“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east of Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matt. 2:1-2).
“Now when Jesus was born”
In many ways, the Old Testament looked ahead to the birth of Christ. In the Garden, after Adam and Eve sinned against God, God introduced His plan of redemption when He stated that Christ would be born and crush the head of the serpent. When God spoke to David and told David that David’s throne would be established for all time, God spoke of Jesus being born into the line of David. Elsewhere, God tells Moses that He would raise up a Prophet like Moses from among Moses’ brethren. Therefore, God told Moses that the Prophet, like Moses, would be a Jew. Simply put, the prophet would be born into this world.
“in Bethlehem of Judaea”
But the prophecies start to get a little more precise. The fulfillment of prophecies is by far one of the most significant pieces of evidence for the reliability of Scripture. Over three hundred prophecies have been fulfilled in Christ alone. The Bible tells us that Christ would be crucified in Psalm 22. In Zechariah, it tells us that the Messiah’s side would be pierced. Isaiah tells us that the Messiah would come from the stump of Jesse. Elsewhere, Isaiah tells us that the Messiah would be a light to the Gentiles.
In Matthew, we see that Jesus would come and be born in Bethlehem. The reference in Matthew is found in Micah 5:2. Here, we encounter an instance in which a mere man could not fulfill it apart from divine intervention. For example, if Jesus were not the Messiah, He would have no control over the location of His birth. Therefore, Jesus could not have somehow brought about His birth in Bethlehem to fulfill the prophecy on His own. Instead, we can see that God’s Word is true and that Jesus is the Messiah through His birth in Bethlehem.
“in the days of Herod the king”
Jesus was born during the reign of Herod, the king. Many people with the name Herod are mentioned in the Bible, which may confuse some. In Matthew 2:1-2 we read of Herod the Great. Herod the Great was not the rightful king of the Jews. In actuality, Herod was not a Jew at all. Herod was an Edomite and was thus from the line of Esau.
The Jews hated Herod and had been looking forward to the coming Messiah. Finally, Jesus came and was born during the reign of Herod the Great.
Herod the Great reigned from 37-4 B.C. He was responsible for killing the young boys in Matthew 2:1-17. Herod the Great was the father of the following:
• Herod Philip I was spoken of in Matthew 14:3 and Mark 6:17.
• Herod Antipas, by whom John the Baptist was beheaded, was spoken of in Mark 6:14-29.
• Herod Archelaus was spoken of in Matthew 2:22.
• Herod Phillip II can be seen in Luke 3:1.
Herod the Great was the grandfather of Herod Agrippa I, who was spoken of in Acts 12:1-2 and imprisoned Peter in Acts 12:3-11. Finally, Herod the Great was the great-grandfather of Herod Agrippa II, whom Paul was on trial before in Acts 25:13-26:32.
Simply put, the Herods can be seen throughout Scripture as the enemies of Christ.
“behold, there came wise men from the east of Jerusalem”
While Herod was an enemy of Christ, the wise men came as friends. Here we see that the wise men came from the east. The Greek word for wise is magos which means a Magian or an oriental scientist. As a result, many believe that the wise men were astronomers.
It is hard to know for sure what the men were, but we know that they traveled from a distant land to see the Messiah. It is possible they would have traveled from Parthia, which would have been northeast of Babylon, and would have been upper-class Gentiles.
“Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?”
The wise men desired to see the One Who had been born King of the Jews. The claim was telling. The wise men would have connected the dots. They would have known about the prophecies of the Jews. When the Bible uses the word “saying” in the above verse, it is not simply speaking of the wise men questioning Herod.
Instead, in the original language, the Scriptures tell us that the wise men continued questioning or went on questioning. Thus, the wise men were asking many people in Jerusalem about the birth of the King of the Jews.
The wise men questioning those in Jerusalem can help us to see the fear that would have come to Herod’s heart. Herod would have known that the Jews hated him. Herod would have known that the Jews were waiting for their Messiah King. Herod would have known that he was sitting on a throne that the Messiah King would come and usurp.
The people anticipated the coming King. Four hundred years of silence had marked their devastating times. In the Old Testament, when the Egyptians had enslaved the people of Israel, they cried out to God, and God heard them. For four hundred years, the Israelites were enslaved to the Egyptians and seemingly did not hear the voice of God.
In the book of Matthew, we encounter the Israelites looking for deliverance yet again. It is likely that the four-hundred-year time frame would have been on the minds of some, if not most, of the people. God worked a miraculous deliverance through Moses after four hundred years of silence in the book of Exodus. Would He do it again?
“for we have seen his star in the east”
Here we see another reason many would believe that the wise men were astrologists. It is recorded that the men would have witnessed a star in the east. If they were astrologists, it would make sense why they knew of the prophecies in the Old Testament. They would likely have searched through many ancient religious documents in an attempt to study the skies.
It is interesting to look at where the wise men got their information. We can find the reference in Numbers 24:17 and spoken through a prophet-for-hire, Balaam. In Balaam’s first prophecy, we read of Balaam saying that a star would come out of Jacob and that a scepter would rise out of Israel and crush the earth’s kingdoms. The wise men would have seen the star as the sign, the scepter as the King, and the crushing of the kingdoms as the activity of the King.
Thus, when the wise men saw the star, they went looking for the One Who had been born the King of the Jews. The star would have been unique and not normally seen in the sky. It would have likely been a miraculous event as the star would have come when Christ was born and risen over Jerusalem. The wise men would have studied the skies and noted the unique star. They would have followed the star due to their familiarity with the prophecy.
“and are come to worship him”
The response of the wise men should be the response of all. They went to worship the King. They went to bow down before the Messiah.
Christmas should be a time of worship. The Christian must recognize that God has called His people to worship Him and that the wise men have set an example for the world to follow. When You see the King, is your first response that of worship?
Final prayer
Father, You have been good to me, and I do not deserve Your goodness. Give me a heart that would worship You. You have forgiven me of such an outstanding debt, and for that, I am thankful. Teach me to appreciate Your Son more. Cause me to cherish Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.