Story of the Wise Men

Background:

Herod the Great - the ruler of Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth. He was not well liked by the Jews. Reasons: a) Herod was not a true Jew. Descendant of the hated Edomites. His father converted to Judaism for political purposes. b) The Jews viewed Herod as a puppet of the hated Romans. c) Herod was not only hated by the Jews but also feared. He had a violent temper particularly in the last years of his reign which is when the story of the wise men takes place. Herod was believed to have been responsible for burning a monastery in 8 B.C. The Romans placed a golden eagle (a symbol of Roman authority) at the entrance of the Temple. Two popular Jewish teachers encouraged their pupils to riot in order to have the eagle removed. Herod had the teachers and pupils burned alive. Herod’s hold on power was shaky at best which fed an overwhelming paranoia that he had enemies everywhere including family members. Herod put to death two wives and two sons. The Roman emperor Augustus joked that it was preferable to be Herod's pig than his son.

Wise Men – also known as the Magi. They probably were Persians. They were highly respected in Persian society. The magi were a combination of scientist, astrologer, and royal adviser. They were not kings. The magi investigated the works of nature (such as the stars) for the purpose of becoming acquainted with truth. They believed that Heaven communicated its desires and intentions through signs, comets, stars and astronomical phenomena. They believed the stars and planets foretold the coming of major events – death of a king, birth of a king, whether or not a king should go to war, etc. Indeed, a person's destiny was considered determined by the stars under which one was born. Persian rulers rarely made any decision without consulting the magi first.

Messianic prophecy – Around the time of Jesus’ birth, Judea was caught up in Messianic fever. The Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of a mighty ruler who would crush the enemies of the Jews, in their case the Romans, and restore Israel to glory. He would be a descendant of King David. Around the time of Jesus’ birth, some Jewish scholars had discovered that seventy-six generations had passed since the Creation, and there was a well-known prophecy that the Messiah was to deliver Israel from its foreign rulers in the seventy-seventh generation. Several Jewish men who claimed to be the Messiah attempted to lead revolts against Roman rule. Herod put them down mercilessly.

Read Matthew 2:1-12

The magi/wise men saw a new astronomical wonder in the night sky. A bright new star appeared in the western sky. They interpreted its appearance to mean a new king had been born for what group of people? The Jews. The star was such a wondrous sight the magi/wise men felt compelled to go see this new king and pay their respects. As we’ll see in a moment, God played a role in their decision to go west. The journey of wise men/magi was a long one. At least two years. (Read Matthew 2:16) They travelled 500-1000 miles across desert and over mountains. They most likely travelled only at night. There was probably many a night when their view of the star was obstructed by clouds, sandstorms, etc. The new star was their only point of reference for where the magi/wise men were going.

1) Where do you think the wise men expected to find the newborn king? In what kind of residence? Probably a palace. Certainly not a barn.

2) Where did the wise men stop at first and why? Jerusalem. Several possible reasons why:
a) Bethlehem, where Jesus lived, was located only 5 miles from Jerusalem. The close proximity of the star to Jerusalem probably led the wise men there first thinking the newborn king was there. Jerusalem was the capital of Judea. Home of King Herod. Where else would a new king be born? b) There was also the possibility that the wise men lost sight of the star due to inclement weather. Went to Jerusalem to see if someone knew where the child was at and get directions to his residence. c) God led the wise men to Jerusalem. He used Gentiles to make aware to His people the Jews about the birth of THE Messiah.

3) What question did the wise men ask? Where is he who is born king of the Jews?

4) What was Herod’s reaction to the wise men’s visit and question? He was disturbed/troubled. Why? Last time he checked, Herod was king of the Jews. Moreover, he had not had a child in a long while. If what the wise men said was true, somewhere was a child who posed a threat to his position/authority. His paranoia began to well up.

5) What was the people of Jerusalem’s reaction to the wise men’s visit and question? Disturbed/troubled also. Why? Whenever Herod was troubled people usually ended up dead. People were fearful of how Herod would react to the news of a new king being born.

6) vs. 3. What did Herod do? Herod probably told the wise men “Hold on and I’ll get back with you.” He called together the Jewish religious leaders and asked them where the Christ/Messiah was to be born. Wise men asked where a “king” was to be born not the Messiah. They had no clue what a Messiah was or what he meant to the Jewish people. Herod did know and immediately concluded the king the wise men referred to was the Messiah. He ordered the Jewish religious leaders to search the Scriptures to discover where the Messiah was to be born.

7) Where did the Jewish leaders tell Herod the Messiah was to be born and how did they discover it? Bethlehem which was 5 miles south of Jerusalem. Found the location in Micah 5:2.

8) After learning of the Messiah’s birthplace, Herod met with the wise men in secret. Why? Herod did not want this information to become public. People might use it against him. Force him out of power.

9) What did Herod want to learn from the wise men and why? The exact time when the wise men first saw the star. Read vs. 16. He wanted to know how old the child was for the purpose of identifying him so that Herod could have him killed.

10) vs. 8 What did Herod tell the wise men? When you find the child be sure to let me know so that I can pay my respects as well.

11) When they got to Bethlehem, where did the star lead the wise men? To a house. Not a barn, stable, or manger. A house with four walls, a roof, and a carpenter shop. What was their reaction when the star stopped over a house? Overjoyed. Exceedingly happy. Probably not where the wise expected to find the newborn king. Yet, they were not disappointed by the fact the child lived in an ordinary house and not a palace.

12) When the wise men entered the house, what did they see? A child/toddler and his mother. Not a baby in a cow stall. What was their reaction when they saw the child? Bowed on their knees and worshipped. Again, probably not what the wise men expected a newborn king to be. Yet, they were not disappointed by the fact the child was not of royalty. Why is it that the wise men are present at Jesus’ birth in the Nativity scenes? During the Middle Ages, there were travelling plays where people performed Bible stories for the public. The most popular plays were the Nativity (birth of Jesus) and the Passion play (death and resurrection of Jesus.) When performing the Nativity, they included the visit of the wise men without the disclaimer, “Two years later …” and changing the set pieces. Kept it simple for the audience.

13) What did the wise men give the child as gifts? Gold, incense/frankincense, and myrhh. Tradition associates the gifts with Jesus as king (gold) and priest (incense) and his death (myrhh.) It was common for the newborn of royalty to receive valuable gifts out of respect. All three were very valuable items. They may have been given to help support Jesus and his family while they were in a foreign land, Egypt (vs. 13-15)

14) Did the wise men return to Jerusalem to inform Herod of the child’s location? No. When back to their own country by a different route.

15) How many wise men were there to visit Jesus? Nobody knows. Tradition says three based on the number of gifts. My guess is there was a lot more. Three would have been too few to create such a commotion in Jerusalem.