Matthew 2:1-11

Bible Gateway ^ | God

[ReformationFan]

The Visit of the Wise Men

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[b] and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Footnotes: Matthew 2:1 Greek magi; also verses 7, 16 Matthew 2:2 Or in the east; also verse 9

[ReformationFan]

Happy 12th Day of Christmas to all.

[SvenMagnussen]

LUKE 1:11-17

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

(Luke 2:8-14)

One comment about the Matthew passage and the visit of the wise men--and this is roundabout, but, trust me, I'll eventually get there:

My favorite book of the New Testament is the book of Luke , which is sometimes referred to as the Gospel of the Outcast. The outcasts highlighted in the book include the poor, but also foreigners, women, the blind, the deaf, the oppressed, the sick, slaves, captives, widows, the hungry, the weeping, paralytics and the lame. It also includes outcasts even among outcasts, such as the demon possessed, Samaritans, lepers, "sinners",and tax collectors. It also specifically includes a few extreme examples, such as the man named Legion who was possessed by many demons, and the Samaritan leper, and even a rich man--the chief tax collector Zaccheus.

It seems that the Gospel of Luke stresses these outcasts more than does any other gospel, with one exception involving one category. Surprisingly, the Gospel of Matthew (sometimes referred to as the Gospel to the Jews) emphasizes foreigners/Gentiles in a positive light even more than does the Gospel of Luke. (This seems strange, since the Gospel of Matthew is apparently directed initially toward Jews and since Luke himself is a Gentile.)

Back to the story of the wise men: The is one of several cases in Matthew in which foreigners are the hero of the story, so to speak. But it may go even farther than that. There are several views as to who exactly were the wise men (or "magi", from the Greek work "magoi"), but one explanation, and perhaps the most likely one, was that they were astrologer-priests of the Zoroastrian religion. This would be a slap in the face of the Jewish religion leaders for the birth of the Messiah to be known to priests of a foreign religion before it was made known to them.

I like to think that God has a sense of humor.

[SvenMagnussen]

LUKE 1:24-44 (KJV)

24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

[Library Lady]

Yes, Daniel 2 refers to them as the Chaldeans. I think Daniel taught them about the coming Messiah when he was in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. It is ironic that they heard, believed, and passed it down for hundreds of years, and the Jews who had the same knowledge rejected Him when he came.

[Belteshazzar]

Engraved-on-His-hands wrote:
“but one explanation, and perhaps the most likely one, was that they were astrologer-priests of the Zoroastrian religion.”

Most likely? I don’t think so. Why would you say that given that the book of Daniel provides us with a far more likely correlation?

[Belteshazzar]

Engraved-on-His-hands wrote:
“but one explanation, and perhaps the most likely one, was that they were astrologer-priests of the Zoroastrian religion.”

Most likely? I don’t think so. Why would you say that given that the book of Daniel provides us with a far more likely correlation?

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

There is no definite proof either way. The background given in Daniel is a definitely a possibility and is espoused by many. However, the phrase “wise men” or something roughly equivalent is found in several places in the Bible, not just Daniel (e.g., Pharoah summons wise men and sorcerers in Egypt in the book of Exodus). The word magi comes not only from the Greek word “magoi” but is derived ultimately from the Persian word “magus”, which referred to those priests of Zoroastrianism who studied the stars. As I said, there is no definite proof, but given a general reference, as we have in Matthew, it would seem to prompt one to the classic usage of the term first. I have no desire, however, to press my opinion as anything more than opinion.

[blasater1960]

This would be a slap in the face of the Jewish religion leaders for the birth of the Messiah to be known to priests of a foreign religion before it was made known to them. I like to think that God has a sense of humor.

What is so funny about your hypothesis?

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

It has been said that, if someone has to have it explained to them, they probably won’t find it funny. But it parallels other themes sometimes used in comedy that have some basis in Scripture: the last shall be first and the first shall be last; the humbling of the proud; etc.