The Mindset of the Magi

Of the two gospels that recorded Christ’s birth, only Matthew spoke about the wise men who came to visit toddler-Jesus.

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
(Matthew 2:1-8)

It’s an amazing turn in the Nativity story, full of evasive moves, an evil villain, and a quest. We don’t really know much about the Wise Men, or Magi, as they were referred. I often wonder how Matthew learned about them at all.

Today, we know that the word Magi comes from “magus”, an Old Persian word for the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. These Magi were known to be specialists in astrology and dreams. A perfect group of people to see a new star in the heavens. Only they were approximately 1,000 miles away to the East. Why would God orchestrate this part of the story with so many hurdles? Not only did they have to travel (on camel), they weren’t following a road, but a star. When they arrived, they were not quite received with open arms. And when they finally accomplished their mission, they had to sneak out of town like spies.

Maybe their story isn’t so dissimilar to Mary and Joseph’s. Nothing about the events leading up to Jesus’ birth were easy. Why would His worshipper’s journey be any different? I think we can find great comfort in this. As we walk through this life, our Father is orchestrating trillions of moving pieces for our good and His glory. That long wait we are experiencing might just be the length of time it takes us to get from the Persian desert to a small town named Bethlehem.

Last year I read an Advent devotional by Asheritah Ciuciu. This year I’ve been reading her reflections online. She draws another avenue of inspiration from the wise men’s story. But first, let’s finish the narrative:

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
(Matthew 2:9-12)

Ciuciu writes:

“How do we fight so hard to create fun holiday memories, only to feel like failures? We imagine these weeks playing out like the script of a Hallmark movie: beautiful family moments set to cheerful tunes. But reality crashes into those daydreams, leaving us disgruntled and weary.

Instead of laughter and cherished moments … chaos and wailing.
Instead of a fun romp through the tree farm … frozen toes and hungry complaining.
Instead of perfectly frosted sugar cookies … burnt edges and runny royal icing.
Instead of peaceful family gatherings … harsh words and hurt feelings.

. . . [But] I’m encouraged by the story of the wise men preserved for us in Scripture. . . The word 'overjoyed' gives me pause. When the wise men saw the star, the ESV Bible says “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy”. That is what I want for us this Christmas season: to recalibrate our holiday disorientation and set our sights on the shining Light of the world.”

After that grueling journey, can you imagine their joy? But I actually notice something that makes their rejoicing even more relatable to us. The second half of verse 9 says:
“they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” It’s kind of a clunky sentence, but from it we notice that the star needed to rise in order to be seen.

During the day, the wise men were guideless. Having arrived first in Jerusalem (where they thought a new king would surely originate from), maybe they wondered if the star was done shining. When they learned they were definitely not in the right city and could no longer see the star because of daylight, I imagine they doubted whether the star would return that evening to finish the journey.

If that doesn’t mirror our tendency to worry and doubt, I don’t know what does. We love to see and know, to understand. When we are “in the dark” about anything, it can feel like a personal affront or an insurmountable task. But just because the answer/guide is not visible doesn’t mean it’s not there. But because we can’t see God moving doesn’t mean He isn’t.

When I sat down to write, I originally thought I’d reflect on the radical intersection of the wise men and King Herod. As early as 500 A.D. Christian writers began referring to the Magi as kings, basing their ideas on prophecies like Psalm 72:10. And then in 1857, John Henry Hopkins Jr. penned the carol we know as We Three Kings.

Kings versus king. There are all sorts of comparisons and contrasts (mostly contrasts) we can draw between these two, but when we boil it down, we only need to ask one question: Who wanted to find Jesus in order to worship Him?

God used the totally unexpected to pay homage to His Son. And He continues to use these unexpected kings to show us the magnitude of His power and grace, the wide reach of His hands, and the vast circumference of His plan.