Chapter 4.14
Three Wise Men
Magi
– Astrologers – Magicians – Soothsayers – Prophets
Were
they Kings or Wise Men? - Where did they come from?
Was
Jesus found in a barn or a house?
Background – The Magistranes
Within the Parthian government,
a constitutional council known as the Megistanes was instituted with Zoroastrianism
as the state’s religion, however the Megistanes really didn’t embrace Zoroastrianism. They assisted as needed in the election or
deposition of the monarch or king and
were advisors to the nation as a whole and were divided into two groups;
The Higher House with “HEREDITY” priest were called “Magi” and
The Lower House composed of “APPOINTEES”; known as “Wise Men”.
The Magi, referred to as
“Wise Men”,[1]
were non-Jewish (Gentile) religious
leaders with priestly functions and had been in power for years in the Persian
Empire and exercised religious as well as political clout and had the power to appoint a king over what was known as the Parthian Empire.
There was extreme discomfort and conflict between the Romans and the Parthian
Empire.
When a group of Magi came to King Herod seeking
information about a newborn Jewish king,[2] Herod was beside himself as he had appointed
himself “The King
of the Jews.” If the
Parthians joined forces with the Jewish nation, there was the extreme
probability of swinging control of Palestine from Rome to the Parthians. Dum de dum dum
Astrologers – Magicians; Wise Men
Daniel: Wise men /Astrologers
that allegedly interpreted dreams and messages from God.
Webster: Magi; A member
of a priestly caste; magician; able;
might; wise
men of the east.
Greek: Magi in the Greek meaning “magic” and a transliteration of
the Greek word Magoi is best translated as
“wise men”.
The Magi’s Wisdom was based on REASON rather than on REVELATION. So
at some point the term “Magi” got downgraded to terms like “Fortune Teller,”
“Soothsayer”
and even “Sorcerer”;[3] so
these wise men arrived with limited knowledge about the baby. When they went to KING Herod the Great; to their SURPRISE they
found out that he did not even have a newborn child. They then sheepishly inquired about where they
might find this newborn “King of the Jews”. Dum de dum dum
We three kings of
Orient are; bearing gifts we travel afar –
Field
and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.
Tradition
How many Magi? We think there
were three wise men because three kinds of gifts were mentioned in scripture,
but we don’t know how many there were of the “Magi”, but there was a caravan;
a band of them including servants and body guards. Postbiblical tradition have
their names as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. (Not Scriptural)
Transportation They probably
rode on camels as that was the logical transportation choice for important men
to travel long distances through desert country. They would travel almost 2000 miles through
desert country to pay their respects; worship the newborn king.
The Star: Astronomers
believe that the star was a conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in 6 B.C. –
Others think it was a super Nova, an exploding star. The Bible says it
was a moving star; I believe the God of this Universe prepared a special star
in advance just for this occasion. God
used the Magi’s
misguided
Astrology system to make the
birth of Christ known; bringing rejoicing, worship and gifts to the Savior of
the World.
Tradition PAINTS the Magi as a godly people, but they admitted to
no personal gods and permitted no images of gods. They functioned with occult
powers within the framework
of their own religious system. They had
philosophical concepts concerning worship of the four elements; fire, water, earth and air; mainly
fire; they were Astrologers
and Philosophers.
Kings; Christian tradition calls the Magi
“KINGS” because of
scripture references;[4] I see it, but I don’t think so, but they
were certainly “King
Makers”, but were probably just looking for a king for themselves. In my BS, it’s hard for me to accept that a king, let
alone three kings would leave their kingdoms for two years and join a caravan
on the road; this was not a day trip.
Herod reads the Book
Herod checked with his
advisors and they told him that the scriptures said a king would be
born in Bethlehem fulfilling prophecy.[5] Wrut Wro
Herod was already very sick and would probably be dead in about a year;
he would soon kill his own son and had no compunction about killing a baby king that
would try to usurp his authority and power and take his place as “King of the
Jews”. Not wanting to take
any chances with an uprising or rebellion, Herod orders all male
Jewish children two years old and under
to be killed; thus fulfilling the prophecy
of Jeremiah. [6]
Jeremiah 31:15 – PROPHECY;
the children will be killed
15 This is what
the LORD says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN and refusing to
be comforted,
BECAUSE HER CHILDREN ARE NO MORE. NIV
Matthew 2:16 – KILL the Jewish males two years
old and under.
