Matthew 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:

And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”

After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.

They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Backgrounder

This intensely dramatic event is a collision between people with very different expectations about Jesus. The foreigners from the East, are wise men, looking for a new king. Herod is a king only because the Roman Empire tolerates him, and finds him useful. The leaders of the Jewish people, the priests and scribes attached to the temple in Jerusalem, are both expectant about the Messiah, and afraid of how God may change things when the Messiah comes.

In other words, the child who is both human, the son of Mary, and divine, the son of God, changes everything for everyone. He fulfills and exceeds everything that all of these different people expect.

Herod’s kingship would be nullified if the Messiah has come. Herod has everything to lose. His fear would be that his whole world would come crashing down. He would become nothing.

The Jewish leaders would see all of their prophecies, like the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, fulfilled. But they would have no real ideas about how the Messiah would change things. Would they lose their influence over the people, and their religious authority? Would they regain their independence from the Romans?

The wise men from the East have no idea of what they are getting into. They seek to learn what the Jews were expecting of the new King. But they will meet not only a Messiah, but the Son of God himself.

Their gifts reveal who Jesus is in ways that are mysterious and prophetic. Gold is fit for a king. Frankincense acknowledges the divine nature of Jesus. And myrrh is used to anoint the dead. How could this one child merit all of these identities? Jesus is all of the above, and more.