The Journey of the Magi: An Eventful Day in Jerusalem, Part 2

 The arrival of the Magi caused quite a stir in the city of Jerusalem. A caravan of camels carrying traders and their goods would have made for an exciting day, but when that caravan accompanied a group of magi searching for a newborn King, it completely disturbed the peace of Jerusalem. For generations the magi had served as advisors to rulers. The Magi are rightly called Wise Men, because they sought out Jesus. They were highly educated, being well versed in the subjects of their day which would have included mathematics, astronomy, political science and more. Their training also included a fair dose of the supernatural by mixing in numerology with mathematics and astrology with astronomy. A new star suddenly popping up in the sky would have gotten their prompt attention.

 

These men were not new to the Biblical histories. We are introduced to them in the book of Daniel. The magi advised King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. Daniel and his three friends received the same education, but were found to be 10 times wiser through the wisdom that comes from above. Because Daniel was made the chief of the wise men and eventually a declaration was sent throughout the entire empire that the God of the Hebrews was to be revered, their successors would have almost certainly been aware of his prophecy about the coming Messiah and would have known that the appropriate amount of time had passed.

 

Let’s look at the Biblical account of the visit of the Wise Men:

 

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was deeply troubled and all Jerusalem with him.

 

Being skilled in astronomy, the men had noticed a new star in the sky and followed it, pulling right into Jerusalem and going directly to the palace to pay homage to the new King. These men had come to curry favor and secure future good relations. Instead, they were the bearers of news that was most unwelcome to the ruling elite. While Jesus’ birth was good news to the common folk, to Herod and the Sadducees, this was the worst news ever.

 

King Herod ("the Great") was the darling of Rome. He ruled over Judea as a vassal king of Caesar. He built the port city of Caesarea as a tribute to Caesar so that Roman nobles arriving by boat would see Roman columns and enjoy a hippodrome, theater and luxury accommodations. Inland, he built a lavish palace in Jericho and a luxurious country stronghold near Bethlehem which he named Herodium after himself. In Jerusalem he dramatically increased the size of the temple mount and monetized religion by charging a temple tax. Imagine being charged admission to get into church. A lucrative business also developed for selling the necessary animals for sacrifices. Herod and the religious leaders were living high on the hog with extravagant clothing, rich food and lives of privilege as Roman pawns. News of the King of the Jews being brought by a caravan of foreign emissaries directly to the current occupant of the throne was not welcome news to them at all.

 

There has been much speculation about where the wise men came from. The Bible says that they came from the East which means that they were not Egyptian wise men from the south, nor were they Assyrian wise men from the north. They were from the East. Biblically, the term "land of the East," refers to anything East of the Jordan River. The certainly included the Babylonian and Persian Empires, based in modern day Iraq and Iran. The one time capital cities of Babylon and Suza are located almost due East of Jerusalem. In Daniel’s day, there were many of the magi living in Babylon, advising the King. In fact, there was a famous school for them with 3 levels of learning in ancient Babylon. In Esther’s day, many of these wise men were likely headquartered a bit further East in Susa, where the King was ruling from. They came from Babylon and/or Susa, due East of Jerusalem. Here is a map:

 

 

The city of Hillah, built over the site of ancient Babylon is 542 miles due East of Jerusalem near modern day Bagdad. It would take a fit person about 3 weeks to walk in a straight line. We also encounter such wise men in the historical book of Esther which took place in Susa, about 228 miles further East beyond Babylon. The map shows various routes that a caravan might take around the desert. If the magi began making preparations for their prophesied journey by camel caravan after seeing the star appear on the night of Jesus birth, we could reasonably expect them to arrive in Bethlehem about 5 or 6 weeks later. I have wondered why the entire city would have been thrown into an uproar over the news of the Messiah, if Anna had already delivered it. I am quite convinced that they arrived on the very same day. Anna shared the good news with the faithful Jews who were waiting, hoping and eagerly anticipating the arrival of their Messiah. The wise men brought the news to those who were less eager, the secular government and corrupt religious leaders. Since all of Jerusalem was stirred up over the news, I believe it only makes sense that 40 days after Jesus’ birth, on the very same afternoon or evening after the temple visit, the wise men showed up bringing the news to Herod. With Anna proclaiming the birth of the Messiah to the temple visitors and the hearers (or gossippers) excitedly spreading the news throughout the city, the caravan of Magi arrived, also announcing the birth of the new Jewish King. The city was in pandemonium.

 

After hearing the news, Herod responded this way:

 

So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ would be born. In Bethlehem of Judea, they told him, because this is what was written by the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.” 

