by Timothy W. Burnett
Now we continue with the record of the Magi in Matthew 2:3-11, "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea: 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.'" Herod demanded the chief priests and scribes of Jerusalem to tell where this special king would be born so he could pay homage to him.
After getting his answer he secretly called on the Magi to discover when "his star" appeared. According to verse 8, he sent the Magi to Bethlehem and told them to "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." It is interesting to note that the word "child" comes from the earlier known Greek word "paidon." This word is for a young child, and is distinguished from the word "babe" in Luke 2:12 and 16, where it is "brephos," a new born or unborn child. As we continue, it will be seen why this distinction is important.
We come to verse 9, "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." Wierwille and Martin both noted that "his star" reappeared after they left for Bethlehem. They explained that when Jupiter reached its ecliptic highest point in the night sky, a straight line could be drawn down perpendicular to the horizon and that was where the child could be found. There is no mention that the Magi moved on the brightness of the star, but instead on what it symbolized. They must have been very happy to see this for they "rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
According to verse 11, they finally arrived to see the child, "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." Once again it was confirmed to Mary that Jesus' life was from God.
Please note that the Magi arrived to a home, and not the manger. And the child was not new-born but as we will see next week, he was around two years old. What a truly wonderful and meaningful moment this must have been for Mary. Can't you just see it? Maybe the child was holding on to her leg, or holding her hand as the Magi began to respectfully bow to him as the new-born King of Israel. Jesus was too young to understand the significance of the moment. But you can bet your bottom dollar that Mary knew fully well what was going on, and was no doubt strengthened within her heart to faithfully rear her son up to be a faithful, meek and humble servant for his Daddy.
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