Tag Archive | Magi

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (9/9): Matthew 2:1-12.

Sep9

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him.” Matthew 2:11

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REVIEW – When Joseph heard that his betrothed “wife” was pregnant (and not by him), he was in turmoil. What to do? He loved Mary and didn’t want to shame her. But that she was pregnant meant only one thing, right? Infidelity. So sadly, he decided to “divorce” her privately, saving her from a spectacle or even severe judgment.

But before he could act, an angel visited him in a dream and explained the whole amazing story. Mary was pregnant by … the Holy Spirit! Her morality was intact! He, Joseph, would be the child’s legal father and so pass the right to King David’s throne to the boy. Joseph was to name this stepson Jesus because… He would “save His people from their sins.” The angel nodded at the dreaming Joseph and assured him it was right in God’s sight for him to marry Mary. So he did.

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And now we take a giant step in time.

If you read Luke’s gospel, you know that Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem “for a census” (or so Rome thought), but actually it was to fulfill scripture that the Messiah would be born in David’s hometown of Bethlehem. While there, Mary gave birth.

Eight days later, a local priest (perhaps even Zechariah, John’s father) circumcised the boy, and Joseph named Him Jesus. Forty days after Jesus’s birth, to fulfill all the Jewish laws, Joseph and Mary took Him to Jerusalem to “redeem” Him, as all firstborn males were to do. This was also the time of Mary’s ritual cleansing after a birth. She could now become “a wife” to Joseph. For this, they brought two doves, which were the appropriate sacrifice for the poor.

In the temple, old Simeon also blessed Jesus and identified Him as the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, and “a light for the Gentiles.” He told Mary that her Son would “pierce her heart.” An old prophetess, Anna, also blessed Jesus and His parents.

Then, preferring to live in Bethlehem and not return to Nazareth, the couple found a house, and Joseph set up his carpentry.

TWO YEARS HAVE PASSED.

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Matthew 2:1-2.

Then, one normal day in Herod’s palace, a foreign delegation arrived and upset the king and his household, and in fact, all Jerusalem, forever.

These majestic, blue-and-gold, star-crested, robed, and bejeweled foreigners dismounted their camels and entered the palace with smooth, assured bearing. They looked around, and then, in a tone that told they were used to dealing with mere “human” kings, asked Herod,

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose, and have come to worship Him“

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(NOTE: People have wondered about the star for ages. Could it have been a supernova? A conjunction of planets? Halley’s comet? Consider what Bible commentaries say: that this was supernatural reality, similar to the Shekinah that guided the Israelites in the days of Moses. Read Exodus 13:21; it is very enlightening.)

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Matthew 2:3-6.

Herod is stunned and angered at their audacity. HE is king of the Jews. HE is the one who rules in Jerusalem. What do they mean, a new King has been born?? But then a cold chill turns his heart to ice. King of the Jews? Do they mean … the Messiah? NO! It can’t be!

Smiling on the outside, Herod invites his important guests, these “Magi,” to a lounge to perhaps be refreshed and entertained while he finds the answer to their question.

Quickly, Herod assembles the chief priests and scribes and asks them WHERE the Messiah was to be born. These men are familiar with the Scriptures and don’t need to go searching. They know the passage written by the prophet Micah (5:2), and they quote it.

“And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.”

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Matthew 2:7-8.

Calming himself and perhaps taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Herod calls back in these important Eastern “wise men.” First, he casually asks when they first saw this star, and then he directs them just a few miles southeast of Jerusalem to the little town of Bethlehem.

“Oh, and be sure to let me know where you find Him. I want to come worship him too.” Herod adds with false fervor as he escorts the men to their waiting camels.

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Matthew 2:9-12.

After getting the directions, the Magi (three or a dozen) went on their way. And, lo and behold, the star appeared again and seemed to lead the way. They rejoiced greatly and eagerly followed it. Soon it came to rest over a small house in Bethlehem. (What a stir they must have caused in the sleepy little town!)

