Have You Ever Wondered About the Magi, the Wise Men Who Came To

MAGI

Have you ever wondered about the magi, the wise men who came to worship Jesus? How did they know to go to Jerusalem when they saw the star? How did they know about the "King of the Jews?" Why didn’t they go to India or Egypt or Greece to look for a king there? The Scripture does not say the star led them until after they had visited King Herod in Jerusalem. Matthew 2: 2 says only that they saw His star in the east (where they lived) and came to worship Him. The magi were a religious caste of the Persians. They were people who had dedicated their lives to their religion, which included astrology, divination, and interpretation of dreams. That would explain their taking note of the new star in the sky. But how did they know what it signified? Persia was the area formerly known as Babylonia. The Babylonians came against the nation of Israel, conquered Jerusalem, and took most of its population into exile in Babylon in 586 B.C. Among those taken into exile was the young man Daniel who later rose to the position of ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief of the wise men of Babylon (Dan. 2:48). It was Daniel who presided over the kingdom during King Nebuchadnezzar’s seven year period of insanity (Dan. 4:4-37), and who interpreted the handwriting on the wall on the last night of King Belshazzar’s reign, when the Persians conquered Babylonia (Dan. 5). I think it would be hard to overestimate the effect Daniel had on the Babylonian and Persian cultures, and especially on the caste of wise men, or magi. Daniel became the respected leader he was because of his unswerving devotion to God. God’s using him to interpret the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar certainly gained him the respect of the magi of his generation. But over four hundred years had passed between Daniel and the appearance of the star. Is it possible that the knowledge of a coming Messiah for the Jews was still being carried on? I think it’s quite possible. By way of a more modern day comparison, Martin Luther nailed his ninety- five theses to the door of the Wittenberg church in 1517, well over four hundred years ago. Yet Luther’s actions sparked the Protestant Reformation that continues to influence Christianity today. I see two lessons here. First is that God sees the beginning, and the end, and everything in between. He orchestrates the rise and fall of nations and individuals. He prepared the ancient caste of the magi for the time when He would use them to provide both material sustenance for the new family of Mary and Joseph and a first hint that this Messiah was for Gentiles as well as Jews. And secondly, we can never know what effect we will have on others, whether immediately or in the distant future, as we serve God with fully devoted hearts. That’s what the life of faith is all about.