The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - Some Background on the Wise Men

 

TEXT: Matthew 2:1-8 – “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”

We began our study looking at the background of this redemptive biography. We looked at Joseph’s Distress, His Decision, and His Dream in chapter 1.

Today, let us consider some background on the Wise men. These were a priestly caste of very wise men from Mesopotamia, somewhere in the east, perhaps Persia or Babylonia--we are not told here specifically where. 

They were famous for their learning, and for their wisdom. They were very interested in astronomy/astrology; when they observed the movements of stars and planets they carefully recorded everything they saw. Anything out of the ordinary was taken by them to be some kind of an omen. Now they had seen a star that could not be identified.

The name Magi comes from the Greek word – Magoi (plural of magos). It is used in Scripture to denote “magicians” or those who dealt with dreams and sorcery as in Acts 13 and Daniel 2. In fact, Daniel would have been included as one of the Magi of his day. 

Let’s consider some of the “myths” often associated with this account.

First, the understanding that Christ’s birth was on December 25^th. There is no scriptural or outside source that gives a record of this being the date. In fact, the facts would suggest against it. Seasonally the weather is bad in that part of the world. Shepherds would not be in the fields with their flocks. The date was chosen and set by the early Roman Church. So, it is not wrong to commemorate His birth on that date, it is probably not the actual day of His birth.

Another “myth” is that there were three Magi. If we take into account what we are reading in Matthew’s biography is when they arrived in Jerusalem they caused quite a stir. They upset the city and was very noticed by Herod. However, a large number of Magi would have created this consternation. The number three has traditionally been accepted because of the three gifts mentioned. Those three gifts contained symbolic importance to the King. They may have each brought some of these gifts.

Finally, the “myth” that their names were Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar. We do not know their names, because we have no record of their names inside or outside of Scripture. This also has been a tradition handed down over time. In fact, According to Western church tradition, Balthasar is often represented as a king of Arabia or sometimes Ethiopia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Gaspar as a king of India. It is believed that at some time the Catholic Church added their names to the account.

So, getting these “myths” out of the way, tomorrow we will consider the wise men’s journey.