The Wise Men
Today I want to talk about the Wise Men. Even the smallest children from our church, who have watched a Christmas pageant, know all about the Wise Men. Let us review what we know about them. There were three Wise Men. They showed up at the manger at the same time as the shepherds. They rode camels. They wore turbans. They were also called kings, as in “We three kings.” Their names were Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. One was of Asian descent, one of African, and one of European.
So that summarizes most of our facts. Right? Wrong!! Not one of the things I have mentioned so far about the Wise Men is a historical fact. The only record we have about the Wise Men comes from Matthew’s Gospel, and Matthew does not mention even a single one of these things.
First, despite what we see on every Christmas card, and even in movies like “The Nativity,” scholars agree that the Wise Men did not show up at the birth of Jesus at the same time as the shepherds. Even the church has historically celebrated their coming as 12 days later, on January 6. That’s where we get the “12 days of Christmas.” (Did your true love send you a partridge in a pear tree?) This coming Wednesday is the Day of Epiphany on the church calendar. That’s why I am preaching about it today, and that’s why we’re still singing about it, (long after you have taken down your Christmas tree and your Nativity Scene.) Epiphany means “appearance.” In this case, spelled with a capital E, it refers to the appearance of the Wise Men.
“Wise Men” is how we translate the word Magi (equivalent to the Greek Magoi.) It is the plural of the word Magus. (Just like alumnus, alumni.) Because it is plural, we know that there were more than one Magi. But nowhere does Matthew say that there were 3. We jump to that conclusion based on the fact that there were 3 gifts. Actually, the Greek is so ambiguous that they might not have all been men. There could have been one or more “Wise Woman.” (But my wife Susan tells me that the term “wise woman” is redundant!)
We do not know the names or ethnicity of the Magi who visited Jesus. These so-called “facts” come hundreds of years later, as legends have grown up and people have imagined the details. Most recently, the descriptions were immortalized in a short story by Henry van Dyke.
We have records of Magi outside of the Bible. The Greek historian Herodotus was the first one to mention them. He says that the Magi were a caste of Medes, a people who inhabited the Iranian plateau before the Persians. They were a type of spiritist or shaman, similar to the one that King Saul both expelled and consulted in 1 Samuel 28. The Magi in Herodotus, like those in the Bible’s nativity story, were known for the interpretation of dreams. And did you ever notice that Joseph in the New Testament, like the Joseph of the Old Testament, had dreams? (Dreams relating to Egypt, in each case.)
The other major heritage of Matthew’s Wise Men comes from the legendary astrologers of Babylon. This city was famed for its study of the stars. In ancient times, astronomy and astrology were not separated; those who kept the scientific charts also made predictions. Likewise, we see the Magi discovering the special star and predicting the birth of Jesus.
By the way, Jesus’ fellow Jews were also quite interested in the stars. Zodiac charts have been uncovered in the remains of synagogues from that time. Do you remember, back in the Book of Daniel (2:1-2), how he outshines the sorcerers of Babylon? We are not surprised, then, that when a Greek translation was made from Hebrew, the sorcerers in Daniel are called magi. And Daniel was also revered for his knowledge of dreams.
By 539 B.C. the Persians had conquered both the Medes and the Babylonians. The Zoroastrian priests, of the Persians, were called Magians or Magi. They were expected to both interpret dreams and analyze the stars. Because these were the same Persians who set the Jews free from slavery in Babylon, the Jews have historically been close friends of the Persians. (Up until 30 years ago.) There was a time when some Jews thought that the Messiah might come from Persia. (Is. 45:1)
So, it is Persians who are the Magi in Matthew. In the Magi, we see the Matthew’s respect for the sages of the East. They fulfill several prophecies about the Messiah: Here are non-Jews from far off countries, who realize that God’s salvation has come in Jesus. Here are the wisest people in the world, bowing down to worship this newborn baby who is God’s Savior.
Did the Wise Men wear turbans? Probably not. The ancient word Magi is related to our modern word magician. We have ancient paintings of Magi, and they are dressed like our old pictures of a Magician, with a cone-shaped hat and a drooping-sleeved robe. I used to say that the Magi looked like Mickey Mouse in the fantasia cartoon about the sorcerer’s apprentice. Now I can say that the Wise Men dressed like Harry Potter!
