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The Magi Visit Jesus

CHURCH POSITION

“In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem…” (Matthew 2:1)
SCHOLARS
THE REALITY

The appearance of the Magi is only told in the Gospel of Matthew, where the Magi (from magos, a Greek word for priests of Ancient Babylon and Persia) from the East, led by a star, go in search of Jesus whom they expect is to be “the King of Jews”. They bring him gold, frankincense (used for royal ceremonies and for cleaning white linen), and myrrh (according to John’s Gospel, used in embalming Jesus). The gold and frankincense were foretold in Isaiah (60:6), the myrrh appears to be an added bonus, or may come from the Song of Solomon (3:6) or 1 Kings (10:1-13).

 

Although the common myth is that the Magi came to worship Jesus in his crib, the Gospel has them arrive while Jesus is a child (pais in Greek). Indeed, this is the reason that Herod orders the death of all children two years of age or under (not all infants!), since he must reckon that Jesus was born two years before the Magi arrived. Somehow the Magi were transformed into three Kings, although in the Gospel of Matthew they were neither Kings nor were there three of them! This idea came much later, in the Fifth Century, first appearing in the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy, and probably relates to a prophecy in Isaiah (60:3).

 

Most scholars maintain that the story of the Magi was an invention and not meant to be historical. As told by Matthew, it is another of his prophesies from the Old Testament (Hendrickx, 1984; Spong, 1992). One of the best arguments against its veracity is the fact that the Magi appear this one time and then never again. Can you imagine these wise men traveling thousands of miles to attend the birth of “the King of the Jews”, bringing costly gifts, and then disappearing, never to be heard from again? No subsequent visits? No mention by Mary of this important tribute to her and her son? No, nothing. Their abrupt disappearance suggests that they were simply literary devices, inserted into the text to make a point, and then omitted from future references.

 

Another issue that questions the veracity of the Magi story is the fact that they go to Herod to inquire about Jesus. If they are so smart, why don't they know where he is, and even if they need to stop and ask directions (there are no GPS at the time), why are they asking the one person who seeks to do Jesus harm? In fact, it is their questioning of Herod which sets in motion the "slaughter of the innocents."

The story of the Magi is undoubtedly a metaphor, told by the writers of Matthew to indicate that Jesus deserved recognition from birth. Matthew’s authors were probably responding to the claims that Jesus was simply a magician, and having Magi worship him at birth would indicate that he was more than a mere magician.

 

11/19/2006
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Date:     2006-11-22 Username:   Anne Helpful:   2 of 2
Hi drj. I believe that the idea that the Magi were 3 kings comes from Psalm 71:10, but you're perfectly correct in that the gospel of matthew only mentioned that they were wise men from the east. And while it is true that the OT and the NT speak of Magi as if they were "magicians", you're correct to the extent that they were priests, not magicians. As a result of their use of astrology and dream interpretation they were sometimes considered magicians, but they regarded themselves as priests and it was as priests that they practiced their craft that originated in Zoroastrian philosophy. Had they started their journey when Jesus was born, they would have reached Bethlehem in 6 (travelling light) to 12 months (travelling with an entourage).
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Date:     2007-03-28 Username:   drcsanyi Helpful:   3 of 3
There are no stars that could be identified with the one characterized in MATTHEW. A star can neither be followed for several days journey nor stop over a house.
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Date:     2007-08-04 Username:   Mark Helpful:   1 of 1
The slaughter of the innocents is tied to this story, but that event is most likely not historical. Josephus chronicled Herod's deeds with a vengeance, detailing even minor crimes, and yet he remains silent about this atrocity. Also, note how this story is very similar to Moses's birth: the Pharaoh is said to have commanded the death of all boys by casting them into the Nile (Exodus 1:15-16,22). Much, if not all, of the Jesus story has been borrowed from other myths and legends.
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Date:     2007-10-26 Username:   anorak Helpful:   1 of 1
You can't rely on ANYTHING that Josephus had written. He ws living in ROME at the time he wrote all of his books. More than likely he created history based on orders of Rome. Rome "created" Christianity to keep the State from being divided. It was all a scam. The Magi (or Three Kings) were actually the three stars of Orions belt. The Star of Bethlehem was actually the star Serius. On December 25th all four line up and point to where the sun rises on that morning. I have also read that in the year 7 BCE (the supposed birth year of Jesus), the planets Mars and Venus were in alignment and were perceived to be a bright "star" in the sky. Anne, if I remember correctly, Zoroastrian breaks down to Zoo (as in Zodiac) and Aster which means "Star". Also P-astor means "Father Star".
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Date:     2007-12-19 Username:   wltucker Helpful:   1 of 1
1) The idea that Rome "created" Christianity might make sense if that happened when Josephus was alive and if Josephus wrote all that much about it. Truth is, the concern about unity of the State was in the 4th century and Josephus was long dead by then. As well, he didn't say much about Christianity. 2) The magi obviously didn't listen to Herod anyway, because he sought his sources for the place that the child was to be born. The answer was Bethlehem. The magi continued to follow a "light in the sky" as if they didn't believe Herod. As to why they even went to Herod - why not ask the current king about a future king of the people? The magi saw to distrust Herod and didn't appear to have that distrust until after meeting him and being warned in a dream. It is likely Jesus wasn't even in Bethlehem when the magi visited given the account of Luke that saw Jesus and his parents returned to Nazareth after going to Jerusalem 40 days or so after Jesus was born. They already had a house in Nazareth and that was their home. The first verse in chapter 2 of Matthew states "after Jesus was born in Bethlehem," it doesn't say that the events that followed took place in Bethlehem (although that is what one would think without the Luke account to fill in the details). Matthew shows no care about Nazareth until the return from Egypt and seems only more interested in noting that Jesus was born in Bethlehem as a side fact in order to valid a prophecy. It is likely the family left Nazareth to go to Egypt. Even though Herod sought to kill the children under 2years of age in Bethlehem, if he had found out Jesus was in Nazareth, he might have expanded it, and thus the warning of the angel for Joseph to take his family to Egypt. Upon return, it makes sense from Matthew that they sought to live in Judah, but being warned in a dream, ended up going on back to Nazareth (a place Matthew had not mentioned before and thus said, "a place called Nazareth"). 3) The "light in the sky" doesn't have to be a "star" as it is translated usually into English. As a matter of fact, this star seems to move in the sky and must not be all that high in order to notice where it stopped. Considering the narrative has some similarities with the exodus out of Egypt, it might make more sense to see this light as a supernatural phenomenon that guided the priests rather than an actual astronomical event. I don't see how alignment of planets, or whatever, can appear to move in the sky and locate a particular house. It must have been more like the Shekinah of the Old Testament guiding as a light by night. 4) The town of Bethlehem was not all that large, and still isn't all that big today. It may have not been a huge news event to execute the children there given the ruthlessness of Herod anyway. This was not unusual for him. Also, it shows the recklessness of the guy to have children executed in a town because a rumored king was possibly born there, when it appears there was no follow-up to verify the fact (especially since Jesus was probably living in Nazareth already).
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