Day 9- Now After This Jesus Was Born In Bethlehem
Matthew chapter two and verse one lets us know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king. And, by telling us where Jesus was born, Matthew continues pointing us to the lineage of David. This was especially important for the Jews during this time period. Therefore, Matthew unapologetically points out the fact that Jesus was indeed the Messiah from a Davidic lineage, and these stories highlighting Bethlehem as His birthplace, help solidify that Jesus was a rightful descendant of King David.
This passage in Matthew chapter two, continues by telling us that wise men from the East came to Jerusalem asking, “Where is He who has been born, King of the Jews?” Did you pick up on that? “King of the Jews.” The Magi new the Biblical history and they new the lineage of Jesus. They were from the East and they were astrologers. Astrology was a sophisticated science during this era of time and they had studied this for years through scripture and prophecy that had continually been passed down to every generation in this priestly caste.
However, it is important to recognize that these men were men of scripture that were reading a “prophetic sky,” and that they were seeing a scriptural message in the stars that could be traced back to Daniel, who many theologians would have believed was also a part of the Magi during his own time. Nevertheless, these men that were seeking the new born Messiah were not pagan astrologers reading some hidden occult wisdom by means of pagan astrology. These were men who had studied scriptures, prophecies, and the sky, and they were coming to worship the Savior of the world— Jesus.
The wise men mentioned here in Matthew’s gospel were a continuation of what would have been the ancient priestly caste called the Magi, which included “wise men” from almost every known religion of that day. However, these men were followers of the most high God—the God of Daniel. And the star that they saw in the sky was only interpretable in an accurate way by their knowledge of the Scripture that for them, and for us, would have come from the Old Testament major and minor books of the prophets.
Take Away: These Magi would further demonstrate their great knowledge of Scripture, the Messiah and His mission to come, by the gifts that they brought to Jesus. Matthew ends verse two of chapter two by saying what the Magi said after they had asked the question about where the child was—they said that they saw the star and they had come to worship Him.
Many commentaries believe that the study of prophecy and their study of the sky would have spanned over 400 years and their journey that led them to Jesus that day would have been somewhere between five hundred and seven hundred miles. They studied the scripture, they remembered the prophecies and they came to worship Jesus, the Messiah— King of the Jews from the lineage of David.
