Matthew 2 1-11 (GNT)
Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men (Magi) who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem
2 and asked, “Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem.
4 He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”
6 ‘Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah; for from you will come a leader who will guide my people Israel.’”
7 So Herod called the visitors from the East to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions: “Go and make a careful search for the child; and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9-10 And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
11 They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshiped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him.
12 Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.
Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men (Magi) who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem
2 and asked, “Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem.
4 He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”
6 ‘Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah; for from you will come a leader who will guide my people Israel.’”
7 So Herod called the visitors from the East to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions: “Go and make a careful search for the child; and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9-10 And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
11 They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshiped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him.
12 Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.
Following a Star
Usually the “Wise Men” are part of the Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve that has these very important magi or kings showing up to present Jesus with gifts. They are more formally celebrated on Epiphany, Jan. 6. Over the years we’ve (the church) even given them names and places of origin and reduced their number from 12 to three (although no number is mentioned in Matthew at all – they are just some men, magi or wise men but we do have three gifts): Traditionally we talk about Melchior (Persia) who brought gold, Gaspar (India) who brought frankincense, and Balthazar (Arabia or Ethiopia) who brought myrrh.
What we do know is that they were astrologers, men who studied and watched the stars and divined meaning from their movement. We do know that they were gentiles from the East who travelled a great distance over many days or months to pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews.
They were serious about this, they prepared, they walked and rode camels through treacherous desert to look for and find this child. They brought presents that would befit a king. They came prepared and they followed a star. Oh and they upset Herod and others, who were threatened by the birth of a Messiah, a King of the Jews.
Something to Think About:
We are told that the Magi followed a star
which showed exactly where Jesus was born but that seems impossible given the distance of stars from the earth.
What is this story of the Magi about?
Where would you place the emphasis:
- on the star?
- the gifts? gold, myrrh, frankincense
- the prophecy from Isaiah?
‘Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah; for from you will come a leader who will guide my people Israel.’”
- the Magi themselves; coming from the east and being gentiles?
Why do you see this aspect of the story as important?
As you prepare for Christmas, are there times in your life when you were so convinced of the importance of something that you, like the Magi, followed a star that was guiding you?
Usually the “Wise Men” are part of the Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve that has these very important magi or kings showing up to present Jesus with gifts. They are more formally celebrated on Epiphany, Jan. 6. Over the years we’ve (the church) even given them names and places of origin and reduced their number from 12 to three (although no number is mentioned in Matthew at all – they are just some men, magi or wise men but we do have three gifts): Traditionally we talk about Melchior (Persia) who brought gold, Gaspar (India) who brought frankincense, and Balthazar (Arabia or Ethiopia) who brought myrrh.
What we do know is that they were astrologers, men who studied and watched the stars and divined meaning from their movement. We do know that they were gentiles from the East who travelled a great distance over many days or months to pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews.
They were serious about this, they prepared, they walked and rode camels through treacherous desert to look for and find this child. They brought presents that would befit a king. They came prepared and they followed a star. Oh and they upset Herod and others, who were threatened by the birth of a Messiah, a King of the Jews.
Something to Think About:
We are told that the Magi followed a star
which showed exactly where Jesus was born but that seems impossible given the distance of stars from the earth.
What is this story of the Magi about?
Where would you place the emphasis:
- on the star?
- the gifts? gold, myrrh, frankincense
- the prophecy from Isaiah?
‘Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah; for from you will come a leader who will guide my people Israel.’”
- the Magi themselves; coming from the east and being gentiles?
Why do you see this aspect of the story as important?
As you prepare for Christmas, are there times in your life when you were so convinced of the importance of something that you, like the Magi, followed a star that was guiding you?
