600 A.D. Mohammed recognized Jesus as a great prophet but did not see Him as divine or as worthy of worship. But, clearly, the wise men did.
Other facts.
Moreover, we cannot determine the ethnicity of these men. They could have been Arabic, Persian, or any of the other ethnic groups that inhabited the Near East at the time. All we know for certain is that they came “from the East.”
It is widely accepted that they were astronomers since they told Herod that they’d set out on their journey to find the infant in response to having seen “his star.” However, astronomy was widely practiced at the time, and that is no reliable clue to their origin or their avocation.
Summary.
Many more assumptions and/or myths about the wise men exist. But, for me, the power of the wise men and their story is not where they came from or whether they were nobles. For me, the power of this story arises from the fact that gentiles from another land were able to see in Jesus (even as a baby) what the Jewish leadership and elite could not. Specifically, that He was born the King of Kings and that He deserved to be worshiped by peoples from all over the earth.
Also, the fact that He had been born in a manger and in the meanest of circumstances meant nothing to these men. That He was not of noble birth and had no social standing did not matter to them. To them, His coming had been prophesied and his arrival had been divinely revealed. Their depth of faith was sufficient for them to go from their homes, to brave perils on their journey to a strange land, and to offer riches and worship to a little baby who had been born in a manger.
I marvel at their faith. And I covet their gift of discernment that allowed them to recognize a miracle in process. They truly were “wise men.”
Final Thought.
You’d think that with over 2,000 years of history against which to consider these events we’d be better at recognizing them for what they were. I strongly suspect that our world would be a better, safer, easier place in which to live if we were as strong in our convictions and as capable of discernment as the wise men were.
But we’re not. I pray that we may become more so.
God’s Blessings on You All.
Richard
January 2, 2018
