After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” —Matthew 2:1-2
After Jesus was born, he received some mysterious visitors: Magi from the east. Before he had said a word, Jesus had already caught the attention of people outside of Israel (aka “gentiles”). Matthew is the only gospel that records this event, and we do not get enough details to satisfy our curiosity about these visitors. We know that they followed a star to worship “the king of the Jews,” stopped by to see King Herod, found Jesus with Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
This limited information we get about these wise men sprouted into an elaborate tradition of them being three kings due to the nature of their gifts and the fact that there were three items. But the fact is, we don’t know much.
We do know that more than 500 years before that time, there were some other wise men who were scrambling to serve another king (King Nebuchadnezzar) but failing miserably. Their lives were on the line, until Daniel stepped in…
God gave Daniel the interpretation for King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and by doing so, saved the lives of the wise men. I wonder if this made the wise men curious about Daniel’s God. I wonder if they passed down Daniel’s ideas and beliefs to the following generations of wise men. I wonder…
Of course I have no proof that Daniel is the reason for the wise men visiting Jesus, but the book of Hebrews says, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (Heb 1:1-2). God’s prophets, like Daniel, pointed to a greater king who would come. A king who would save, not only his own people, but the whole world: Jews and Gentiles. And no king on this earth would have the power to stop this One True King.
Some kings got rid of anyone who got in their way. Other kings tried to be good but still had their own interests and their own nation in mind. Jesus is the only king who gave himself up with the whole world in mind. The one who deserves all the power gave it up for our sake. Daniel and other wise men were told that one day there would be a prince of peace, and they looked forward to the day when that king would come and fulfill all prophecies.
We don’t know much about the Magi from the east, but we know that they recognized THE king who is worthy to receive the highest worship and the most valuable of gifts, the one who would give us the best gift of all.
