Jesus’ birth was not very well known throughout the kingdom or even Bethlehem. How then did these three Magi, or wise men, come to know about him? Kind of strange to think about, but according to the Bible they followed a star in the east: Matthew 2:2 “and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’” Now in those days, stars held significant information about the present and the future so, when they told King Herod this you can imagine he took what they said seriously. Verse 3 says “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all of Jerusalem with him.” This new king of the Jews not only threatened the rule of Herod, but also the authority of the Pharisees, the religious people of the times.
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Being the sneaky man he was, Herod told the Magi to send a report to him so he could worship the child as well and sent them on their way. When the Magi headed toward Bethlehem as Herod instructed, they saw the star in the east and “when they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” (Matthew 2:10) This verse shows the genuine joy they had in visiting the King. Matthew 2:11 says, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh.” Now to truly demonstrate the value of these gifts I asked my grandma who sells essential oils the relative pricing of these items today. Gold prices change daily, but a 15mL bottle of frankincense is roughly $90 retail and a 15mL bottle of myrrh is about $85! Keep in mind they’re bringing these gifts to a two year old at this time.
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In fact it was a two year journey to Bethlehem for the Magi. I take 18 hour car drives with my family to Kentucky every year to visit my dad’s family, but two years is way, way, way too long to be traveling, and on a camel or donkey no less. All this to visit a two year old whom the stars told you would be the king of the Jews. The Magi weren’t even Jewish! Matthew 2:12 says, “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” Now this was odd as well, why would they not go back to Herod? Well remember Herod’s throne is being questioned. Matthew 2:16 paints an awful picture, “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave the orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” Thankfully, Joseph had been warned in a dream to escape to Egypt before Herod found out (vs 13). And so the Magi begin the hatred of the Pharisees and Roman officials towards Jesus the Christ.
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