Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” 9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. (Matthew 12:1-12)
Imagine being told that a King was going to be born in a distant land, but not just any king, but the King of kings. How many of us would think that His birth would be important enough to spend the time to travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles on foot, or on the back of an animal to see Him? These Wise Men had spent the better part of two years following a star that they had seen in the sky (2:7,16), leaving their family and friends, their own country, and were now pilgrims in search of a King. Along the way, they no doubt had to face perils and obstacles, in the end finding themselves in the presence of a king, a vicious king, who wasn’t about to give up his throne.
Common to tradition, and many nativity scenes commemorating the birth of Jesus, there is included the presence of three wise men. Tradition also teaches that they are three kings from the Orient whose names were, Melchior, Balthasar, and Caspar. Tradition also teaches that they were to have been baptized by Thomas the apostle. However, the Biblical record says little about who these men were, or where they were from. Probably because the emphasis is upon what they did, not who they were. “For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” – (2:2,11). What is important is that Jesus (Immanuel) is worthy of worship.
The word wise in their given title comes from the word “magos” – of which we get “magi” or “magian,” which are by implication magician’s, astrologer’s, sorcerer’s, soothsayer’s, interpreters of dreams, men skilled in philosophy, medicine, religion, and natural science. They were greatly interested in astrology, therefore their attention was arrested by the star that led them to the Christ-child. The number of these wise men is not known, but they were not kings.
How did these wise men connect the star with the birth of the king of the Jews? Had they been given revelation from God? That’s possible. However, most Bible scholars believe they came from Mesopotamia, from the area around ancient Babylon. If they were from that region these men would have had access to the Jewish Scriptures because the Jews had been taken to Babylon years earlier as slaves. They lived in Babylon for several decades among them were Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel who had charge over them, and possibly would have taught them about the coming of the Lord while he was living in Babylon (Daniel 5:11-12). The prophet Ezekiel penned his book while living there. Several of the Psalms were written by the exiles living in Babylon. As a result, these learned men would have known of the prophecy of a King to come (Numbers 24:17).
These men had traveled many miles to find this small child. They had traveled through deserts, crossed mountains, crossed rivers, possibly endured many hardships along the way. And coming to Bethlehem, these men probably expected to find the King of the Jews in a palace, this might explain they’re going to Herod’s first, at least they might have expected a luxurious abode for a king. When they finally arrive at their destination they find the star they have been following settled over a house instead of a royal palace (2:11). They found the King of Kings in the home that was probably nothing more than a shack.
They expended a great deal of effort to meet and see the King whose name is above every name. Dropping everything to seek Him out, to find out for themselves who this one called Jesus is. This causes me to think of just how much effort today’s Christians put into finding and meeting and seeing the King kings. Today, search for Him if you don’t know Him. If you do know Him then spend time with Him. Believe me the journey will be worth it.