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
TWO YEARS OLD AND UNDER, in accordance
with the time he had learned from the Magi.
Star moved
According to scripture,
the star was moving and the Magi followed it till it stopped over the place
where Jesus was living; Jesus was no longer in a stable, but was in a “house”.[7] I do not find in scripture that the star was
ever above the stable; Jesus could have been a newborn or as much as two years
old when the star settled over the house in Bethlehem. The star is not mentioned at all when the
shepherds went to worship Jesus in the manger.
I’ve got to say it; the star led them first to King Herod;
then to Jesus. The plan unfolds.
Road Trip
God warns Joseph, Mary and the
Magi and everybody gets the heck out of Dodge City. Joseph was so poor that he didn’t even have
enough money to provide a lamb as an offering at the temple, but with the gifts
from the Magi,
Joseph and his family were able to finance a safe caravan road trip to Egypt;[8]
thus fulfilling prophecy from Hosea that Jesus would be called back out of
Egypt.[9]
Caravans carried many merchants from market to market with valuable
merchandise. They had to be well guarded
and many local rulers had to be “paid off” for safe passage. The distance was between 300 and 400 miles
and would take between two and three weeks to accomplish it; Expensive.
After about a year God tells Joseph to take
another road trip to Nazareth.
This fulfilled the prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.[10]
Magi go Home
The Magi incident and
the star of
Bethlehem are mentioned only in
the book of Matthew. There was PROPHECY about a star
and 14 hundred years later, there it was and the Magi knew it. They came for political
as well as religious reasons to pay their respects and homage.
We don’t hear any more about the wise men, but it is thought that they were
Philosophers and Astronomers
that followed the movements of stars and knew something special had either happened
or was about to happen; a king of the Jews.
They went back home to the “East”
and we can only postulate where in the East that was; Persia, Arabia,
Mesopotamia, or Babylonia. I think Persia.
The purpose of God for the Magi was to prepare in advance the finances that
Joseph would need to pay for a caravan trip TWICE in order to
protect his family; this would fulfill prophecy.
The take away; God provides; we
have no idea what God has prepared “in advance” for us.
We just need to be obedient.
Numbers 24:17 – Prophecy – A
17 "I see
him, but not now; I behold him, but not near.
A STAR WILL
COME OUT OF JACOB;
a
scepter will rise out of Israel.
NIV
1 Corinthians 2:9 – We cannot comprehend
what God has for us
9 That is what the Scriptures mean
when they say,
“NO
EYE HAS SEEN, NO EAR HAS HEARD,
AND
NO MIND HAS IMAGINED
WHAT
GOD HAS PREPARED
FOR
THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
(NLT)
It’s in the Book
[1] Daniel 1:20 – Magicians
and Astrologers had wisdom and understanding
[2] Micah 5:2 – Prophecy; the
one to rule Israel comes from Bethlehem. -- Matthew 2:1-2 – Magi saw a star of
a new king in the East.
[3] Daniel 2:27-28 – Wise
men, astrologers, soothsayers and magicians reveal secrets -- Daniel 5:15 –
Wise men and astrologers gave interpretations
[4] Psalms 72:10-13 – KINGS will present Him gifts. --
Isaiah 49:7 – KINGS
will come to see the Holy One of Israel
[5] Matthew 2:5-6 – A ruler;
a Shepard for Israel will be born in Bethlehem
[6] Matthew 2:7 – Herod found
out exactly when the star appeared -- Matthew 2:16 – We saw the star about two
years ago
[7] Matthew 2:9 – The Star was moving ahead of them and then stopped -- Matthew
2:10-11 – The star stopped over a house with Jesus and
Mary
[8] Matthew 2:13 – Go to
Egypt for about a year
[9] Hosea 11:1 – Prophecy -
Jesus would be called out of Egypt
[10] Matthew 2:23 – Prophecy –
He would be called a Nazarene
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