The Magi Misunderstood
Jumping to conclusions without careful investigation can cause costly mistakes. Matt Emmons had the gold medal in sight. He was one shot away from claiming victory in the 2004 Olympics 50 metre three-position rifle event. He didn't even need a bull's-eye to win. He fired. Normally he would have scored 8.1 - more than enough for the gold. But in what was described as an extremely rare mistake in league competition, Emmons fired at the wrong target. Standing in lane two, he fired at the target in Lane three. His score for a good shot at the wrong target was zero. He missed out on that medal.
Mistakes can easily be made with the Christian story. We're so familiar with it that we can just take it for granted. Christmas cards have done us few favours. A friend complained to me this week that the story about the wise men couldn't be true as stars don't move about and stop over a stable. This article has been written to try and correct such misunderstanding.
The Magi
The wisemen were not Kings but Magi. Magi were highly respected Eastern philosopher astrologers. The root Babylonian word ‘magos’ passed into other languages becoming, in Greek, ‘mega’, and in Latin ‘magnus’. In those ancient times these were the great men.
The seer Balaam was probably such a man. He lived in Pethor, near the Euphrates River, not far from Babylon around 1400BC. He was contracted by Balak, King of Moab, to come and curse the invading Israelites after they left Egypt. However after much delay, Balaam gave a remarkable prophecy that can be found in Numbers chapter 24 in the Bible.
“The prophecy of Balaam . . . The prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the most high . . .,
‘I see him, but not now,
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob; A sceptre will rise out of Israel.’|”
A sceptre means a king - a star represents him.
Daniel lived in Babylon 850 years after Balaam. The King Nebuchadnezzar had had a dream that seemed important, but like many of us he'd forgotten it. The king summoned his magi to tell him both the dream and its meaning. Because they couldn't do this they faced execution. Then Daniel and his friends prayed and Daniel was given the same dream by God. He went to Nebuchadnezzar and told him both the dream and its meaning. As a result of Daniel was made ruler of the province of Babylon and placed in charge of all its magi. These were the true ‘Great Ones’.
We are not told the Magi came by camel, it could well have been by donkey, by mule or on foot.
We are not told that there were three, there were possibly more.
They didn't enter the stable, Mary and Joseph had moved,
“On coming to the house, they saw the child . . .” Matthew 2:11
They didn't visit a baby but a toddler - probably about two years old.
The star
We now know that Jesus was born around 6BC. Herod the Great died in 4BC and he was clearly alive when Jesus was born and he estimated that Jesus would have been about 2 years old when the wise men visited.
What we do know is that the Magi had seen a sign in the stars. Modern computerised models can tell us the position of the stars and planets in ancient times. A remarkable discovery has been made. On April 17th, 6 BC, there was a very strange astronomical occurrence. This involved Jupiter, known as ‘the star of a king’.
An astronomer, Michael Molnar, has shown that the phrase ‘in the east’ was a literal term used by astronomers for a planet that would rise above the eastern horizon just before the sun rose. The word translated ‘East’ means literally ‘rising of the light'. Then, just moments after the planet rises, it disappears in the bright glare of the morning sun. So except for that a brief moment, no one can see this star in the east. The sun obscures it's arising for several months. When it reappears it is known as a ‘heliacal rising’ or ‘star in the east rising’. On April 17th, 6 BC the rising star in the East was Jupiter that was recognised to represent a king. At this time the sun was in Aries, the ram,
Figure 1 The Conjunction of stars on April 17th 6BC
which was thought to symbolise Judaism. There were other associated planetary conjunctions in the same area involving Venus and Regulus, and on top of this Jupiter was then eclipsed by the moon. They interpreted this to mean that there was a very special royal birth in Israel, a king of the Jews.
If this is the true explanation, what does it mean when the star ‘stood over’ the inn? This phrase has an important technical meaning in ancient astronomy. It refers to the time when a planet seems to stop moving and then starts to move backwards. This occurs because the earth, which orbits the sun more quickly than Mars, Jupiter or Saturn laps them. The effect is that these planets appear to stop moving and then reverse. This situation occurred to Jupiter in August 6 BC.
