THREE WISE MEN
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A little background - Megistanes
Within
the Parthian government, a constitutional council known as the Megistanes
was instituted with Zoroastrianism as the state’s religion. – The Megistanes
really didn’t embrace Zoroastrianism.
The
Megistanes were divided into two groups; The Higher house with
“heredity” priest was called “Magi”
and the Lower house composed of “appointees”; were known as “wise men”. – They assisted as
needed in the election or deposition
of the monarch or king and were advisors to the nation as a whole.
The Magi, referred to as “wise
men”, were non-Jewish (Gentile) religious leaders with priestly
functions that had been in power for years in the Persian Empire and
exercised religious as well as political clout and had the power to
appoint a king over what was known as the Parthian Empire.
There was extreme discomfort and conflict
between the Romans and the Parthian Empire.
Rome
When a group of Magi came to Herod seeking
information on a newborn Jewish king, he was beside himself as he had
appointed himself “the king of the Jews” – If the Parthians joined forces with
the Jewish nation there was the extreme probability of swinging control of Palestine Rome
Astrologers – Magicians – Wise Men
- Webster: Magi-
Member of a priestly caste; magician; able; might; wise men of the east.
- Daniel – Astrologers / wise
men that allegedly interpreted dreams and messages from God.
- Greek –
Magi in
the Greek meaning “magic” and a
transliteration of the Greek word Magoi
is best translated as “wise men”.
- Wisdom was based on reason
rather than on revelation. At some
point the term “Magi” got down graded to terms like “Fortune Teller,
“Soothsayer” and even “Sorcerer”.
- These wise men had
limited knowledge. - When they went
to KING Herod the Great;
to their SURPRISE they found
out that he did not have a newborn child. - They then sheepishly inquired
concerning directions to the newborn “King of the Jews”. – dum de dum dum
Mic 5:2 – Prophecy – A
ruler in Israel Bethlehem
2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though
you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to
Me The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting NKJV
Matt 2:1-2 – A star was
seen in the East.
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem 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 in the east and have come
to worship him." NIV
Dan 1:20 – Astrologers had wisdom and understanding
20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding
about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the
magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. NKJV
Dan 2:27-28 – Wise men,
astrologers and magicians
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king,
and said, "The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the
astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to
the king.
28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals
secrets, NKJV
Dan 5:15 – Wise men and astrologers
15 Now the wise men, the astrologers,
have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make
known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation.
NKJV
We three kings of Orient
are; bearing gifts we travel afar –
Field and
fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.
Tradition
- How
many Magi?
We think there were three wise men because three kinds of gifts
were mentioned in scripture, but we don’t know how many there were of the
“Magi”, but there was a caravan; a band of them including servants and body
guards.
- Postbiblical
tradition – have their names as Caspar,
Melchior and Balthasar. (Not
Scriptural)
- Transportation They probably rode
on camels as that was the logical transportation choice for important men
to travel long distances through desert country. – They would travel
almost 2000 miles through desert country to pay their respects;
worship the newborn king.
- The
Star: Astronomers
believe that the star was a conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in 6
B.C. – Others think it was a super Nova, an exploding star. – The Bible
says it was a moving star. – I believe the God of this Universe
prepared a special star in advance just for this occasion. God used the Magi’s misguided
Astrology system to make the birth of Christ known; bringing
rejoicing, worship and gifts to the Savior of the World.
- Tradition PAINTS the Magi as a
godly people, but they admitted to no personal gods and permitted no
images of gods. They functioned
with occult powers within the framework of their own religious system. –
They had philosophical concepts concerning worship of the four elements;
fire, water, earth and air; mainly fire. – They were Astrologers
and Philosophers
- Kings - Christian tradition calls the Magi “kings”
because of scripture references; I
see it, but I don’t think so. – They were certainly “King Makers”,
but were probably just looking for a king for themselves. - It’s hard for me to accept that a
king would leave his kingdom for two years and join a caravan, let alone
three kings.- This was not a day trip.
Ps 72:10-13 – Kings will
present Him gifts.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of distant
shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba
11 All kings will bow down to him and all
nations will serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy who cry
out, the afflicted who have no one to help.
