The Search for Christmas

Most of us have heard about the magi, right?  The “wise-men” who came from miles away to see the newborn King Jesus.  A few things to cover right off the bat here:

“We three kings of orient are…” couldn’t be farther from the truth.  The magi were not kings, although they were definitely distinguished men.  They came from “the east,” not “from orient.”  East could mean Babylonia, Persia, Mesopotamia, etc.; lands that were east of Israel.  There were probably much more than three of them, possibly even up to 100!  We often think of three because of the three gifts they gave (gold, frankincense and myrrh).

Now this trip could have taken them up to a year!  Jesus was a Child by the time they arrived.  Imagine a caravan of up to 100 people traveling up to a year across the desert in Ancient Near Eastern times!

Now the word used for “magi” can mean a few different things.  These guys were astrologers, meaning they studied the stars and planets and believed what happened in the stars impacted human affairs.  They could have been magicians, and possibly even scientists.  It’s pretty open.  Some people have made the connection that these are descendants of the “magicians” and “astrologers” that threw Daniel in prison when Israel was exiled in Babylon (Daniel 6).  These magi saw the miracles of the Hebrew God first hand, and a few hundred years later their descendants came searching for the Messiah.

The point is this: these guys did NOT follow the God of the Bible.  In fact, it seems like they probably didn’t belong to any particular religious sect.  Instead, they studied all types of religions, all types of sciences, and even studied the stars in search of truth.  They were seeking what was true…and God revealed it to them!

These magi were following the star to Jesus.  People have suggested many different explanations: Jupiter and Saturn lining up, a comet, a “lingering meteor”, or perhaps the glory of God, as seen during the Exodus in a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21, 22).  Whatever the physical star might have been, it was clearly ordained by God.  God was the one who provided a way to Jesus, or the truth.

                                                                                                              

What I find so fascinating about the story of the magi was that they did not subscribe to Judaism or any other religion.  They were simply in search of the truth.  And God revealed it to them!  As we know, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6).  When these men earnestly sought out the truth, God revealed it to them.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:13)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

This Christmas, seek after the Truth!