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Matthew 2:1-12

¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “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.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ They 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.’”

⁷ Then Herod summoned the magi secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸ And 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.” ⁹ After 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. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And 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. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Before we dive in here, I would just like to note something: One of Martin Luther’s sermons on this text is 110 pages long. As tempting as it is to preach a three-hour sermon, I promise to be slightly more succinct. You’re welcome.

When Matthew says there in v. 1, “behold,” he’s putting up a big sign. Matthew wants us to slow down and be amazed at what is going on in this text. If we put it in today’s language, v. 1 could be translated, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, check this out, magi from the east came to Jerusalem.”

Now, who are these magi? We have to clear up some misconceptions that have become so engrained in our minds. Sometimes, we call them ‘wise men.’ Well, there is nothing in the Scripture that identifies them as ‘wise’ – at least not anything they do is particularly wise, except for when they worship the Christ Child. They may have been educated, learned men, but not ‘wise.’ In fact, we will see how they are constantly dependent on the Word of God to do the right thing. Sometimes, they are called kings like in the hymn “We Three Kings.” But there is nothing to indicate that they were kings or lords or governors or rulers or anything like that. The Scriptures indicate that they are well off financially, but that certainly doesn’t mean that they are kings. And there is nothing to tell us for sure that there were three of them. All we know is that there were at least two because the word magi is plural. They do bring three gifts that are fit for a king – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (The idea of there being three of them is kind of nice unless you like to imagine a fourth magi standing sheepishly in the corner while the other three give their gifts.) So, who are these magi?

The Scriptures call these guys μάγοι which is where we get our word ‘magicians.’ Now, we aren’t talking about street performers who can tell you what card you drew from a deck or pull a rabbit out of a hat. This ‘magic’ that they would have practiced is satanic stuff. The pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, had some magi at his disposal when he had a dream in Daniel 2(:2-11). Nebuchadnezzar called in his magi, enchanters, and sorcerers (see how these jobs are lumped together). He wanted these people to come tell him what his dream was and what it meant.

So, when the first readers of Matthew came across this term ‘magi,’ they would have understood this to mean these men would have been involved in witchcraft, astrology, sorcery, fortune-telling, speaking to the dead, Ouija boards, etc. – all things that the Scriptures consistently forbid because they are all demonic, satanic practices. So, again v. 1, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, check this out, magi from the east came to Jerusalem.” It’s absolutely shocking. These are the first Gentile (non-Jewish) people in all the Gospels to seek Jesus, the Son of God.

Through their demonic practices, probably astrology but whatever those practices were, they see a star that leads them to Jerusalem and to Herod. They ask, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star and have come to worship,” not just give Him honor and respect, “we have come to worship Him.” Herod could have legitimately said, “Well, you’re in luck. I’m Herod, king of the Jews. Go ahead and bow down.” But even Herod, for all his evil, wicked, murderous ways, even Herod recognizes he isn’t divine and deserving of worship.

But notice what Herod does do. He summons the chief priests and scribes and asks notwhere the descendant of King David would be born but “where the Christwas to be born.” Herod makes the connection – the King of the Jews these magi are looking for is the Christ, the promised Messiah.

The chief priests and scribes rightly go to Micah 5:2which states that Christ the King will be born in Bethlehem. So, Herod calls the magi back in secretly; he has a private meeting with them to find out when they first saw the star. We know his intentions were evil because right after this text, Herod will use the information from that meeting to try and kill Jesus by exterminating all the boys in Bethlehem who were 2 and under.

The magi take leave of Herod. The star appears again to lead them (Had it disappeared for a time?). They see it and “rejoice with exceedingly great joy.” And they find what they’ve been looking for, what they have been traveling for months to find. There, in a house, is the infant Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. And they worship the Child who will grow up and die on the cross for them. But then, notice, they have to be warned in a dream to not return to Herod. And they return to their country by another way.

So, there’s the text, and there is so much we could focus on: How an infant Child is worthy of worship. How the chief priests and scribes and all the people of Jerusalem trembled in fear when they should have been crawling to the house to worship the Child. But today, we are going back to behold, to check out, the magi. And most importantly how God graciously leads them to Himself.

God wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4) – even these magi who practice demonic arts. And God gives them signs to see even as they live in their sin. But those signs don’t lead them directly to the king they are looking for. God could have used the star to bring them straight to Jesus, but remember that God always works and calls people to Himself through His Word. And those signs lead the magi only as far as the Scriptures. Remember, they followed the star which, initially, only got them as far as Jerusalem and Herod; Herod connects the magi to the chief priests and scribes; and the religious leaders are the ones who introduce the magi to the Scriptures (specifically Micah 5:2).

Now, I want to be clear that I’m going to speculate for a moment here. But it isn’t, at least in my opinion, reaching very far: These magi learn about the sacred text from Micah 5about the one they are seeking. They would have probably been used to studying ancient texts, so it is very conceivable that they would want to know more about what Micah had to say. When you have been traveling for months to find something and stop to get more directions, you want to be sure those directions are legitimate. The passage about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem was from Micah 5:2. And, if you keep reading and get to Micah 5:12, God says there, “I will cut off (lit.exterminate) sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes.” So there is no question that God uses the star to lead these magi to the Scriptures. But conceivably, the magi study the Scriptures further which leads them to repentance of their livelihood, and finally to their Savior.

Now, even if that isn’t the case, here is the point: Don’t give up on praying for your friends and family who are far from God even when it seems that they are so far from God you think they are a lost cause. Point them to the Scriptures. Point them to Jesus, the Word who became flesh and brings God’s mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. To do that, of course, you will have to know the Scriptures.

And always remember, that God doesn’t give up on you either. Through the same Scriptures, God has led you here to Himself. He hasn’t used a something as uncertain as star or a dream. He has led you with something more certain (2 Pet. 1:19) – His Word. He has led here to receive His mercy, grace, and forgiveness. He leads you now to His altar to receive His very Body and Blood given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins. Leave your sins behind. Come, taste, and see that your God is merciful and gracious, full of steadfast love and righteousness. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.