Why do we think that the Wise Men rode camels? It is because Psalm 72 and Isaiah 60 are seen as prophecies about the Messiah. In these prophecies, we see caravans of camels coming to pay homage. In the psalm, the visitors are called “kings.” That’s why we call the Magi the “Three Kings.” We give gifts at Christmas because the Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus. Did you know that in Mexico and many Hispanic countries, Epiphany (Jan. 6) is when the gifts are given, and that is when the highlight of their Christmas season occurs? The holiday is called “Los Tres Reyes,” “The Three Kings.”
One gift from the Magi was gold. In Psalm 72, gold is one of the gifts that are being carried by the caravans to the King of the Jews. Did you know that, at the time when Jesus was born, there were so many caravans going through Persia carrying Roman gold to buy Chinese silk that the emperor asked the citizens of Rome to stop wearing imported silk before all of the gold in the treasury was exhausted. They had the same balance of trade deficit that we do with money going to China.
The second gift of the Magi was frankincense. This was a symbol of offerings made to God. In the Old Testament temple, the priests mixed this incense with the offerings to give off a pleasant aroma at the altar. (Leviticus 2:1) There are many churches today that burn incense as part of their worship.
Myrrh is the third gift. Myrrh has a varied history in the Bible. It is first mentioned in Genesis (37:25) as cargo on the caravan, which took Joseph, the dreamer, to Egypt. In the Old Testament, myrrh is probably best known as a perfume for lovers (Prov. 7:17, Song 3:6). By applying the symbol to Jesus, Matthew suggests the traditional analogy between romantic love and the mystical love of God.
Myrrh was also used for anointing the dead. It was probably one of the spices that the women brought to the tomb of Jesus. So myrrh is a symbol of the flesh. Having once been the token of romantic love, it takes on a new dimension when Christ is born. Christ’s incarnation, in the flesh, is God’s gift as surely as myrrh is the Magi’s gift. Death makes human flesh a bitter pill to swallow, and so Jesus must taste the cup of the crucifixion. Yet the Gospel sees this saving sacrifice as the greatest gift of all.
So, we have learned a lot about the Wise Men today. What is the message for us in this story? One message comes to us from the three gifts? Gold reminds us of our tithe, the gifts of time and money that we give to the Lord’s work. Frankincense calls us to give our hearts to God in worship and praise. Myrrh reminds us of the death of Christ. We are called to take up the cross and serve him through self-sacrifice.
Also, the coming of the Magi from afar, following the light of the star, teaches us that God sends the Light of Christ to people in all the far off nations of the world. Salvation is not just for the Jews. And that’s Good News for us, because you and I are not Jews. Thank goodness God sent Jesus to bring salvation to all people. But God is still counting on you and me to shine the light. The Bible tells us to go into all the corners of the world preaching, and teaching, and baptizing, shining the light! Epiphany means the coming of the light and that light is meant for all the world.
And we learn another thing from the Wise Men: When we obey God, we will find Christ. Just imagine the courage those Magi had. God called them to find Jesus. Scholars and religious leaders are not known for being great adventurers. And yet, they left their comfortable libraries to go and follow the star until they found Jesus. My dear friend, that star is still shining. And God is calling us to get up out of the comfortable corners where we hide, and search until we find Christ.
Finally, the Wise Men teach us that Jesus is meant to be worshipped. The Bible says that “they fell down and worshipped him.” This was the first time in the Bible that anyone had worshipped Jesus. His own kinsmen had relegated Jesus to the corner of a smelly stable. But these sages found him, hidden even there. And they cast their wealthy silk-covered bodies down in the straw and muck of that stable, and they worshipped him! …because they knew who he was. When was the last time you fell down and worshipped him? Do you realize who he is?!!!
Dear Jesus, let your light shine upon us. Let us realize who you are. When we come before you today, we commit ourselves to love you and worship you. And we commit ourselves to bring your love and your light to the far off places of the world. Amen.