The why’s of Christmas. That has been our sermon series this Christmas season. "Why Christmas" in the first place Why did Jesus come? We looked at why 2,000 years ago. We considered last week, why Mary.
Today we will examine why the wise men. Why did these astrologers from a far country seek out the King of the Jews. What is up with that? Consider that all they saw was a star. Why seek out a Jewish King? Why take the risk and expense and time for a long and dangerous journey to seek out a Baby?
This morning we will just be considering the actions of the wisemen. We understand King Herod was part of that story, especially what came later with his attempt to eliminate all threats to his throne, but we will restrict ourselves to a look at the wisemen.
Matthew 2:1–12 (NKJV)
Author, pastor and one of my favorite commentator, Dr. Warren Wiersbe, he makes an interesting observation in considering the story of the wise men:
The magi were seeking the King; Herod was opposing the King; and the Jewish priests were ignoring the King. These [Jewish] priests [and scholars] knew the Scriptures and pointed others to the Saviour, but they would not go to worship Him themselves! They quoted Micah 5:2 but did not obey it. They were five miles from the very Son of God, yet they did not go to see Him! [However] The Gentiles sought and found Him, but the Jews did not. [1]
Why did the wise men seek out Jesus whereas the Jews did not?
Let’s examine who the wise men were. The word used in the Greek for “wise men” is “magoi” where we get the word magi (plural). As we know, the Bible says there were as least two and probably more. We get this from the plural of the word. Tradition gives us three wisemen, only because of the three gifts given.
Matthew 2:1–2 (NKJV) 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, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
Magi were Gentiles, meaning they were non-Jews. “Wise men from the East” They were from the east of Judah and Palestine, possible from Persia. The were probably from a pagan priestly sec who advised kings and rulers, based on their observation of the stars. They were men of great learning, and study the natural sciences of the day. They were scholars and scientists in their own right.
“seen His star in the East” How can they see the star in the east then headed west to Jerusalem? The word for east in the Greek, Hebrew, as well as Aramaic, the language of the day, translated literally, means “rising” as in the rising of the sun. The sun does rise in the east. Their word for rising became the word for the cardinal direction. The phase may be better phrased “we have seen his star rising.” We are not going to examine the star, as there are many theories. However, regardless of the many possible natural phenomenon, it was a supernatural event. They did not see the star continually, but it did re-appear in their search for the Child Jesus.
Matthew 2:9–10 (NKJV) When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
How did it go before them and how did the star stop over the Child, we don’t know and we must take it face value. But these wise men, magi, were probably familiar with Jewish writings and even perhaps had a copies of the Jewish scriptures, either in Hebrew that was left by the returning Jews from captivity some 500 years earlier, or a copy of the Greek translations (LXX – Septuagint) which were known to populate notable libraries. They were aware of prophecies such as those made by Balaam, the prophet (who tried to curse the Jews but could not):
Numbers 24:17 (NKJV) “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.
Perhaps they were familiar with the prophecies of Daniel about the Prince that was to come. Especially from the prophecy of the seventy weeks. they certainly understood time, weeks of years, and calendars.
Daniel 9:25 (NKJV) “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
Daniel even gave the time frame for the Messiah the prince to show up. But the Jewish scholars never understood it, perhaps the wisemen did. Whatever it was, it became a compelling desire among the wise men to check it out. Seeing the star, doing the research, preparing for the trip and making the trip certainly required great expense and quite a bit of time, at least a year after the birth of Christ, possibly longer. The narrative indicates that Jesus was no longer a baby because the word used in the text is “Child” meaning a toddler. And for the holy family, what ever the conditions were at the birth of Jesus, they were now in a house.
What was behind these pagan wise men/magi? What was their motivation. Several thing they said is worth noting.
“He who has been born King” The grammar here is very exact. They did not say “where is He who is born to become king,” but rather they very clearly said “where is He who is born a king.” No wonder King Herod was troubled. What these wise men were saying that He that was born is King, not will become king.
The other thing these pagan wisemen said: “For we . . . have come to worship Him.” The first ones to worship Jesus were pagan gentiles from a faraway nation. The recognized Jesus for who He is. And that is exactly what they did.
Matthew 2:11a (NKJV) And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.
Isaiah saw this some 700 years before:
Isaiah 60:3 (NKJV) The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
The significance not to be missed is this. Jesus came, not just for the Jews, but for the whole world. This is emphasized throughout the Gospels. When Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well and she told the town about Jesus, they replied to her:
John 4:42 (NKJV) Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
John, in his letter, said the same thing:
1 John 2:2 (NKJV) And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
Why did these pagan men pick up about the coming messiah and the Jewish scholars did not? The wisemen were paying attention. They saw the star. They did the research. They heard God beckoning to them. And they launched out on their journey in faith. Perhaps this group of scholars have been searching all their lives? They risked everything to find Him.
Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
We need to understand that for the wise men to set out in this journey was no small undertaking. It was not like running down to Walmart, or even taking a road trip to visit grandparents three states away. The journey was long and dangerous. It took considerable expense to put together a caravan which probably including a small military unit for protection. Providing provisions for a group of perhaps several hundred for a trip of many months. No wonder they cause some great commotion when they showed up in Jerusalem. And when they found Him, don’t miss this-the rejoice greatly.
Matthew 2:9–10 (NKJV) When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
Not only did they rejoiced, they worshipped with gifts. They didn’t throw a $5 or $10 in to the collection plate. They gave gifts the was fit for a king.
Matthew 2:11 (NKJV) And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
How little did they understand their gifts to the Child Jesus.
Gold was for Kings. Jesus is the King of kings.
Frankincense was incense, used by the priest. Jesus is our High Priest interceding for us before the throne of God.
Myrrh was a expensive spice use in the burial of royals. This gift recognized the sacrificial death of Jesus for our sins
These wise men spent a long time and went to great expense in their search for Jesus. When they found Him, the they experienced great joy. They worshipped and part of their worship was giving. They presented great gifts to Him.
The important point here is that God brought the birth of the King to the attention of these Gentiles, who probably journeyed many months (possibly one to two years) from Mesopotamia to Jerusalem. Matthew included this information to alert his Jewish readers to several realities:
(1) the event of Jesus’ birth had worldwide impact;
(2) the Messiah was coming through Israel as a gift from God to all nations of the world, not just to the Jews; and
(3) in contrast to the indifference of Jewish chief priests and scribes who should have anticipated the king’s birth (2:4), these Gentiles were over-whelmed with joy! [2]
Here is today’s punchline: Wisemen still seek Him.
We have God revelation of Himself and His means of salvation right here in our hands. We have so much more than these Magi from Persia. We do not need a star. We have God’s word.
1 Timothy 2:4 (NKJV) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
And
Titus 2:11 (NKJV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
Are we paying attention? Are we responding to what has been revealed to us? The Wise men responded and sought out Jesus, and when they found Him and there was great rejoicing.
The invitation is to respond to Him today. If you haven’t found him, are you searching with all your heart?
[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 14–15.
[2] Stuart K. Weber, Matthew, vol. 1, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 20.
