The Magi weren’t simply three really smart guys (aka “Wise Men”) on camels. There is much more to the story.

Here is the video link:

The Magi

The audio-only links to Spotify and iTunes are to the right.

Here is the transcript today’s podcast was derived from:

The Magi

How incredible would it be to do something that would resonate with others 400+ years after you died? Two people come to mind  – Palestrina… and Daniel.

Palestrina’s writings and compositions are still used today as a foundation for teaching composition –  even though he lived 400+ years ago! In the same way, Daniel, a Jewish prophet living in Babylon, part of a Jewish Diaspora, wrote something that set into motion incredible events 400+ years after he wrote the words.

Daniel was a Magi – a member of a powerful sect within the Babylonian empire. He had incredible power and influence. His writings and his influence set into motion events that would culminate 400+ years later with this confrontation as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel.

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, and asked, ‘Where is he, where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?’ We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

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.

‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written.

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.’”

In almost every church pageant I’ve seen, it shows the Magi showing up in Jerusalem on three camels, and just kind of zipping over to the stable in Bethlehem. But….. that is not EXACTLY how it happened.

Let’s start here….

Do you remember the earlier podcast where I said that the life death and resurrection of Jesus was God’s “end-game”? I compared it to a chess match where the players have opening “gambits” designed to set up their eventual “end-game” i.e. Checkmate, the end of the match. I mentioned that the birth of Jesus was the “opening gambit” of God’s “end-game”.

That wasn’t entirely true… the true “opening gambit” for this “end-game” of God’s actually occurred centuries before the birth of Messiah, centering on a young man from a destroyed nation, whose name was Daniel. Daniel, eventually, became part of a powerful organization within the Medio-Persian empire known as the “Magi”.

The caste of the magi may be traced back in Scriptures to Babylon during and after the Exile.  In Babylon they were first known as the Wise Men.  This included, “…magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers…” (Daniel 2:2). 

It is clear from Daniel two, verses 12 and 13, that Daniel and his friends (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego), were considered part of this caste of men known as the Wise Men of Babylon who were to be advisors to the King on a great breadth of subjects, including religion, science, philosophy and politics.

When the Persian Empire conquered the Medes there was a priestly caste among the Medes known as the Magi.  When the Persians conquered Babylon as recorded in the fifth chapter of Daniel (as well as in secular history), they brought this Magi caste with them.  It is clear from the Biblical historical record that Daniel was one of those from among the Wise Men of Babylon that were absorbed into this class.

From this class of men came many of the satraps that Darius appointed to help rule this diverse kingdom.  Daniel was chosen as one of three administrators to which the 120 satraps, chosen by this Media-Persian king, were accountable.  It was Darius’ plan, as expressed in verse 3 of the 6th chapter, to put Daniel over the whole kingdom—which seems to have been done after the “Den of Lions” event (see Daniel 6).

Daniel, himself, did not return from the Exile but remained in Babylon—likely too advanced in years to consider returning—and it is reasonable that many of those within the caste of the Magi, who were Jewish, did not return as their positions of power and responsibility would have given them a life that would likely have been chosen over the hardships of those who returned to the destroyed city of Jerusalem.

Daniels book would have been written in Babylon, and it is reasonable to conclude that the Magi who came looking for Jesus, the Messiah used their knowledge of astronomy coupled with the writings of Daniel to find Jesus. They would have been familiar with, and possessed in-depth knowledge of, the writings of the Prophet Daniel which would have been a revered Magi and prophet.

So…the Magi would have known that from the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the time that the anointed one, the ruler is killed will be a fixed amount of years. And so it makes sense that they could just backtrack from the time of death, counting back thirty years to get a general idea of when Jesus would have been born. And that would have sent them on their journey to find this king of the Jews.

They don’t know about Bethlehem. They just went back to where it all began with the interaction between Babylon and Israel, which would be Jerusalem. Besides – think about it – a Jewish King? Start at the Jewish capitol, Jerusalem. That the magi would have gone to Jerusalem makes sense, to ask about the specifics as to exactly where the king of the Jews would be. 

Why was Herod upset by the appearance of the Magi?

The title Magi is the old Persian word magav, which refers to a very wise hereditary priestly tribe of people who come from the Medes. 

This term is also translated as “Megastains” or “Megastains” from which we get our term “Magistrates”. The magi were so powerful in their culture that historians, like Herodotus, tell us that no person was ever able to become king except under two conditions.

1. He had to master the scientific and religious discipline of the magi
2. He had to be approved of and crowned by the magi. They were, therefore, sometimes referred to as “king-makers”.

Having through the years risen to a place of prominence in the kingdoms of Babylon, Media and Persia, they served as advisors to the rulers. And so the term became synonymous in many ways with being a wise man.

Rome, Israel, and Parthia (Persia)

Politically speaking, Rome was strategically concerned with the Eastern Empire of Parthia.

