The Magi - who were they and why did they visit Jesus?

 Matthew 2:1-12

 

Here Matthew focuses on the effect of the arrival of Jesus on two distinct audiences:

1. The current Jewish King Herod

2. The Gentile Magicians

 

The Romans allowed the Jewish rulers to govern in Judea, under their authority. This Herod is referred to as Herod the Great, the first of several important rulers from the Herodian dynasty ruled from 37-4BC. He is thought to have been an  Idumean, a descendant of the Edomites, offspring of Esau. Herod was ruthless and cunning. He loved opulence and grand building projects, and many of the most magnificent ruins that can be seen in modern Israel date back to the days of Herod the Great. His most famous project was the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem which took several decades and was completed after Herod’s death.

 

Matthew reminds us of the prophesy of the prophet Micah is verse 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." (Micah 5:2).

 

The Chief Priests knew exactly where the Messiah was to be born (Matt. 2:5) but lacked the faith to accompany the Magi to the place where he was. So when the Magi arrived in Herod’s palace, nobody was able to guide them to the child. Instead they depended on the light in the sky for guidance.

 

Just to show that when God has a calling in your life, He will make a way for you to reach to that destination. You must not be afraid or rush. Wait on the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. The Magi took an exceptionally long time to get to Jesus, maybe months, or years. They must have rested along the way, set up camps to rest their animals and themselves until they finally reached their destination. There was no Google Map or fast car in those days. 

 

Who were the Magi? The total number of these men is not given in the Scriptures but there is an assumption there were 3 of them, because of the 3 gifts. They were Magi from Persia (current day Iraq) and were magicians or astrologers whose knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures could be traced back to the time of Daniel.

 

The Star could not have been a supernova or an alignment of planets as some modern theories may suggest, because the way the star moved and settled in one place for a long time (Matt. 1:9) suggests it is more of a supernatural reality similar to the Shechinah Glory.

 

In 597BC, God withdrew His Shechinah glory over the people of Israel because of their disobedience as they were taken into captivity by the King of Babylon during the time of the prophet Daniel. In today’s Scripture, God brings the same glory over Israel with the arrival of his son and is now witnessed by Babylonian Magi. The timing is so accurate that it takes my breath away. Babylon coming back on the scene is a sign from God saying: “I AM BACK!” The glory of God comes back this time in the form of a man – God’s only SON.

 

The prophet Daniel wrote some chapters including his 9^th chapter in Aramaic, so that it can be understood by the Gentiles (Babylonian) as well as the Jews who were in captivity. In that time, Daniel was appointed Chief Magi and had told his cohort of magi that a Messiah will come at such and such time. So, after nearly 600 years, as Daniel predicted, the Babylonian magi started looking for that exceptional light in the sky. And there it was... They walked over 700 miles to worship the Messiah.

 

When writing the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Matthew told us in chapter 1:1 that Jesus is the son of David (descendants of the Jews - salvation for the Jews) and the son of Abraham (father of all nations- salvation for the gentiles); Jesus is the Saviour of the Jews and the Gentiles. Here in our passage, we see the Gentiles walked and travelled 700 miles just to worship the Son of God, the promised Messiah. The opening door for salvation for the Gentiles has arrived and it started with the Magi from Babylon, to adore the Son of God. The Age of the Gentiles started with captivity of the Jews in Babylon, some 600 years ago. Now the Age of the Church is about to start, with salvation available to Gentiles.

 

These Magi were not ordinary people because they were able to have an audience with King Herod. They must have been particularly important, powerful, impressive, and wealthy people. I want you to picture the scene of our poster today, just imagine the contrast of those important people entering the modest house of Mary and Joseph. The Scripture tells us that they went “into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him.” (Matt. 2:11)

HOW AMAZING! 

 

Now let us see what the gifts were. It must have been quite a challenge for them to work out what gift to give to a future King. 

 

The gifts were:

Gold – this gift represents Jesus kingship. The magi worshipped Jesus as the king. 

Frankincense – this gift represents Jesus as the High Priest. This is the incense that God commanded Moses to be turned in the altar of incense. “The LORD said to Moses, take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum sweet spices with pure frankincense and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy” (Ex. 30:34-35). Burning incense is like our prayers through an intercessor – Christ. The Magi had faith in Jesus to be their High Priest and their intercessor.

Myrrh – an anointing oil that was used to prepare dead body for burial. The magi bring the symbol of Jesus’ death. The magi had such faith in this King and believed His body to be the sacrificial lamb for their salvation.

 

That is awesome. Jesus, the toddler, in his nappies was being worshipped as the King, High Priest and the dying Saviour for mankind.

What do we give to God? That was a particularly important question these magi asked.  They travelled long distances just to worship the promised Messiah.

 

I urge you to do the same my friends.

 

Place your faith in Jesus Christ, your King, your High Priest and Intercessor, your Perfect Sinless Sacrificial Lamb given to you to save you from your sins.

You only need to confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and you will be saved.  The Scriptures tell us: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says: Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9-13)