We continue with the Birth of Christ Chapter Three, The Revealing Continued.
In the last chapter we saw that the first people who knew that Jesus was born was the shepherds. We also saw that the time frame was just hours after the birth of Jesus.
In this chapter, we want to consider who else knew about Jesus’ birth. We want to look at and consider the Magi who came to see Jesus.
Most of the presentations that we see and that are given put the Magi, or the Wise Men, at the stable where Jesus was born. Tradition says that there were three Wise Men that followed the star, commonly called “The Star of Bethlehem.”
While the Bible does not give us an exact number, only the number of the gifts, it does not make sense that there were only three of them.
There is only one problem with that type of presentation, it’s just wrong! We want to look at the time element as well.
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While this picture puts three men dressed differently in the very front, thus keeping with the accepted tradition that there were three, it is a much more accurate portrayal of how it must have been. There would have been many in the caravan of the Magi for safety’s sake.
Who Were the Magi?
Each year as we approach the holiday season, our preparations for Christmas include revisiting the events surrounding the birth of Our Lord. Bethlehem, the shepherds, and the angels are all familiar to us. But not much is generally known about the mysterious Magi who came to worship the child Jesus.
Most of what we associate with the Magi is from early church traditions. (By that is meant the Catholic traditions!) They are called “Magi” from the Latinized form of the Greek word
“magoi,” transliterated from the Persian for a select sect of priests. (Our word “magic” comes from the same root.) Most have assumed that there were three Magi. However, the Bible mentions only that there were three gifts, it does not say how many men came to worship Jesus.
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As the years passed, traditions became increasingly embellished. By the third century, they were viewed as kings.
By the sixth century they had names: Bithisarea, Melichior and Gathaspa. Some even associated them with Shem, Ham and Japheth, the three sons of Noah, and thus with Asia, Africa, and Europe. A fourteenth century Armenian tradition identifies them as Balthasar, King of Arabia; Melchior, King of Persia; and Gasper, King of India.
The Priesthood of the Medes
The ancient Magi were a hereditary priesthood of the Medes credited with profound and extraordinary religious knowledge. After some Magi, who had been attached to the Median court, proved to be expert in the interpretation of dreams, Darius the Great established them over the state religion of Persia.
It was in this dual capacity whereby civil and political counsel was invested with religious authority, that the Magi became the supreme priestly caste of the Persian Empire, and continued to be prominent during the subsequent Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods.
The Role of Daniel
One of the titles given to Daniel was Rab-mag, the Chief of the Magi. His unusual career included being a principal administrator in two world empires: the Babylonian and the subsequent Persian Empire. When Darius appointed him, a Jew, over the previously hereditary Median priesthood, the resulting repercussions resulted in the plots leading to the lion’s den.
Living six centuries before the birth of Christ, Daniel was given an incredible number of Messianic prophecies. In
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addition to several overviews of the Gentile world history, the Angel Gabriel told him the precise day that Jesus would present Himself as King to Jerusalem.
Daniel apparently entrusted the Magi with a messianic vision (to be announced in due time by the appearance of a star).
The Entourage to Jerusalem
The sudden appearance of the Magi certainly alarmed Herod and the populace of Jerusalem. They were probably traveling in force, with every imaginable oriental pomp and accompanied by adequate cavalry escort to insure their safe penetration of Roman territory. It would seem to Herod as if these Magi were attempting to perpetrate a border incident, which could bring swift reprisal from Parthian armies.
Their request of Herod regarding the one “who has been born King of the Jews” was a calculated insult to him, a non-Jew who and contrived and bribed his way into that office.
Consulting his scribes, Herod discovered from the prophecies in the Tanach (the Old Testament) that the Promised One, the Messiah, would be born in Bethlehem.
Hiding his concern and expressing sincere interest, Herod requested them to keep him informed.
After finding the babe and presenting their prophetic gifts, the Magi “being warned in a dream” departed to their own country, ignoring Herod’s request.
The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were also prophetic, speaking of our Lord’s offices of King, Priest and Saviour. Gold speaks of His Kingship. Frankincense was a spice used in the priestly duties and myrrh was an embalming
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ointment signifying His death. In the millennium, He will also receive the gifts of gold and frankincense, but no myrrh. His death was once and for all.
Let’s go back to Herod and the Magi.
Assuming that they had followed the main trade route from Persia (modern day Iran), they would have probably used horses to cross over mountainous and rocky terrain, switching to camels once they reached the desert.
It can also be assumed, since their journey did not need to be kept secret, that they traveled along the main trade route of their era. This meant that they would have followed the Euphrates River up through what is now Iraq, crossed over the harsh and desolate Syrian desert, passed through the lush Jordan Valley, and arrived, after a journey of several months, at the gates of Jerusalem.
They would have seen harsh and barren deserts, lush green hills, mountains, and rivers. To a group of wearisome travelers possibly unaccustomed to such turbulent and varied conditions, it might have seemed as if they had traveled across the entire stretch of the world.
What happened next came as a shock. King Herod had become sickly and paranoid. Among other medical ailments, he suffered from syphilis. He was dying, and those who stood a chance to replace him on the throne knew that now was the time to make their bid for power. To thwart these attempts, Herod had already killed his previous wife and several of his sons. King Herod knew that the new King the Magi were seeking could not be one of his own heirs.
Consulting with his advisors, Herod learned of the Hebraic prophecies concerning a Jewish leader who would be born in
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Bethlehem. Sharing this information with the Magi, he then said to them: "Go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come worship him also." Of course, Herod hoped to have the child slain, destroying any potential threat to his rule.
After a journey of over a thousand miles into a foreign country, the Magi finally found their way to Mary, Joseph, and their son Jesus, who was, at this point, between the ages of one and two. The Magi were warned by God in a dream not to return.
Since Herodotus informs us that they were famous dream interpreters; it is clear that they would take such a dream very seriously. They escaped Palestine through an alternate route.
In his fury, Herod ordered that every child under the age of two in Bethlehem be slain. (Today, Holy Land Trust commemorates this event by hosting "The Festival of Innocents," which honors innocent children who have been more recently slain by modern "Herods.") Joseph, Mary, and their son fled to Egypt until Herod died and it was safe to return.
Conclusion
I suppose that we could call the Magi one of the great mysteries of the New Testament.
We can speculate and speculate but we will never really find out the undisputable facts about them this side of heaven.
In the next chapter, I want to consider the star and look more in depth at Joseph and Mary’s flight to Egypt and the death of the children in Bethlehem. Much of the information was taken from http://www.magijourney.com/ancient.html and an article that I possess entitled Who Were the Magi? Author and source are now unknown.
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