Matthew 2:1-23
The Visit of the Magi
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 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.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 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 incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave 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. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
We are told by St. Matthew that wise men or Magi visited Jesus after He was born...St. Matthew does not tell us that there were three wise men or that just three Magi visited Him...The author tells us that Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, because they had seen His star in the east and they had come to worship Him...We do not know the number of Magi that actually did visit Jesus in Bethlehem...The Magi saw the star in the east, and knew it was the sign of the One to be born King of the Jews...The wise men brought Jesus gifts, because it was their custom to bring gifts to those who were distinguished, like princes, or Kings...The wise men brought Him gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh...It is possible, because they were giving Jesus three types of gifts, the tradition started that there were three wise men...But some old traditional stories, have twelve wise men visiting the young Baby...We cannot be sure of the exact number of wise men...And we are not told that the wise men visited Jesus while He was in His original manger...We are told by St. Matthew that the wise men came to the house and saw the Child, with His Mother Mary...It is possible the men were the scientists of their day, or astronomers, or just well educated men from the east...We are not told what country the wise men are from...This important journey for the wise men may have taken months depending on how they traveled ...They evidently had been studying about a King of the Jews, and knew that it was time for Him...Years of study, and then some early and long means of travel time...
What we do know about the Magi are that they did come from the east...They did know that the star represented something very, very important...They knew that this star was over Bethlehem....They knew this from the Prophet Micah, and quoted the verse from the prophet, that a Ruler would be born in Bethlehem, who would Shepherd the people of Israel...So, if they knew the Old Testament Scripture, they would have known that a Messiah was to be born...If they did not know Scripture, then what they knew would have came out of knowledge of the skies, and the importance of a Bright Star, was a sign for Something Good...If they did not know the Old Testament, then they would have been told by men in Israel that a Messiah was to be born, and He would be the King of the Jews...
Wealth, fame and power did not interest the magi...The wise men surpassed King Herod with their gifts and went to find the One who was to come...One who was born in a stable, and had slept in a manger...
We do not know the age of Jesus at the time of their visit, but He must be two years or younger, because King Herod had all the babies two and under killed in Bethlehem and in the surrounding areas...The wise men were warned in a dream not to go back to King Herod, so they returned to their homeland by another route...In another dream, an angel told Joseph to get up and take baby Jesus to Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod, and to save his new step-son...
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, went at a very young age to Egypt, and later stayed in the district of Galilee -in a town called Nazareth...So Jesus is often referred to as both a Galilean and a Nazarene...
What joy the wise men must have felt and seen when the saw the very bright star above the house of Joseph...They had found the King of Kings...He was no doubt sleeping and staying in a small humble house with His poor parents, Mary and Joseph...These men were wise, and offered the poor family and the Baby gifts of gold, myrrh, and incense...Our Father knows what we need and want...Maybe God had given these gifts, via the magi, so Jesus, Joseph, and Mary would receive them and be able to escape to Egypt, to be safe..The wise men knew what they had found...They had found the Messiah...
I think two great questions come to me at the birth of Jesus story, as the Magi look and wonder about Him...What is this Child going to be in the future?...If He is the Messiah, how will He be a part of my life, and be involved in my life?...
These men were truly wise because of all the world, they immediately recognized that a King was born near Jerusalem...The wise men said that this Baby was the King of the Jews...The wise men bowed and worshiped the Young King of Kings...The men were wise in not getting back to Herod and giving him information about Baby Jesus...It takes wise men to do these things...