Figure 2 Computer simulation of the conjunction of planets and the ‘star rising in the East’
There remained many Jews living around Babylonia at this time and they would have their scriptures readily available. If the Magi knew about the Old Testament prophecies that a Messiah King would be born in the family of David, these astronomical signs would be considered very significant. Perhaps they knew of the messianic prophecy given by Jacob when he blessed his son Judah. Incidentally Judah is the origin of our word Jew. This is what Jacob said,
“The sceptre will not depart from Judah nor the rulers start from between his feet until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” Genesis 49:10
It is surely significant that some ancient coins dating from either 6 A.D. or 12 A.D. have been found in Antioch which was then heavily populated by a Jewish people. The coins depict Aries, the ram, looking at a start above. This does suggest that God's people were looking for God’s Star, his Messiah.
Figure 3 Coin from Antioch 6AD with Ram and Star
Today most people no longer believe in astrology - but in those days they did. Clearly God was willing to use their limited knowledge to introduce the Saviour to the whole world.
There have been other varying theories about the ‘star’; some have suggested it may have been a comet and that the tail of the comet pointed down to Bethehem, but to date there is no evidence that such a comet existed at that time. Furthermore, comets tended were associated with death of a king, not a birth.
The key point of this story is that the Magi came seeking the King of the Jews and from the context it seems that they knew something of the Jewish Scriptures which teach about the coming of God’s Messiah - his eternal King.
3. The Child
Clearly the Magi knew more than this brief record shares. I wonder if they knew that prophecy of Isaiah:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.” Isaiah 9:6
The scriptures tell us that the Messiah is coming, when he's coming, where he's coming, why he's coming and now here he is. He is certainly not unannounced. Look at these prophecies:
God said to Abraham,
“ . . . through your offspring all nations will be blessed.” Genesis 22:18
God said to his coming Son,
“I will make the nations your inheritance.” Psalm 2:8
Isaiah said about the coming Messiah,
“Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isaiah 60:3
It is therefore not surprising that God announces the arrival of his eternal King in a way that the Magi, although foreigners, could understand.
“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” Psalm 86:9
And now here are the first representatives of the nations coming to worship the Lord.
When King Herod hears of the Magi and the reason for their visit he was ‘disturbed’ and wanted to know more. Herod called himself ‘King of the Jews’ but he was an Edomite, not a Jew. He knew the history of the Jews very well and knew how the Maccabees had defeated the nasty Syrian ‘King of the Jews’, Antiochus Epiphanes. No wonder he and everybody else was worried.
Herod asks for advice and his advisors turn to the Old Testament Scriptures, and specifically to a prophecy that says where the Messiah will be born. They tell Herod,
“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”
At this time in Bethlehem was thought to have contained about two hundred houses, it was certainly not a large city.
The gifts the Magi brought to the young child do suggest that they understood something of the Old Testament Scriptures. They brought:
Gold - a gift for a kingFrankincense - incense was used by priests to signify prayer - the gift for a priest
Myrrh - used to embalm dead bodies!
Did they know that Jesus was born to die for our sin? Did they know Isaiah chapter 53?
When the Magi arrived in Jerusalem they asked around:
“Where is the one who has been born ‘King of the Jews’? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2
People worship God and clearly this was their intention. For them no trouble was too great, no person too alien, and no gift too precious for God's anointed universal ruler. These Magi knew this child was God’s Messiah - his eternal divine king. Why else would they travel so far and especially why would they worship a toddler?
When they saw the child (note it was no longer a baby) they all:
“ . . . bowed down and worshipped him.” Matthew 2:11
This is the big theme of Matthews Gospel. God’s eternal King has come and must be worshipped. Notice the title the Magi give to Jesus, he is ‘the King of the Jews’. This title is not used again by Matthew until the climax of his coming, until he died on that cross. This was the main reason for his coming.