After hearing the king, they went on their way and there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

Jerusalem is about 7 miles north of Bethlehem. If the wise men approached from the North, having gone up and around the desert along the caravan route, the Star would have appeared directly behind Jerusalem in Bethlehem. If they crossed the desert, it would have brought them in the direction of these two cities. Either way, as they got closer, the star was situated directly above Jerusalem. I believe this is because Jesus was in the city for his presentation at the temple. As the magi departed from the palace, they were elated to see the star back up in the sky, but it was in motion. The only explanation I can think of for the star moving and leading them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is that as Mary and Joseph took Jesus back to Bethlehem, the star followed overhead. As the city became chaotic with excitement, Joseph probably got his family up and out of there, leaving at twilight. The wise men were able to follow the star as Scripture says it led them directly to Jesus, settling over the house where He was. 

The wealthy visitors worshipped Jesus and presented Him with gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. These gifts are of great significance.

I. GOLD: Jesus is King 

Gold was a fitting present to set before royalty. This gift honored and recognized Jesus as King. God had given Adam mashal, granting him the authority to reign over the earth as His representative, like a vassal King.  Adam had foolishly lost some of that power when he listened to Satan's voice over God's and sinned. As the second sinless Adam, Jesus took that lost authority back. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16). When the Gabriel the angel spoke to Mary he reiterated the words of the prophet Isaiah: 

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

II. FRANKINCENSE: Jesus is God

Frankincense is an aromatic, burned by priests as an offering to God. It comes from the sap, or resin from a tree and can be used to make perfume or burning incense for use in worship. It was an appropriate presentation that recognized and honored Jesus as Divine. Jesus is fully God, of one essence with the Father and has always existed.

III. MYRRH: Jesus is a Man

Myrrh was a perfume that was used in burial preparations. This gift foreshadowed Jesus’ death on the cross and his subsequens burial and resurrection. Jesus would die for our sins, to reconcile us back to God. Jesus if fully man, and can relate to us.

These gifts symbolically demonstrate that Jesus is both God and man. He would die to save us. They remind us that Christ is both human and divine, a man of suffering and the victorious risen King. Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and while he chose to come humbly as a savior, offering peace, he will one day return bringing justice and judgement upon his enemies.  

These gifts were products of the land of the East. Genesis 25:6 tells us that Abraham gave gifts to the grandchildren of Ishmael, the son he had with his wife Sarah's handmaid named  Hagar. He also gave gifts to his grandchildren from his second wife Keturah, whom he married after Sarah died. He sent the descendants across the Jordan river to the Land of the East. 

Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East. 

God had promised that ALL of the nations of the world would be blessed through Abraham's lineage.  Isaiah prophesied reconciliation with these children from across the river as they too would be blessed by Jesus, a descendant of Abraham. Here are some highlights from Isaiah Chapters 59-60 that relate directly to the visit of the Magi.

They will fear (revere) the name of Yahweh in the West and his glory in the East...The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression. 

The word Jacob here refers to the nation of the descendants of the man whose name was changed to Israel. The Redeemer is promised to those who repent and turn away from their sins.  This reminds us that in order to be redeemed, or saved, we must turn away from our sins and toward Jesus. In the verses that follow God promises to send His Holy Spirit to those who believe. After that, the prophet declares:

Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the LORD shines over you. For look, darkness will cover the earth and total darkness all the peoples, but the LORD will shine over you and his glory will appear over you. Nations will come to your light and kings to your shining brightness...

Caravans of camels will cover your land--young camels of Midian and Ephah--all of them will come from Sheba. They will carry gold and frankincense and proclaim the praises of the LORD. All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will serve you and go up on my altar as an acceptable sacrifice. I will glorify my beautiful house. 

Out of the darkness, came a great light, Jesus. The star shining over the place where Jesus' was, drawing the Magi to Him, reminds us of this important truth.  The cities mentioned are named after descendants of Abraham, all East of the Jordan River. The gold and frankincense the Wise Men brought as presents to the Christ child were products of Arabia and an offering laid at the feet of the newborn King. 

The original audience of Isaiah's prophetic discourse would likely have assumed these verses were about God blessing Israel by returning the people back into the promised land from exile and bringing prosperity to Jerusalem, the shining city on a hill. The predictions of these chapters were partially fulfilled, but not completely. They were intended to leave the people of Israel and even ourselves asking, is more yet to come? These prophecies actually have a dual fulfillment, an initial partial down payment on the promise, but with a glance toward the future, looking forward not only to the coming incarnation of Christ, but to his redemptive work and the completion of the promise at the end of days. 

Caravans did indeed visit Jerusalem with camels and dromedaries raised in Midian, bringing riches and goods. On the occasion of the Magi's visit we specifically see that the prophet's words were true, God's promise was kept and the great light drawing the children of Abraham together is Jesus. The Wise Men were the beginning, many more of the children of Abraham living in the land East of the Jordan would come to know Jesus as Messiah and Lord. 

