Matthew 2:1-2

"In the 708th year from the foundation of Rome (46 B.C. by Christian reckoning) Julius Caesar established the Julian Calendar, beginning the year with January 1st. But it was not until the sixth century A.D. that Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk living in Rome, who was confirming the Easter cycle, originated the system of reckoning time from the birth of Christ. Gradually this usage spread, being adopted in England by the Synod of Whitby in 664, until it gained universal acceptance. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII reformed the Julian calendar. However, more accurate knowledge shows that the earlier reckonings of the time of Christ’s birth were in error by several years. Thus it is now agreed that the birth of Christ should be placed c. 6-4 B.C." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., pp. 992-93. See also Edersheim, 2:704-5.]

When did the Magi visit Jesus in Bethlehem? [Note: For the geographical locations of places that Matthew referred to, see the map "Palestine in the Time of Jesus" at the end of these notes.] There are several factors that point to a time about a year after Jesus’ birth. First, Matthew described Jesus as a "child" (Gr. paidion, Matthew 2:11), not an "infant" (Gr. brephos, cf. Luke 2:27). Second, Jesus’ family was residing in a house (Matthew 2:11), not beside a manger (cf. Luke 2:1-20). Third, Herod’s edict to destroy all the male children two years old and under (Matthew 2:16) suggests that Jesus fell within this age span. Fourth, Joseph and Mary brought the offering of poor people to the temple when they dedicated Jesus about 40 days after His birth (Luke 2:24). After receiving the Magi’s gifts, they could have presented the normal offering (cf. Leviticus 12). Fifth, Joseph and Mary’s decision to return to Judea from Egypt (Matthew 2:22) implies that Judea is where they had lived before they took refuge in Egypt.

Matthew carefully identified the Bethlehem in Judea, in contrast to the Bethlehem in Zebulun (Joshua 19:15), as the birthplace of Jesus. This was important because the prophecy of Messiah’s birthplace was specifically Bethlehem of Judah, the hometown of King David (Matthew 2:6; Micah 5:2).

"Herod the Great, as he is now called, was born in 73 B.C. and was named king of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C. By 37 B.C. he had crushed, with the help of Roman forces, all opposition to his rule. Son of the Idumean Antipater, he was wealthy, politically gifted, intensely loyal, an excellent administrator, and clever enough to remain in the good graces of successive Roman emperors. His famine relief was superb and his building projects (including the temple, begun 20 B.C.) admired even by his foes. But he loved power, inflicted incredibly heavy taxes on the people, and resented the fact that many Jews considered him a usurper. In his last years, suffering an illness that compounded his paranoia, he turned to cruelty and in fits of rage and jealousy killed close associates, his wife Mariamne (of Jewish descent from the Maccabeans), and at least two of his sons . . ." [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 84. See also Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14-18; and S. Perowne, The Life and Times of Herod the Great.]

"Herod was not only an Idumaean in race and a Jew in religion, but he was a heathen in practice and a monster in character." [Note: Unger’s Bible Dictionary, 1957 ed., s.v. "Herod," by S. L. Bowman.]

"Behold" (Gr. idou) is a Hebraic expression that Matthew used to point out the wise men. They are the focus of his attention in this pericope.

