Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSV)

 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” ³ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

⁷ Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸ Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” ⁹ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹ On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

2: 1-12 Pre-Gospel: Story of the visit of the magi (First Reaction to a Christological Revelation - Where of Jesus’ Birth)

The story of the visit of the magi (Matthew 2:1-12, Epiphany Day) is symbolic of the human journey as a seeker.[1] Those who are wise among the gentiles will be attracted to the light Jesus brings. The magi are in all of us as we seek for fulfillment and meaning. The prevalence of religion in human history is a testimony to the long search that has engaged humanity. Others may be content with home, symbolic here of the ideas and practices with which they grow up. The magi saw signs of something else awaiting them. They have trustworthy character, they follow a sign in the heavens, and they take significant risk to follow their vision. They did not have scripture to guide them, so they relied upon what nature taught them. The Bible does not treat such activities as astrology kindly, but Matthew is a notable exception. Balaam, a prophet with magical powers from the east, predicted that a star would rise from Jacob (Num 24:17), suggesting the formation of this story to Matthew. [2] The light in the heavens is symbolic of the light that has dawned upon humanity in the coming of Jesus. “God is light and in [God] there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1a), the fountain of life in whose light we see light (Psalm 36.9). Our favorite passages are full of it: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2). The fourth gospel is full of it. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Such analogies are symbolic of the nations, the Gentiles, welcoming Jesus and bringing what they have to Jesus and worshipping him. They became part of Christian devotion long before the shepherds. Traditions concerning their names and personal stories arose early. The number varied from 2 to 12. The number of three comes from the list of gifts they brought. An obvious example of this story in Christian worship is a hymn by John Henry Hopkins (1857), We Three Kings of Orient Are. William C. Dox (1856) wrote another hymn, As With Gladness Men of Old, which invites those who listen to follow the example of the Magi in allowing God to guide them. These traditions are consistent with the story of Matthew, offering a positive example of bringing all that we are to the feet of Jesus and worship him. The strangeness here is that those who reject Jesus, the Jewish people, though they had the witness of scripture, would reject Jesus. They knew scripture, that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. But they did not have the insight to see truly the scripture, for their knowledge of it blinded them to what it was saying. Given the forms of communication God takes with the Magi, once through observing the stars and another in a dream, it opens the door to a discussion of how God communicates with us. The magi become an example of the hidden neighbor who does good to the people of God, even if they never would consider themselves part of the people of God. ^[3] They have insight to see what God is doing in bringing to fulfillment the plan of God for the salvation of humanity.

We now learn that the story in 1:18-25 occurred during the time of King Herod, who ruled as a vasal king for Rome over Judea, Idumea, and Samaria (37 BC-4 BC) in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7). This story will involve wise persons from a vague and general place in the East. They travel to Jerusalem. They ask unidentified persons where the child born king of the Jews might be, since they observed his star rising (Num 24:17), the light of God dawning upon the world in Jesus. They did not have scripture to guide them, so they relied upon nature taught them. The Jewish people will oppose what the God of Israel is revealing in Jesus. Opposition to Jesus unites Herod and the religious leaders in Jerusalem, who historically had animosity toward each other. He asks them where the Christ (ὁ χριστὸς) was to be born. The religious leaders tell Herod that, based on Micah 5, he will be born in Bethlehem. They have scripture as a witness, but they did not listen in the same way the Magi had listened to nature. Herod calls the magi to him, informs them of where they will find the child, and ask them to return to him and inform him of who the child is, strangely not sending troops with them. The star they were following stood over the place where the child was. Matthew has in mind a miraculous star provided by God uniquely for this event. The story of the magi is notable exception to the general opposition of the Bible to listening the heavenly bodies. Matthew presupposes the possibility of astrology. It worked in this one unique case, as a sign of the divine plan coming to fulfillment.[4] Joy overwhelms them, as they discover the Holy Family in a house. They see the child and Mary, kneeling to pay homage to the child. The magi are symbolic that not everyone in the world will be hostile to Jesus. The wise in the world will always be open to wherever they can find what is true, good, and beautiful. Intellectuals can put themselves in a place of hostility to what Jesus brings, but there will aways be some who will practice having an open mind and heart. The people of God need to be discerning and appreciative of such persons who are good neighbors.[5]  They laid before the Holy Family gifts of gold, with frankincense and myrrh being resins that come from wounds in the bark of trees that grow only in northeast Africa and southern Arabia.  Both, along with being expensive, had a healthy quality to them.  Myrrh was a perfume as well as a cure for many ailments. Gentiles bringing gifts to Jerusalem became part of the prophetic eschatological vision (Ps 72:10-11, Mic 4:1-4, Isa 2:1-4, 60:4-11). As Matthew brings this story to a close, the magi again listen to another form of divine intervention provided through a dream, which warned them not to return to Herod, returning to their country in the East by another road.

If you are interested, I include a brief survey of the Magi in Christian piety. The Magi were part of early Christian piety long before the Shepherds.  The catacombs, where the early Christians often met for worship, contain paintings of the magi 200 years before there are paintings of the Shepherds.  The number of relics for them far exceeds those of the shepherds.  It was not until the protestant reformation that the shepherds gained prominence, mainly because so much of what they considered superstition had begun to surround the magi.  As early as 207 AD, Tertullian described the magi as kings in this fashion: "For the East generally regarded the magi as kings...” and he goes on to say that this symbolized the riches of the East, and even idolatry, to be given up for Jesus.  This view prevailed so much that by 500 AD, authors simply assumed that they were kings.[6]  We do not know the first time anyone gave the number of Magi.  Some accounts have only two, and there are some in which there are twelve.  However, exceedingly early in most areas of the church the number was three, based on the analogy with the number of gifts.  

            The names of the magi differ, but one early description, dating from the 700's AD, goes like this:

The magi were the ones who gave gifts to the Lord.  The first is said to have been Melchior, an old man with white hair and a long beard...who offered gold to the Lord as to a king.  The second, Gaspar by name, young and beardless and ruddy complexioned...honored him as God by his gift of incense, and oblation worthy of divinity.  The third, black-skinned and heavily bearded, named Balthasar...by his gift of myrrh testified to the Son of Man who was to die.

 

The description of the gifts goes back to Irenaeus, writing between 182 and 188 AD, as he says:

...they showed, by these gifts which they offered, who it was they was worshipped; myrrh, because it was He who should die and be buried for the mortal human race; gold, because He was a king...and frankincense, because He was God, who also "was made known in Judea," and was "declared to those who sought Him not."[7]

 

There is even an ancient reference to the death of the magi:

 

Having undergone many trials and fatigues for the Gospel, the three wise men met at sewa (Sebaste in Armenia) in AD 54 to celebrate the feast of Christmas.  Thereupon, after the celebration of Mass, they died: St. Melchior on January 1st, aged 116; St. Balthasar on January 6th, aged 112; and St. Gaspar on January 11th, aged 109.

 

Though these traditions may seem to get far afield from the biblical text, they are true to the spirit of Matthew, who clearly wants readers to view the magi as a positive example of bringing all that we are to the feet of Jesus, and there worship him.

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[1] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 292-4. Chapter 2 is a story independent of Chapter 1. It makes use of folk saga. 

[2] (Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 1977)117)

[3] (Barth K. , Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67), I.2 [18.3], 425)

[4] (Barth K. , Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67), III.1 (41.2), 165)

[5] (Barth K. , Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)I.2 [18.3], 425)

[6] Irenaeus (Against Marcion, III, 13)

[7] Irenaeus (Against Heresies, III, ix.2)