Much of the area we know as the Middle East today once sheltered a flourishing Christian community and thriving church. I have an English copy of The Diatessaron by Tatian, a 4 part harmony of the Gospels dating back to 150 A.D. written in Syriac, a Christian form of Aramaic that was used by these believers in the East. It was only after the religion of Islam was invented by Muhammed in 610 A.D. that these nations, some of them predominantly Christian, were attacked and forcibly "coverted," to Islam in the following centuries. Islam is a religion whose primary belief is inscribed inside their temple built on top of the site of the fallen temple in Jerusalem: "Far be it from God that he should have a son." The entire religion exists as an anti-Christian movement, leading the physical descendants of Abraham astray. As Christians, who are the true, spiritual children of Abraham, rather than view Muslims as enemies, we should view them as prodigals, people who were conquered and led astray, people Jesus died for, people God wants to save. Muslim countries are not the enemy of Christians, they are our mission field, the most difficult mission field because their leaders actively persecute Christians and try to prevent the good news about Jesus from being shared. They are stealing the birthright of Abraham's other children. Our goal is evangelization and reconciliation. 

After presenting their gifts and worshipping Jesus, the magi went home.

And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route. Then Herod, when he realized he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under; in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men. Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.

Herod himself was not a Jew. He was an Idumean. Idumea is the Greek way of pronouncing Edom, where the Edomites lived. Edom means “Red,” which was the nickname of Esau, Jacob’s brother. Herod was a descendant of Esau. The Jews were descended from Jacob. It is significant that God sent wealthy royal advisors to Herod because he sent messengers he would listen to. From the beginning of Jesus’ life on earth, God reached out to Gentiles or non-Jews, just like Simeon prophesied. God immediately reached out to one of Esau’s descendants. Many of them would become Christians eventually, but not Herod. The Magi brought the message of good news right to his doorstep, but he rejected it. He refused to accept the Gospel. Not only that, but he tried to have Jesus murdered so that he could stay in power. Sadly, many of the religious leaders would react in similar fashion. Like Herod, they hardened their hearts and rejected the Messiah.   

 

The magi were warned in a dream about Herod's scheme and altered their route home to avoid him. Even though they told him precisely when the star appeared, Herod flew into a mad rage and ordered the execution of every child within a 2 year age range, from birth all the way to two years old in and around Bethlehem. History tells us that eleven innocent children died by the order of this power hungry lunatic, a fact that Jeremiah had sadly prophesied. After the visit of the wise men, the star is not mentioned again and since Herod was not able to use it to find Jesus, we can reasonably deduce that the phenomena disappeared. 

After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and escaped to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod’s death so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my son.

As soon as the magi left, once again Joseph was visited in a dream by an angel who warned him of impending danger. He took Mary and the child and fled in the middle of the night, narrowly escaping Herod's wrath as he whisked his family safely away to Egypt, gifts in hand. As I alluded to earlier, it is common for Old Testament texts to have 2 meanings—a literal and immediate meaning and a future, prophetic meaning. Originally, the Bible spoke of God calling his “son,” the nation of Israel out of Egypt. Now, we see this statement having a secondary meaning, prophetically pointing to Jesus who would deliver us out of bondage and slavery to sin in the same way that God delivered Israel out of bondage and slavery to Egypt, which symbolically represents sin.

 

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling of Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. The he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.  

 

Once Herod was dead, an angel from the Lord told Joseph it was safe to come back to Judea, so He, Jesus and Mary returned home to Nazareth. With their return to their own town of Nazareth, every prophecy about the birth of Jesus had been completely fulfilled, including the prophecy that He would be called a Nazarene. The Messiah had come. 

Matthew's account of the events surrounding Jesus' birth ends there. Luke ends his account of these early events with these words:

The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom and God's grace was on Him. 

 SERIES CONCLUSION

In this Advent series we have studied a variety of responses to the news of Jesus’ birth. The Shepherds heard the news proclaimed by God’s holy angels who are ministering spirits. They believed it, came to Jesus, worshipped Him and then shared the good news with others. This sets the precedent for the preaching of the Gospel. We tell others the good news and the Holy Spirit works in their hearts. If they believe it they come to Jesus, worship Him and then tell others the good news about the forgiveness of sins and salvation that is found in Him.

The Holy Spirit drew Simeon to the temple. He believed, came to meet Jesus and then praised Him out loud. Anna heard Simeon’s exclamation, believed and declared the good news to all who were awaiting redemption. But not everyone responded that way. Herod rejected the good news, refused to accept Jesus as his Messiah and tried to kill him.

The question is, how will you respond? Will you harden your heart against God like Herod? Or will you be like Simeon, Anna and the Shepherds? Will you accept Jesus as your Messiah, your Deliverer, your Savior?