THE VISIT
OF THE MAGGI
1Now after Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men
from the east came to Jerusalem, 2saying,
“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.”
3When Herod the
king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and assembling
all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the
Christ was to be born.
5They told him,
“In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6“‘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.’”
7Then Herod
summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had
appeared.
8And 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.”
9After 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. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11And 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.
12And being
warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by
another way.
MATTHEW
2:1-12
COMMENTARY
These were
Zoroastrian priests of the Kingdom of the Persians, modern Iran.
The Scripture
does not say how many there were. Certainly, they were not kings, since they
were priests of an eastern religion, founded by Zoroaster around 700 years
before the birth of Lord Jesus. But it seems they had knowledge of the Jewish
Scriptures, and even though they were not worshippers of the true God, they must
have been morally righteous, because out of hundreds like them, who also
worshipped Ahura-Mazda, and observed the stars, these were singled out by God
to be guided to Jesus from such a far land.
The Incarnation
was a unique event in the history of the universe and must have been received
as such by the whole of creation. The Bible says that the whole of creation
awaits our redemption, because it knows that it will also be their redemption (Romans
8:19-20). How much more would not have shown manifestations on the birth of the
Savior as well as during his death and resurrection? (Matthew 27:51-52; Mark
15:33). And it did.
Heavenly signs
must have demarked the birth of our Lord Jesus, because by watching the stars
and planets, these Maggi, saw the ‘Star’ that God sent to them, but they must
have known what that Star came for by relating this sign with the Jewish
Messiah. This was impossible to determine through Scripture, but in their
observation of the stars and planets, they must have noted things that were unusual
which they identified with the coming of a great one.
Their coming represents
the invitation of God to the gentiles, from all over the planet, and the
righteous of heart (Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:6-8), and so He showed the way to
these chosen pagans, from many, to be accepted by Jesus at his birth.
They came not as
curious, or to hurt our Lord. They came with a believing heart, and brought
presents with them, myrrh, incense and gold, which indicated that they acknowledged
Jesus to be of Royal blood from the House of David, and also God.
In ancient
times, Gold was offered as a recognition of royalty, myrrh as an oil to anoint the
coronation of Kings, which tells us that the Maggi not only recognized Jesus as
the King of the Jews, but that they also submitted to his majesty.
But also, they
brought incense. An offering to gods in their religion.
Since they
believed in many minor gods and avatars, they recognized in baby Jesus the
incarnation of the God of Israel.
Not much is said
from these men, and traditions were born from much speculation. However, it is impossible
to meet Jesus and remain the same. People either seal their condemnation or their
salvation but are never the same.
These men, accounting
by their attitude, they must have become believers in Jesus, and returned to
their own country to preach of Lord Jesus to the far East.
From his very
birth, LORD JESUS CHRIST came redeeming people, gentiles as well as the Jewish
shepherds, to welcome the whole humanity into the Kingdom of God.
Omar Flores.
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