Advent - God Knows What He's AboutSample

Wise Men from the East  

Wise men, kings, magi, astrologers. Who were these guys who traveled a very long way to see “the King of the Jews”? The truth is, we really don’t know. Only Matthew tells us about them and he doesn’t tell us much. Most of us envision three guys with camels bearing odd gifts in a manger scene. That picture dates from well after the event, though.

What motivated a group of guys living a long way from Jerusalem to pack their bags, find some treasure, and travel possibly more than a year to celebrate the birth of a baby? There is no way for us to know for sure, but there had to be stories in the East. God’s people had been held in captivity and had insisted on talking about God’s activity in the world. There were hints of a king who would deliver His people. Perhaps they had heard those whispers. That still may not explain why they saw a random star, even a big one, as evidence of that event, but it may give us some idea why they were looking.

When we talk about the wise men, we usually focus on the number of them and the gifts they bring (who brings a little boy perfume?). Another question interests me here. If I were editing Matthew’s gospel for him, my question would be, “so Matt, what happened to these guys?” Did they go home and talk about this king they had met? Did they ever come back to hear Him preach? Did they hear His message in that far away land and choose to follow Him? We can’t know, but it is hard to believe God would abandon a group of guys who went out of their way to worship Jesus.

The story of the Wise Men reminds us that God is working ahead of us. Christmas reminds us that God continues to work to bring all people home. In God’s good grace, we can join that work wherever we might be.

Dr. Marty McMahone
McBryde Professor, McLane College of Business, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor