Having concluded with Luke’s material on the birth narrative of the Savior, we move to Matthew for these final two articles. We find Joseph and Mary still in Bethlehem (Mat 2:16), but they are no longer in the stable but in a “house” (v11). That a significant amount of time has elapsed since Christ’s birth1 is evident for at least three reasons. First, the Lord Jesus is now referred to as “the young child” (vv9,11) rather than “babe” (Luk 2:12,16). Second, Herod’s target was children under the age of two (Mat 2:16). Third, the wise men saw the star appearing before they made the long trek to Jerusalem (vv1,7).2
Just who these wise men were has been the subject of much debate. We like to picture them in colorful garb, preferably riding on camels, but none of these details are given. Matthew identifies them using the Greek word magos, found also in Acts to describe Simon the sorcerer (8:9) and Elymas the sorcerer (13:6,8). John Milton referred to them as “Star-led Wizards.” It might be going too far to lump them in with the astrologers and charlatans of our day, but their fascination with the stars did not put them in a favorable light as far as the Hebrew Scriptures are concerned (Lev 19:26; Isa 47:13-15). But as we will see, the Lord still graciously used a star to guide these men in their search for the Savior.
The journey they took has also been much debated. They may have traveled from Arabia, Persia or Babylon. Scripture is silent about their location, but it seems apparent that their journey from the east was measured in hundreds of miles, including long stretches over desert sands. When they arrived in Jerusalem, the question on their minds was, “Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (v2).3 Their question was as interesting as their occupations. Who could be born a king? Normally, sons with royal blood in their veins might be born princes and become kings at their coronation. But they asked about one “born king.” Also, they referred to Him as “king of the Jews.” The Jews had been without a king for nearly six centuries, so their question was almost laughable. But it broke news in the Jerusalem Times and Herod caught wind of it.
“When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (v3). Herod did not appreciate this supposed threat to his rule. Neither did “all Jerusalem.” But this phrase needs some explaining. It likely refers to the “Jerusalem establishment that controlled the politics, economics, and religious activities of the rest of the nation. Many of the leaders of the Jerusalem establishment would be Herod’s political bedfellows whose fears would closely parallel Herod’s if a potential rival was on the horizon.”4
The question of the wise men was serious enough for Herod to take action. “And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ5 should be born” (v4). This action reveals Herod’s ignorance of the Scriptures. He had done many things for the Jewish people, even beautifying their temple. He was half-Jewish himself, but had not the least idea where the Jewish Messiah would be born. So he called for a meeting of those who would know.
As this article is entitled “Three Responses to the Newborn King,” let us first address the men who knew the answer to Herod’s question.
The Laxity of the Leaders
For the chief priests and scribes, Herod’s question fell into the category of “Bible Trivia for Dummies.” There was no deliberation for hours to come up with an answer; they knew it immediately. “And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel” (vv5-6). They instantly knew that Micah had already predicted the place of the Messiah’s birth. It was Bethlehem, just a few miles from where they were meeting. The wise men were telling them their King, their true Messiah, had been born, and in an hour or so they could look upon Him with their own eyes. But they had no interest in following them into Bethlehem to see for themselves.
What apathy! What laxity! And yet, the same indifference afflicts so many today. There are those who might excel at Bible trivia but have no desire to be with Christ. People may fill church buildings but have no interest in bowing to Christ and His claims. They already have a king – King Self – and they are not about to do what anyone else tells them. But apathy in relation to Christ is not the only response in our world or in our story.
The Hostility of Herod
“Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also” (vv7-8). The later narrative reveals Herod’s deceit as he was actually planning to destroy the Christ. Eliminating threats to his rule was nothing new for Herod the Great. As stated earlier, he was a half-Jew and was even named “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate. He ascended the throne in 37 B.C. and began by “annihilating the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews … he slaughtered three hundred court officers … he murdered his wife Mariamne, and her mother Alexandra, his eldest son Antipater, and two other sons, Alexander and Aristobulus.”6 So destroying a child was certainly not beneath him. And all his attempts to win back approval from the Jews after killing so many of them had failed. Herod the Great would never be a beloved leader. Thus, he lived (and died) unfulfilled.
Herod was in his final days when the wise men arrived, as history tells us he died in 4 B.C. Night after night passed with him wondering in paranoia who would come to steal his crown. And now he heard about one born “king of the Jews.” We might think that being on the brink of eternity would shake him to his senses to seek the Lord. But rather than being humble, Herod was hostile. Instead of seeking this King, he sought to slaughter Him.
Again, many in our world have shown hostility to Jesus Christ. For them, it is not enough to simply ignore His claims. They feel they must be antagonistic, belligerent, and even violent towards those aligned with Christ. Even in the throes of death, there are those who still raise their fists in opposition to One who is full of mercy and willing to save them if they are willing to be saved. God “does not want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to repent” (2Pe 3:9 ISV). And so, our story includes those indifferent and hostile to the Savior. But we need to focus on the last group, one with which I hope we can all identify.
The Worship of the Wise Men
“When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy” (Mat 2:9-10). The birth of the new King struck fear and anxiety into the hearts of Israel’s leaders but flooded the hearts of these Gentiles from the east with “exceeding great joy.” Those nearby rejected their true King while those from far away embraced Him.
Notice two things about these wise men. First, notice their guides. They had been led by an unusual star; attempts to identify it as Halley’s Comet or a spectacular supernova are unconvincing. It seems best to interpret it as a supernatural occurrence. If God can guide His people in the wilderness for years with a pillar of cloud, could He not also have guided these seekers with something supernatural? It seems they were not only guided by the star but also by the Scriptures. If they were from Persia or Babylon, those lands were populated by Jews who had been taken there into captivity. The wise men may have, therefore, been familiar with some of the Jewish Scriptures. Might they have known about Balaam’s Messianic prophecy? “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel” (Num 24:17). Did they know something about the prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9? Did they do the math and have some expectation about the Messiah’s impending arrival? We are not told. Whatever the case, God guided them to His beloved Son. They followed the light they were given until it led them at last to the feet of the Savior.
Second, we should notice their gifts7. “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Mat 2:11). Some have attempted to see separate significance in each gift, but in any case, they are all gifts fit for a king (see Psa 45:8; 72:15; Song 3:6; Isa 60:6). Their journey and gifts of gold and spices remind us of the homage paid to another son of David by the Queen of Sheba (1Ki 10:2). They also remind us what the prophets foresaw about Israel’s future king, when Gentile tribute would be brought into the city of the Lord (Isa 60:3,6ff.).
The wise men show us the proper response to the One who is truly King – worship. And as Spurgeon said, “Those who look for Jesus will see Him: those who truly see Him will worship Him: those who worship Him will consecrate their substance to Him.” Christ is worthy of our best. He is worthy of our all.
After their gifts had been offered, the wise men were ready to return to Herod with their news of where the Christ could be found. But “being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way” (Mat 2:12). God intervened with a dream for a second time in the infancy narrative (1:20ff.), sparing His Son from Herod’s wrath while at the same time guiding the wise men to go home a different way. After meeting Christ, everyone goes a different way. When we see Him for who He is and ourselves for who we are, we cannot help but worship Him. And the road ahead is far different once we have met the Savior. The path of sin, pleasure and self-indulgence has been replaced by one of devotion to the Lord, sacrifice and holiness. Indeed, it is, in the words of the Lord Jesus, the “narrow” way “which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (7:14). Have you found it? Have you found Christ, the one born King? How have you responded to Him – with indifference or hostility, or with worship? The indifferent are no safer from God’s judgment than the hostile. Salvation is only for those who embrace and worship this Child who was born and died to save us from our sins.
1 Modern scholars place the date of Christ’s birth anywhere from 7 B.C. to 4 B.C., while Herod the Great was still alive. “The puzzling dating … is due to mistakes made when the Christian calendar was instituted in 525 C.E. by Dionysius Exiguus” [David L. Turner, Matthew: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 78].
2 R.T. France, Matthew: Tyndale New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1985), 81.
3 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
4 Turner, 81.
5 Notice that Herod’s question equates the “king of the Jews” (v2) with Christ.
6 William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew: Volume One (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1958), 28.
7 Their gifts would also meet a very practical need, providing financial help for Joseph and Mary.
