Matthew’s interest in Herold - Luke, ever the
marker of time, mentions Herod but once in the infancy narratives, and then only as a
chronological footnote: “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest
named Zechariah . . .” (1:5). Both Mark and John are silent about Herod. But Matthew
devotes considerable space in his story for Herod. He tells us, for instance, that Herod
was terrified concerning the question that the magi brought from the East. We see the
king’s subterfuge in his reason for requesting the magi to reveal the child’s
location: “that I too may come and worship him.” Matthew continues the story
about the Holy family’s flight into Egypt, and Herod’s murderous
slaughter-revenge of the innocents.
wise men from the east” -- who were these men? Do they underscore
Paul’s new paradigm of “this gospel [of which ] I have become a servant
according to the gift of God’s grace?” Does Matthew, right from the beginning
give us an inkling that the gospel extends beyond the boundaries of religion and
ethnicity?
nib- Matthew’s star is certainly a miraculous phenomenon,
orchestrated by God...The star forms something of a hermeneutical bridge, binding together
pagan astrological hopes and Jewish biblical promises. The traditional use of this
text as a reading for the Epiphany of the Lord underscores the truth that Jesus is
God’s revelation to the whole world. The magi are Gentiles in the extreme, characters
who could not be more remote from the Jewish citizens of Jerusalem in heritage and
worldview. Even at the very beginning of Jesus’ life, then , we see the dividing
walls between races and cultures breaking down. Even here, at the beginning of the Gospel,
the mission to all nations, which will close the Gospel (28:19), is anticipated. [1]
NAMELESS STRANGERS -- According to Douglas Hare, our primary actors in
this story--the magi--conjure up several potential meanings: 1) a group of magicians or
conjurers (as in Acts 13:6, 8) which becomes the predominant meaning of magoi in
later Christian literature; 2) Magians--a Zoroastrian priestly caste from Persia; and 3)
astrologers; most prefer the third possibility simply because the practice of astrology
was an eastern occupation--including the observation of the stars.
CHROMATIUS
[FL 150-215] -- How
inexpressible is the mystery of his divine honor! The Son of God, who is God of the
universe, is born a human being in the flesh. He permits himself to be placed in a manger,
and the heavens are within the manger. [2]
Could
the visit of the magi be symbolic of the divine preparation required for the coming of a
Jewish King? What do we do with the pre-Christian prophet-like magi? Do the
magi cause us to draw the circle of God's kingdom a little wider?
Where do our modern Herod's live? Persons in power who have signed the papers that
order the destruction of mothers, fathers, children, and/or infants? What can the church
do to oppose such power-yielding agents and institutions?
What does the star represent? May we interpret it as God's activity in the world
even before salvation? for Methodists, perhaps this text lends itself to explain
John Wesley's concept of "prevenient" grace?
You might want to walk through this well-known story in a way that throws some
light on Matthew’s luminous narrative. The bullets which follow offer suggestions.
Matthew’s magi story remains a beautiful yet strange story unique
to the matthean gospel. Let’s take a closer look at this unique narrative to view the
internal dynamics that make this story immortal. Matthew’s beginning—the
genealogical list for continuity and pedigree and the "scandal" surrounding the
birth of Jesus Christ–has been timeless and placeless. With the introduction of the
magi in verse one, Matthew now brings us into historical and temporal perspective: in the
time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea.
Typical of Matthew’s characters, the magi begin with the interrogative, where?
(Notice Herod’s similar beginning in verse four.) The NIB sees theology going on with
such beginnings. If the question of biblical prophetic accuracy is at stake and Jesus is
presumed to come from Nazareth, then the where question helps to set up an appeal to Jesus
actually being born in Bethlehem—not Nazareth— as the prophecy of Micah (5:2)
declares.
The magi’s king of the Jews title in their where-question reminds the reader that
Jesus comes from the long line of Davidic dynasty and promises; the fact that they come
from the lips of non-Jewish magi underscores the rancor and conflict between the Gentile
and Jewish kingdom which will dominate Matthew’s gospel. [3]
The Magi 2:1, 2:7
(rendered "astrologers," "sages," "wise ones," even
"magicians," or "sorcerers," Acts 13:6,8). The word has a history that
gets mentioned in numerous extrabiblical sources, including Herodotus. What is clear is
that magi have nothing to do with "kings" which was later appended to the story
based on Psalm 72:10-11 and Isaiah 60:3. We also know that the term referred to a priestly
caste of Persian or Babylonian experts in the occult, such as astrology and dream
interpretation. Perhaps Matthew’s theological reasons for inclusion of the story is
that Gentiles who, though they don’t have the light of the Torah, nonetheless come to
the right place at the right time following the light that they do have. [4]