It is not easy to identify the Magi (from the Gr. magoi) precisely. The Greek word from which we get "magi" comes from a Persian word that means experts regarding the stars. Centuries before Christ’s time they were a priestly caste of Chaldeans who could interpret dreams (cf. Daniel 1:20; Daniel 2:2; Daniel 4:7; Daniel 5:7). Later the term broadened to include men interested in dreams, magic, astrology, and the future. Some of these were honest inquirers after the truth, but others were charlatans (cf. Acts 8:9; Acts 13:6; Acts 13:8). The Magi who came to Jerusalem came from the East. Jerusalem at this time covered about 300 acres, and its population at non-feast times was between 200,000 and 250,000 people. [Note: Edersheim, 1:116-17.] Probably the Magi came from Babylon that had been for centuries a center for the study of the stars. [Note: Richard C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel, p. 57; Allen, pp. 11-12.] Babylon had also been the home of Daniel who had been in command of former Magi in Babylonia (Daniel 2:48) and who had written of the death of Messiah (Daniel 9:24-27). The oldest opinion is that the Magi came from Arabia rather than Persia. [Note: Tony T. Maalouf, "Were the Magi from Persia or Arabia?" Bibliotheca Sacra 156:624 (October-December 1999):423-42.] Magi had such a dubious reputation in Jewish and Christian circles that it is unlikely that Matthew would have mentioned their testimony if it were not true. [Note: France, p. 65.]

"The tradition that the Magi were kings can be traced as far back as Tertullian (died c. 225). It probably developed under the influence of OT passages that say kings will come and worship Messiah (cf. Psalms 68:29; Psalms 68:31; Psalms 72:10-11; Isaiah 49:7; Isaiah 60:1-6). The theory that there were three ’wise men’ is probably a deduction from the three gifts (Matthew 2:11). By the end of the sixth century, the wise men were named: Melkon (later Melchior), Balthasar, and Gasper. Matthew gives no names. His magoi come to Jerusalem (which, like Bethlehem, has strong Davidic connections [2 Samuel 5:5-9]), arriving, apparently . . ., from the east-possibly from Babylon, where a sizable Jewish settlement wielded considerable influence, but possibly from Persia or from the Arabian desert. The more distant Babylon may be supported by the travel time apparently required . . ." [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 85.]

The magi’s question (Matthew 2:2) was not, Where is He who has been born to become King of the Jews? but, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? Jesus’ status as Israel’s king did not come to Him later in His life. He was born with it (cf. Matthew 27:37). In this respect He was superior to Herod who was not born a king and saw the young child as a threat to his throne. The only other occurrences of the title "king of the Jews" in Matthew are in Matthew 27:11; Matthew 27:29; Matthew 27:37 where Gentiles used these words to mock Jesus.

What Jesus’ star was remains problematic. Some scholars have suggested a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. [Note: Edersheim, 1:212-13.] Others believed it was a supernova (a star that explodes and emits unusual light for several weeks or months), a comet, or some other planetary conjunctions or groupings. Still others believed it was a supernatural creation. Whatever it was, it was the same star that guided the Magi to Jesus’ house in Bethlehem or at least to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:9). The presence of the definite Greek article with "star" in Matthew 2:9 points to the same star mentioned in Matthew 2:2. It seems to me that it would be very unlikely that a planetary conjunction or other natural "star" could have given the wise men such specific guidance.

"Could it be that ’the star’ which the Magi saw and which led them to a specific house was the Shekinah glory of God? That same glory had led the children of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years as a pillar of fire and cloud. Perhaps this was what they saw in the East, and for want of a better term they called it a ’star.’" [Note: Barbieri, p. 22. Cf. Walvoord, p. 23.]

Perhaps the Magi connected Balaam’s messianic prophecy of a star that would rise out of Judah (Numbers 24:17) with the Jewish King. Balaam evidently originated in the East (Numbers 23:7). The Jews in Jesus’ day regarded Balaam’s oracle as messianic. [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 86.] Interestingly, Balaam, like the wise men, experienced pressure from a king who was intent on destroying God’s people, but he, and they, refused to cooperate.

The Magi’s statement that they intended to "worship" the new King does not necessarily mean that they regarded Him as divine. They may have meant that they wanted to do Him homage. However in view of chapter 1 we know that the new King was worthy of true worship. "Worship" (Gr. proskyneo) occurs 13 times in Matthew and is something the writer stressed. Apparently the Magi recognized the King as Israel’s Messiah. "King of the Jews" was the Gentile way of saying "Messiah." [Note: France, p. 61.] The Messiah was indeed the King of the Jews.