They each took a prepared gift from the saddlebags of their camels and went to the house. Inside, they saw Jesus with his mother. They fell down before the little boy and worshipped Him. Then, they opened their treasures and gave Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

I imagine Mary sitting (or perhaps standing by a stove with a wooden spoon in her hand), her mouth wide open in wonder at such a sight – the richly attired wise men, their worship of her Son, their magnificent gifts. WOW. Did she go call in Joseph? Did they stand in wonder?

And Jesus? Grinning and pointing with a chubby hand at the fancy-dressed men. Reaching for the shiny gifts, patting them and clapping His hands. “Looka, Imma! See, Abba!”

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Matthew 2:12.

How long did the Magi stay? Perhaps they brought in sweet treats from Babylon – baklava, honey & wafers, raisins & dates – and shared sweet wine with the family. But at some time, at least one of them received a warning dream from Jehovah God.

“Do not return to Herod!”

So they all mounted camels, waved at the joyful boy in Mary’s arms, and went towards their homeland … by another route.

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I know the Bible does NOT call these visitors Kings. And nowhere does it tell us how many there were, but the Christmas Carol “We Three Kings” has always been my favorite. Especially the final stanza, which describes what their three gifts “could have” depicted. 

"We Three Kings" by John H. Hopkins (1820-1891)

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Refrain:
O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem's plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.

Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshipping God on high.

Refrain

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

Refrain

Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Sounds through the earth and skies.

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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 276

Oct3

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 276 – Reading – Matthew 2

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 2.

You wondered where the Kings were at the birthplace of Jesus, right?  After all, our Nativity Scenes have three of them displayed prominently, sometimes even with their camels. Well, the truth is, they weren’t at the stable. They didn’t join the shepherds to look at the newborn baby lying in the stone manger.  They didn’t lay down their gifts (along with the Little Drummer Boy’s drum) in front of the hours-old infant. 

The Kings, or perhaps we should say the Magi, were still months away.  After all, they saw the STAR way off in Chaldea when Jesus was born. They knew someone extraordinary had been born, a king. However, they had to consult all their charts, and finally the Jewish writings to see who and where he was born.  They came across a passage in a Hebrew Book of the Law and had an “aha!” moment. Numbers 24:17 prophesied where the Star would appear and where the King would rule.

“A star shall come out of Jacob, and a (king’s) scepter shall rise out of Israel.”

The minute the Magi saw that reference, they began packing their camels to follow the Star. But it takes a while to travel almost 1,000 miles.  The baby Jesus was now a toddler, and the family was living in a house in Bethlehem, not in a stable.

Arriving in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, these Magi, with their long caravan, began asking one and all, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East when it rose, and we have come to worship him.“

When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  (Hey, when this very evil and murderous king was troubled, the people of Jerusalem knew something awful was about to happen.)

Herod to the chief priests and scribes: “Where is the Messiah to be born?“

The scribes, after searching the scriptures, “Bethlehem, for the prophet Micah says, ‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah (“fruitful”), who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be Ruler/Shepherd  in Israel.'”

Herod, “Call in those Magi fellows!”

Herod to the Magi, “When, your highnesses, did you first see that “Star” appear?”

Magi, “Oh, about two years ago now.  It’s been a long and dusty road…”

Herod, “Yes, yes, I know. Okay, go towards Bethlehem, and when you find this… this new king, come back and tell me where he is so I can come and KI—, er, I mean, so I can come and worship him too.”

The Magi left, and were exceedingly glad when they found the HOUSE where they saw the child with his mother, Mary.  “They fell down and worshiped Him. Then, they opened their treasures and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

THEN… after God warned them in a dream NOT to go back to Jerusalem and the mad Herod, they left Jesus and his family to return to their own country … by another route.

God also warned Joseph in a dream that it was NO LONGER SAFE in Bethlehem, and to flee with his family to Egypt.  Whew!  It was a good thing that those Magi had brought gifts.  That would help to support the family on the run and to settle them in Egypt for a few years.  They left that night as well.

