The magi, or wise men,
were from an eastern land, probably Persia.
Scripture leads us to believe they were probably astrologers. They were knowledgeable men who studied the
stars and were able to recognize the various things they saw. In verses one and two we are told that they
had seen an unusual star in the sky that they knew was from God to lead them to
the King of the Jews, the promised Messiah.
These
men were not ignorant of the Scriptures.
We can only speculate, but probably their knowledge of the Scriptures
goes back to the time of Daniel, who was an exiled Israelite relocated in
Babylon. Daniel rose to a position of
great prominence in Babylon and had a great influence in the land for the Lord. He lived and taught the Scriptures all
throughout his life in captivity. In all
likelihood, Daniel’s teachings were passed down from generation to
generation. We never know what kind of
an impact we will have on future generations.
If we are faithful to live godly lives, we can influence many, many people
we will never know for Christ.
There are a couple of
interesting questions that jump out at me.
Did anyone else besides the magi see the star? If so, did anyone else in Persia understand
what they were seeing? Did Herod, the
reigning emperor, see the star? If he
did, Scripture seems to lead us to believe he had no idea what he was
seeing? Did anyone else in the region
see the star? Why didn’t others follow
the star? You would think that a star
that stopped over a particular house would have grabbed a lot of people’s
attention.
This amazing event
happened at least two years after Jesus had been born. Mary and Joseph had settled into a home. By then, they had adjusted to the life of
early parenthood. They had had time to
deal with the uniqueness of their situation, being the parents of the Christ
child. I kind of wonder as well whether
or not Joseph or Mary had gone outside and seen the star hovering over their
home. All kind of things were going on
in their lives that simply are not recorded in the Scriptures.
It took the magi at
least two years to make the journey to Bethlehem, two years of crossing the
desert to think about what they were going to see. I am sure that it was a journey filled with
much discussion and contemplation.
Although they did not know where the star would end up leading them,
they followed the star, knowing that it was from God. They did not let circumstances keep them from
their determination to follow where the Lord was leading them. I wonder how many of us are just as
determined to follow the Lord wherever He leads us.
The magi followed the
star and God did not disappoint them.
They found Christ and worshiped Him.
All who seek Christ will find Him.
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