Rome had stretched its tentacles out to rule the world, but they never really felt secure about the Parthian Empire because they never conquered them.

Israel, who was situated between these two powers, actually became a battleground between these violent enemies in 63, 55 and 40 BC. Rome’s anxiety over the Eastern Empire was accurately reflected in Herod’s response to the arrival of the magi in Matthew 2-3.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was “troubled”. 

When he heard that magi, the Oriental Parthian king-makers from a nation that Rome had never conquered, had arrived in Jerusalem, he became justifiably politically insecure.

The Greek word for troubled conveys the idea that he was agitating like a washing machine, literally shaking..

All of a sudden, this military contingent from Persia arrives in the city and he panics because He, as the king of Israel, was NOT the king these “King-Makers” sere inquiring about. The new king they were coming to find would be a threat to Herod’s reign.

Who were these “King-Makers”?

At the time of Christ in the Eastern Empire (Parthia), the Magi were a ruling body who would be similar in function to the United States Senate.

It was totally composed of magi who had the right of absolute choice for the selection of a king. These were the king-makers.

Now, when the magi arrived in Jerusalem, asking for the whereabouts of the new king that had been born, Herod panicked, knowing that those Persian king-makers had come to find a king. Can you understand Herod’s concern? Here comes representatives of another formidable and potential enemy government, who stand before the Rome-appointed King of Israel, and ask for the location of the King of the Jews… inferring that Herod was NOT that king.

Why would all of Jerusalem be disturbed at the arrival of the magi? Consider this – they would not simply be just three smart guys riding camels.

They represent a ruling priestly part of a culture that Rome is in conflict with and never conquered. They, representing a powerful class in the Eastern Empire of Parthia, would be traveling in full force with all of their Oriental pomp, riding Persian steeds rather than camels.

And according to John MacArthur, they would have accompanying them a contingent of Persian cavalrymen as their escort.

So this military contingent and the Magi show up in Jerusalem and they find Herod. And they ask

 “Where’s the king of the Jews?

Since these “king-makers,” came asking for another king other than Herod, Herod is VERY nervous. Then he called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, asking 

“Where’s the Messiah to be born?”

And they told him 

in Bethlehem. 

That being the last piece of information that the Magi needed, they left for Bethlehem.

During his conversation with the Magi, Herod discovered when they began their journey, did his own math and made a decision of his own about this “king” the Magi were searching for.

And so that’s why he decided to send his soldiers and kill all the children of Bethlehem that were two years old and younger, hoping to get rid of this future king that these king makers had come to HIS castle, his palace to tell HIM about.

So that kind of puts a different spin on this whole story about the Magi, doesn’t it?

First of all, they represented a class of people in an enemy empire of Rome that were known to be king makers. I don’t think they were there to make Jesus a king. They came to worship the One that their predecessor Daniel had told them about all those centuries before.

Matthew says they worshiped him and they gave his parents gold, frankincense and myrrh, honoring  this one who would be the true king of the Jews – the Messiah. They give frankincense, gold and myrrh to Mary and Joseph. That would support Mary and Joseph while who were soon to go on the run to escape Herod’s deadly designs on Jesus.

Remember the timeline of the Nativity…

1. Mary has a visitation with Gabriel. 
2. She goes to see Elizabeth. 
3. She comes home three to six months months pregnant.
4. Joseph takes her as his wife, even though she’s pregnant with a child other than his own. 
5. He takes her to Bethlehem with himself.
6. The Levitical shepherds were visited by Angels and went to worship Jesus
7. Much later, the Magi arrive, worship Jesus, leave gifts, and return to Persia.
8. Joseph and Mary flee from Herod’s wrath, and travel to Egypt for a time before returning to Nazareth.

The Magi are no longer as much of a mystery to me. The Magi that visited Jesus and Joseph and Mary were descendants of the Magi who were introduced to the Holy Scriptures by Daniel. 400+ years before the incarnation, a Jewish man, promoted to high office in his captor’s government, writes a prophetic message that would be followed by his order of the Magi at the appointed time to find Messiah.

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. 11 On 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.

I have no idea if Daniel intended for anyone to go find the King of the Jews 400 years after his death. I get the sense that Daniel was simply doing what God designed him to do. I believe Daniel was being what God designed him to be – in that moment. He was part of a conquered people who made the best out of his circumstances. He pursued God, and let the chips fall where they may.

And THAT, dear people, is where I draw my encouragement from the story of the Magi. I am focused on being what God has called me to be, and I strive to do what God has called me to do. I move from moment to moment, striving to discern God’s will for me. It may very well be that generations from now, something I have done or said in my life will be of significance. I don’t know. I refuse to think that far ahead. But I know this – Daniel governed, he prophesied, he wrote, and then he died. 400+ years later the words he wrote led people to the feet of the Messiah. God’s “end-game” began in Babylon, 400+ years prior to the birth of His Son.

Merry Christmas!

In His Grip,

Paige