When Jesus was going out to be crucified Pontius Pilate had the reason for his crucifixion written in three languages, (Hebrew, Greek and Latin) on the board that was hung around his neck. This notice was then nailed to his cross. It read,
“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” John 19:19
In Hebrew this would have read,
“Yehoshua HaNalzri VeMelech HaYehudin.”
No wonder the Pharisees was so angry with Pontius Pilate for writing this. The first letters make up the Tetragrammaton, the letters that spell out the Lord Jehovah's name - YHVH. That is exactly who Jesus claimed to be.
Examine the family history of Jesus - you can see this in Matthew chapter 1. He was the direct descendant of King David as the Messiah had to be.
Examine the life of Jesus - he Is fundamentally good at every level. Read through John's Gospel - he is so attractive. He is at home with the rich and powerful but never patronising of the poor.
Examine his actions - he healed the sick, fed the hungry, had compassion on those in need and gave his own life out of love for his enemies.
Examine his teaching - “Love your enemies as yourself,” “Turn the other cheek,” “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
It is clear he loves each one of us. Two years ago there was the ghastly siege in Martin Place in Sydney. And Iranian born Muslim refugee held the occupants of a coffee bar as hostages for 17 hours. When gunfire erupted two hostages died. One young barrister, Katrina Dawson, a mother of three, threw herself in front of her pregnant friend, Julie Taylor, to protect her. They had just met up for coffee. Katrina gave her live for her friend. The love of Jesus is even greater than this.
The Challenge
Matthew wants us to understand that there are two possible responses to this story.
We can be like the Magi - so positive. For them no trouble was too great in their determination to worship and serve God as king. They seek him out, in spite of of being aliens. When they find him they worship him in humble submission. They recognised his authority was one having infinitely greater power than anybody else.
Some years ago, the priest in charge of a local Roman Catholic Church asked me to run a Christianity Explored course for his church. About 30 came to the first evening and 150 to the last. At the end of the first evening one Irish lady came up to thank me. She said,
“That was wonderful.”
I confess I felt a little self-satisfied. She continued,
“I don't know why everybody isn't Christian.”
I fully agreed with her but then she said,
“After all, all God wants is one hour a week!”
She clearly had not understood anything of what I'd said.
But for the Magi, as for all true Christians, worship is a 24/7 lifelong response. Jesus is king, not me. He has authority, not me. His rule is supreme and I bow to him. I recognise him. I follow him. I surrender to him. He is my king as well as my saviour.
A lady said to me this week,
‘I could never surrender myself to someone else's authority.’
I felt like saying,
“Do you really think you're free? You're not geographically free - you can't go where you want. You're not financially free - you can't have what you want. You’re not morally free - you can't do what you want.”
No one should use this argument as an excuse for rejecting God. None of us can live as we want. Satisfaction in our homes, at work and in other relationships all depend on giving others some authority in our lives.
Bob Dylan wrote some immortal lines,
‘You've got to serve somebody.’
“You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief, they may call you doctor or may call you chief,
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes,
You're gonna have to serve somebody.”
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride . . .”
Matthew wants us to think, ‘Who are we serving - is it ourselves?’ If anyone is serving themselves may I suggest that you are not best qualified to lead yourself into an eternity. Instead we need to serve somebody good, somebody who gave his life for you, who loves you for ever, whose rule is perfect and pure and who will stretch you morally. He really lived, and continues to live. He is, as he said, “ the truth”.
The alternative is to be like Herod. He was full of himself. He was able to say religious words that made him sound good,
“ . . . that I too may go and worship him.”
But deep down Herod was deeply troubled by Jesus. He he is like so many, Jesus troubles them. They, like Herod, don't want Jesus to be their king. Such people say,
“I will not have the loving rule of Jesus, my creator, over me.”
Herod did not live much longer and he now faces the judgement from the very person he tried to exclude from his life.
We, our family and friends must make a decision. We will either be like the Magi or like Herod.
BVP