13 He will take pity on the weak and the
needy and save the needy from death. NIV
Isa 49:7 – Kings will come
to see you
7 This is what the LORD says--the Redeemer and
Holy One of Israel--to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the
servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will
see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel,
who has chosen you." NIV
Herod checks out scripture
- Herod checked with
his advisors and they told him that the scriptures said a king would be
born in
- Herod was already very
sick and would probably be dead in about a year; he would soon kill his
own son and had no compunction about killing a baby king that would try to
usurp his authority and power and take his place as “King of the Jews”.
- Not wanting to take
any chances with an uprising or rebellion, Herod orders all male Jewish
children two years old and under to be killed. – This fulfilled the
prophecy of Jeremiah.
Matt 2:5-6 – He will be
born in Bethlehem
5 "In Bethlehem 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" NIV
Matt 2:7 – When did the
star appear?
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found
out from them the exact time the star had appeared NIV
Matt 2:16 – We saw the star about two years ago
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted
by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem
Matt 2:16 – Kill the males two years old and under.
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted
by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem
Jer 31:15 – Prophecy about
the killing of the children
5 This is what the LORD says: "A voice is
heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more." NIV
Star moved
- According to scripture, the star was
moving and the Magi followed it till it stopped over the place where Jesus
was living. - Jesus was no longer in a stable, but was in a
“house”.
- I do
not find in scripture that the star was ever above the stable; Jesus
could have been a newborn or as much as two years old when the star
settled over the house in
- The star is not mentioned at all when
the shepherds went to worship Jesus in the manger.
- I’ve
got to say it – The star led them first to King Herod; then to
Jesus – The plan unfolds.
Matt 2:9 – The Star was
moving ahead of them
9 After they had heard the king, they went on
their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was. NIV
Matt 2:10-11 – The star
stopped over Jesus.
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 and of incense
and of myrrh. NIV
Road Trip
- God warns Joseph, Mary
and the Magi and everybody gets the heck out of
- Joseph was so poor
that he didn’t even have enough money to provide a lamb as an offering at
the temple, but with the gifts from the Magi, Joseph and his family
were able to finance a safe caravan road trip to
- Caravans carried many
merchants from market to market with valuable merchandise. They had to be well guarded and many
local rulers had to be “paid off” for safe passage. - The distance was between 300 and 400 miles
and would take between two and three weeks to accomplish it. – Expensive.
- After about a year
God tells Joseph to take another road trip to
Matt 2:13 – Go to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the
child and his mother and escape to Egypt
Hos 11:1 – Prophecy - Jesus
would be called out of Egypt
1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out
of Egypt
Matt 2:23 – Prophecy – He
would be called a Nazarene
23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth
NIV
They go home
- The Magi incident and
the star of
- There was prophecy
about a star
and 14 hundred years later, there it was; the Magi knew it.
- They came for political
as well as religious reasons to pay their respects and homage.
- We don’t hear anymore
about the wise men, but it is thought that they were Philosophers and Astronomers
that followed the movements of stars and knew something special had
happened or either was about to happen. - A king of the Jews – They
went back home to the “East” and we can only postulate where in the
East that is. –
- The
purpose of God for the Magi was to prepare in advance the finances that
Joseph would need to take a caravan trip TWICE to protect his family -
This would fulfill prophecy.
- The
take away; God
provides
– We have no idea what God has prepared “in advance” for us.
We just need to be obedient.
Num 24:17 – Prophecy – A STAR will come –
A ruler
17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but
not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel
1 Cor 2:9 – We have no
idea what God has planed for us.
However, as it is written: "No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived what God has prepared for
those who love him"- NIV
SELAH
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses. Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further than I otherwise ever could have.
A Commentary - Eerdmans
Apocrypha; The – Edgar J. Goodspeed
Bible Almanac; The – Nelson
Bible Commentary – R.B. Meyer
Commentary on the Pre-Adamic flood – Dr. Al McCallister.
Customs and Folkways of Jewish Life – Theodor H. Gaster
Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible - Dake
Expositor’s Bible Commentary; The – Frank E. Gaebelein
Harper’s Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row
Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale
Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible – Packer – Tenney
Invisible War; The – Donald J. Barnhouse
Jewish book of why; The - Kolatch
Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan
New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney
There were Two Trees in the Garden – Rick Joyner
Today’s Dictionary of the Bible – T.A. Bryant
Who’s Who in the Bible: The Complete – Paul D. Gardner
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The
- Tenney
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