SOUNDING
OUT:
The Magis Example
God's Word clearly records
two distinct appearances of the star of Bethlehem associated
with the birth of Jesus Christ. As recorded in Matthew
2:2, it was observed by the Magi in their homeland before
they set off on their journey. They saw it in the rising,
above the eastern horizon. Then Matthew 2:9 records its
appearance unto the Magi when they left Jerusalem for
Bethlehem. On this second occasion the star appeared in
a southerly direction from Jerusalem. On both occasions,
they saw the star in the east (Literally from the Greek
meaning in the rising.)
Most people believe that the star seen by the Magi
was exceptionally bright. Some go as far as depicting
it linearly pointing directly down to the stable where
the babe was in the manger. If that were so, why did they
stop at Herods to inquire where the child was born? They
went to Jerusalem to see Herod because they expected to
find a kings son. It was only after Herod inquired of
the chief priests and scribes where the child was to be
born that they were directed to Bethlehem. The Bible clearly
indicates that only the Magi took special notice of the
star. Its brilliance is never mentioned, only its significance.
Whatever the star was, it was important for what it meant
to the Magi, not how bright it was.
This was not a star that had never before appeared
and that disappeared after the birth of Jesus. The Magi
didnt immediately follow the star from their eastern
homeland to Jerusalem after its mysterious appearance.
Neither did the Magi arriving in Bethlehem on the night
of Christ's birth, find the newborn Christ child in
the manger while the shepherds stood by. Yes, according
to Luke 2:16, the shepherds found a newly delivered babe
(in Greek, brephos, and in Aramaic, ula,).
However, the Magi arrived in Bethlehem over a year and
three months after Jesus' birth and found a young child,
(in Greek, paidion, and in Aramaic, talya).
They didnt find a newborn babe in a stable; the Magi
found a young child in a house. A child is referred to
as a young child as early as his circumcision (eight
days old, as in Luke 2:21) and as late as twelve years
of age (as in Luke 2:40 and Mark 5:39-43). Furthermore
Matthew does not mention shepherds being present.
Matthew 2:9:
When they had heard the king [Herod], they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went
before them, till it came and stood over where the young
child was.
As the Magi left Jerusalem,
they again saw the same star, Jupiter, which they had
seen in the rising. As they traveled south, the star went
before them, till it came and stood over Bethlehem. How
could his star so clearly point out Bethlehem to the
Magi and yet remain unnoticed to anyone else?
All the visible stars and planets appear to an
observer on earth to move westward during the course of
a night, similar to the motion of the sun during the day.
A star or planet will reach its highest point when it
arrives on the meridian, directly south of the observer
in the northern hemisphere. This is similar to the sun
when it reaches its highest point during the day about
noon, when it is on the same meridian as the observer.
From this point on, the sun begins to descend in the western
half of the sky. This is also what the stars do at night.
They stand when they reach the highest point, since
they are neither rising or falling at that time.
As the Magi left Jerusalem, they saw Jupiter on
its nightly course. Looking south they saw it high in
the sky, nearing its apex on the meridian of Jerusalem
and Bethlehem. As learned astronomers, they knew that
Jupiter would slowly progress to its meridian. Indeed,
as they traveled, they could see Jupiter slowly moving
in the direction of Bethlehem. The very star they had
seen in the rising, which had inspired their journey
to Judea, the star they had seen in so many notable configurations--the
king planet--was now confirming their destination by approaching
its meridian as they traveled towards it.
As the Magi approached Bethlehem, Jupiter finally
stood over the area of Bethlehem where the child was.
The time period in which the Magi traveled to Bethlehem
could only have been between December 4, 2 B.C., when
Jupiter could be seen in this position over Bethlehem,
and before January 9, 1 B.C., when the events surrounding
the death of Herod began. The words stood over do not
necessarily mean Jupiter stopped; they mean the star had
reached its highest point, or stood. In beholding his
star as it stood over Bethlehem, the Magi were thrilled
with unspeakable joy that they would soon find the one
they had come searching for, the promised seed, the king
of the Judeans whose star they had seen in the rising.
Matthew 2:9 and 10:
When they [the Magi] had heard the king [Herod], they
departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east
[in the rising], went before [Greek, proegen, went
or guided in front of] them, till it came and stood
[until having come, it stood[ over where the young child
was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding
great joy.
