Christmas: The Magi

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him…. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh….Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Matthew 2:1-2, 11, 16 (KJV)

The Bible tells us that in the days that Jesus was born, wise men, or Magi, came from eastern lands to Jerusalem looking for Him. Who were these men and when did they arrive? Were they present at the manger as many greeting cards and classic paintings depict?

The Magi were elite spiritual leaders; influential men most likely from Persia. They were especially gifted in astronomy, or the study of stars and the constellations. It is believed their knowledge of the stars and their interest in the King of the Jews stemmed from the influence of the Prophet Daniel who served in Babylon and Persia over six centuries prior. It’s been said that Daniel may have become the leader of the Magi when he served there. These were very powerful men with much wealth and political clout- so much so that their word could easily depose kings and national leaders. Early Christian writings and historical records bear this out.

By the age of the children affected by Herod’s murderous raid on Bethlehem, we can determine that Jesus was around two years old when the Magi arrived. Once they saw the star that began to shine when Jesus was born, they likely had to determine and gather the appropriate gifts to present and make arrangements for the journey. This may have taken some time. Add to that the time needed to travel to Judea, a journey of 1,000 miles or more, and it is quite believable that they arrived roughly two years after Jesus’ birth. The verses above mention that they found the young Child and His mother in the house. They were no longer in the cave because they had returned home to Nazareth long before that time.

Although the Scripture mentions gold, frankincense, and myrrh as three primary gifts presented to Jesus, we do not know if these were the only gifts. However, we can be assured that whatever they presented to Him was given in large quantities and was quite valuable, due to their tremendous wealth. These men did not travel this far and use the large amount of resources necessary to embark on such a journey just to bring tiny jars filled with these materials. No, they gave a significant amount of gold, frankincense, myrrh and possibly other exquisite gifts to the newborn King. They knew that honoring royalty required that they bring gifts worthy of royalty.

There is no mention of how many Magi made the journey. Just because there were three gifts mentioned does not mean there were three Magi. It’s likely that there were more. And if they were carrying great riches, they came with quite an entourage. They had to have soldiers to guard them and the gifts. They had to have people carry their provisions, tents, etc. This was not a small group of people. Imagine the stir in Nazareth when this massive caravan of elite, influential men arrived in their tiny town!

There have been a lot of assumptions and incorrect thinking associated with the Magi, as we have seen- most of it stemming from religious tradition. The truth is that very wealthy, very powerful men from far-away lands came to see the One Daniel had prophesied about so long ago, and they arrived when Jesus was a toddler. As these men told Herod, they had come to worship the One born King of the Jews. And, like these wise men, we too are to worship the King of kings and Lord of lords!