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King Herod waited.  And waited.  After a week, or maybe a month, he realized the Magi were NOT coming back to tell him where this new “king” was living.  In a rage, he ordered that all the boy babies two years old and under in Bethlehem were to be destroyed. 

And so, in Bethlehem, homes were torn open and soldiers carrying swords and daggers burst in, grabbing any baby boy or toddler, and slashing him to death, splashing blood everywhere.  Mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other children wailed, screamed, and wept for the murdered children.  

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted,

because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15.

And King Herod, the madman, reclined on his bed, confident he’d taken care of the Jewish king problem.

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A few years later, Herod was dead too, his rule divided among his three wicked sons.

God then “called His Son out of Egypt,” through a dream He gave to Joseph.  The family returned to Israel, but didn’t stop in Bethlehem, for a new king was now in Jerusalem, Archelaus, as wicked as his father.  As in Luke’s gospel, they returned home to Nazareth. And so, Jesus would be known as “the Nazarene.”

 

 

“We Three (gifts of the) Kings”

Dec19

3Kings.moonMy favorite Christmas carol has always been We Three Kings, written by John H. Hopkins, but I know it’s not one of the most popular Christmas songs. I think everyone gets hung up on the “O-o-o, star of wonder” part, or maybe even the minor key in which it’s been written.

But the words! It’s the words that sell it for me.

The Bible does not say how many “kings” or “wise men”  or “Magi” came to worship Jesus. It only mentions the three gifts they brought; valuable tokens of their esteem, and very useful “cash” for Joseph & Mary to use as they fled with Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous madness.

Herod, as you recall, was very jealous to hear that a new King had been born, and so inquired of the visitors when they first saw the star. Using that time frame he ordered all boys – age two and under – to be killed. Killed! Innocent babies, precious sons, destroyed!

But by this decree we can be pretty sure the visitors from the East did not make an appearance at the stable, but came to a house in Bethlehem, “where the Christ child lay.”  That’s where they presented the gifts, on bent knees. Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh.

And this is where THE WORDS to the carol, We Three Kings come in.  They explain what these3Kings.silohoet gifts represented; what they told of the life of Jesus, the Messiah.

  1. We three kings of Orient are; bearing GIFTS we traverse afar,  field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.

Refrain: O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect Light.

Okay, now let’s look at the GIFTS presented to the Christ child:

  1. Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, GOLD I bring to crown him again, KING forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.

GOLD to represent Jesus as King, the promised descendant of King David, one day to be hailed as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

  1. FRANKINCENSE to offer have I; incense owns a Deity nigh; prayer and praising, voices raising, worshiping GOD on high.

FRANKINCENSE was used in the worship of Almighty God, the Holy One of Israel. Not only is Jesus KING, He is also GOD

  1. MYRRH is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom;  sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb.

MYRRH was a very costly ointment used to mask the odor of a body when it is buried. When Mary Magdalene broke an alabaster jar of it and poured it over Jesus as an act of extreme love and devotion, Jesus said she had “anointed Him for burial.” Now look again at where verse four leaves Jesus: crucified and buried in a “stone-cold tomb.”

But hallelujah! Praise God!  See how verse five brings us to His resurrection!

  1. Glorious now behold him arise; KING and GOD and SACRIFICE, Alleluia, Alleluia, sounds through the earth and skies.

 We Three Kings is a carol of worship and praise. It’s why I love it. Jesus, my King, my God, my living Sacrifice for sin. The visitors traveled half way around the world to worship Jesus. Let US open our hearts and let our praises rise to the skies!

Star

 

Oh, and don’t get hung up on the Star of Wonder – wondering perhaps (sorry for the pun) if it actually moved before the travelers, or if it was a juxtaposition of several stars that alerted them to the birth, or if it was maybe a comet, or a “shooting star.”

If it bothers you, just remember that Jesus is called the Morning Star in Revelation 22:16, the Day Star in 2 Peter 1:19, and the Light of the World in John 1:5-9 and 8:12. Could it have been Jesus who drew these “wise” men to Himself?  A thought.