From this we see that the
Magi's journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem had to occur
when Jupiter was at its apex over Bethlehem. Obviously
that had to be between Jesus' birth on September 11, 3
B.C., and Herod's death some time prior to Passover in
April of 1 B.C. According to astronomical calculations,
Jupiter was not visible crossing the meridian, the high
point, over Bethlehem from September through November
of 2 B.C. During this time Jupiter was too close to the
sun to be visible when it reached that meridian. However,
by December 4 of 2 B.C., Jupiter became visible at the
meridian shortly before dawn. From December 4 until Herod's
death before the Passover on April 8, Jupiter continued
to visibly cross this meridian each night at a progressively
earlier time. However, the eclipse that shortly preceded
Herod's death occurred on January 9, 1 B.C. Thus, it was
sometime during this five-week period, from December 4,
2 B.C., to January 9, 1 B.C., that the Magi journeyed
from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and saw the star of Matthew
2:9. This would have made Jesus about 15 months old when
the Magi arrived. That is why, according to Matthew 2:16,
Herod chose to execute the children two years and under
based on the time of the star's rising, the time of which
he had learned from the Magi when he privately conferred
with them (Matthew 2:7).
If they were traveling in any direction other than
south, they could not have followed as the star went
before them. When they traveled south towards Bethlehem,
they saw the same star which they had observed previously
in their homeland. It was rising in its nightly course
towards the meridian over their destination, confirming
for them that they were going in the right direction to
find the child born a king. The star finally reached and
stood at its highest point on the meridian directly over
Bethlehem in the southern sky. The Magi rejoiced with
exceeding great joy for they recognized this as verification
of the child's whereabouts. They realized they were about
to find the child who was the king of the Judeans.
I think there is a very important message to note
here. It was not the brilliance of the star, but its significance
that caused such rejoicing. They had spent years anticipating
the coming of the promised seed, as Daniel had taught
them. However, their exceeding great joy was due to the
significance of what they understood to be transpiring.
This was not just any ordinary child. This was the Promised
Seed of the woman?written both, in the stars and in the
scriptures. When the heavens declared the glory of God,
it was to the child into whose presence they were about
to enter that they spoke.
They were about to seize the moment to meet the
one to whom all creation paid homage with homage of their
own. Matthew 2:1 declared that they had come to worship
him. That opportunity was about to be theirs, and they
could hardly wait. What made the moment so momentous and
significant for them is because they realized into whose
presence they were about to come. Both the heavens and
the scriptures lead them to this place in their lives
and they acknowledged how blessed they were. The Word
was alive and real to them, and it filled them with EXCEEDING
GREAT JOY. ( I pray that we enjoy the same joy as we experience
His Word living and real.)
Herod had directed them to Bethlehem because of
a scriptural prophecy in Micah 5:2. Now the star confirmed
this location by appearing directly before them as they
approached the city of David. Both Scripture and the heavens
were directing them.
The star did not indicate a specific house, as this is
astronomically impossible. The star simply confirmed that
Bethlehem was the village in which they would find the
king of the Judeans whom they sought. The Magi only
required a couple of hours to travel to Bethlehem from
Jerusalem. Upon arriving in Bethlehem, it would not have
been difficult for the Magi to find the child, for local
inhabitants would be aware of this special child born
in the area previously, since the shepherds had spread
the news of Christ's birth throughout the region. Thus
the Magi were able to locate the young king.
Matthew 2:11:
And when they were come into the house, they saw the
young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and
worshipped [paid homage to] him: and when they had opened
their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold,
and frankincense, and myrrh.
The Magi found the young
child in a house, not in a stable or in a manger. There
were no shepherds present. This was not the night Jesus
was born, but more than one year and three months later.
Upon finding the child, the Magi fell down before him
as a sign of utmost reverence to a king, the king of Israel
born in Judea. The Magi's gifts of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh were very precious and costly indeed, suitable
for giving to royalty. Also, that there were three gifts
given is no indication whatsoever that there were three
Magi. Although modern tradition consistently depicts three
Magi, this is guesswork and has no scriptural verification.
However, Im sure that these precious gift were
helpful because Joseph, Mary, and the baby would soon
be off to Egypt at Gods direction. Not only had God given
Joseph warning to protect the child, but He also provided
the wherewithal to do so in the form of the magis gifts.
Gods story of redemption written in the stars
had been realized. Are you aware of its significance?
Are you humbled by whose presence you may enter at any
time? The Word living and real makes life really, worth
living.
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