Our Own Magi Journey – Matthew 2:1-12

There are a lot of unanswered questions about the Magi or wise men who came to visit Jesus when he was still living in Bethlehem, not even two years old. Who were they? Did they have a teaching from Daniel about the coming Messiah? Could Daniel’s prophecy about the time for Messiah’s coming in Daniel 9 have played a factor? Was the star a comet, an actual star, a divine harbinger specially provided to guide them?

What we do know is that they were responsive to the new king, Messiah, and sought to give him proper honor, and traveled a great distance to do this. Are we that committed to Jesus?

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “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.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

   “‘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.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Matthew 2:1-12 ESV)

The journey of the wise men is the journey of anyone who becomes a follower of Jesus Christ:

1) We first must become aware that there is a king for whom we must search.  Perhaps the wise men had studied the prophecies of Daniel, their earlier fellow in the wisdom of Babylon.  They trusted whatever their source of information was enough to make this journey and seek out the truth for themselves. We are uninformed as to how many of these men journeyed. Do you still search for Jesus?

2) We must deal with opposition from the devil.  Herod was famous for his paranoia about someone taking his throne, even killing his own sons when they became potential threats.  The chief priests and scribes gave the wise men correct information, a prophecy from Micah 5 that everyone clearly knew to be Messianic, and this guided the wise men in the right direction, to Bethlehem, David’s birthplace.  But when the Magi were made aware of Herod’s duplicity and desire to remove Jesus as a threat, they refused to submit to his request to inform him of the child’s whereabouts.

3) We find ourselves in worship of this King and offer Him what is most precious to us as a symbol of offering ourselves in total obedience.  The wise men find Jesus already near 2 years old and living with his family in a house.  Their joy at finding the hope of their souls was expressed in the giving of exceedingly expensive gifts, that perhaps the family was able to sell to finance the next stage of their lives.  The wise men went back another way literally and figuratively, new men and new subjects of the coming kingdom.