The Worship Of The Magi

The Worship of the Magi

Matthew 2:1-12

Good Morning…

So far in our mini Christmas series, we have met Mary and Joseph, the angel Gabriel, and last week we met the Shepherds who were tending to their sheep out in the field.

Today, we will meet some very interesting men who were called Magi or wise men as some nativity scenes call them.

So please open your Bibles to Matthew 2, as we meet these men.

This morning’s narrative takes us to Bethlehem, soon after the birth of Jesus.

Christianity.com has an article on the Magi which says, “The coming of the wise men is placed soon after the birth, and before the presentation in the Temple,

The article says, "Now when Jesus was born" in Matthew 2:1, implies that the one event speedily followed the other.”

Unlike most of our current day nativity scenes, I do not believe Jesus was still in the manger when the Magi arrived.

Many scholars believe Jesus was between 1 month and 2 years old when these men appear.

The scholars base this estimate on the decree from Herod, to kill all male babies under two years old, which was given after Herod was told when the star appeared by the Magi.

I. After Christ’s birth.

Read Matthew 2:1-2

The Magi were wise men from the East (possibly Persia; modern day Iran) who came to worship the Messiah, who is the Lord God in the form of a baby; and they presented Him some gifts.

The Gospel of Matthew does not follow the Luke’s narrative of the details surrounding the manger scene and birth; instead Matthew tells of the important visit from these Magi.

According to John MacArthur, “Many historians consider them to have been Semites, which if so, made them descendants of Noah’s son Shem.”

Because of their combined knowledge of science, agriculture, mathematics, history, and the occult,

Their religious and political influence continued to grow until they became the most prominent and powerful group of advisors in the Medo-Persian and Babylonian empires.

Historians tell us that no Persian was ever able to become king without mastering the scientific and religious disciplines of the Magi and then being approved by them.

Since these men came from either Babylon or Persia, we can assume they were also taught Hebrew Scriptures because of the events in the Book of Daniel.

Because of Daniel’s high position and favor shown to him by the Lord; the Magi learned many things from Daniel and scripture about the One true God of Israel.

Many Jews remained in Babylon after the Exile and intermarried with the people of the East; so, it is likely the Jewish influence remained in the region even up until New Testament times.

These Magi knew scripture as well or better than a lot of the Jewish scholars; so, they anticipated the arrival of Messiah.

As I stated many times before; there are well over 315 prophecies about Messiah in the Old Testament;

The Book of Isaiah, when describing Jerusalem’s restoration,

Isaiah 60:6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD. NKJV

Notice Matthew 2:2 tells us the Magi seen a special star and because these men were experts in Astronomy.

Astronomy is defined as a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena; it applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects.

We can be sure these wise men knew the prophecy written in Numbers 24:17 A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, NKJV

So the wise men recognized the miracle of this Special Star.

There have been many different explanations about this special star; some scholars think this “star” was a comet; however, records of comet sightings do not match up with the Lord's birth.

For example, Halley's Comet was present in 11 B.C.; but, the first Christmas took place around 6 B.C.

Others believe the Star of Bethlehem was a gathering of planets in the night sky.

Since planets orbit the sun at different speeds and distances, they occasionally seem to approach each other closely.

However, multiple planets do not look like a single light source, as this star is described in Scripture; also, planet alignments are not that unusual.

Some believe this was an exploding star or supernova because some stars are unstable and explode this way with a bright blaze;

However, historical records do not indicate a supernova at the time of the Lord's birth.

All three explanations for the Star of Bethlehem fall short of the narratives of the star in Numbers 24:17 and Matthew 2:1-12.

God has often used special lights to guide His people, such as the glory the cloud that followed the Children of Israel in the desert and later God’s presence filled the tabernacle and temple.