Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
9When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Behind the Words
The words “wise men” are translated from the Greek magos, which refers to a priest or wise man among the Medes, Persians and Babylonians. In Daniel 2:48 you will find that Daniel was made the leader of the magi. It is believed by some that these magi were following a prophesy of Daniel which predicted the birth of the king of the Jews.
The expression “rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” loses its effect in English, because we tend to read it as “they were glad.” However, it is much more than that. It is translated from the Greek echarēsan charan megalēn sphodra. Echarēsan is the verb form of charis, which means “delight or joy.” The verb form means to express that joy, hence, “rejoice.” The next word, charan is a form of charis. When Greek repeats a word in both verb and noun form it implies intensity. In English we would say, they joyfully rejoiced. The next word, megalēn is a form of megas, meaning “large” or “great.” Here it is describing charis, so it is saying “they joyfully rejoiced greatly.” Finally, the word sphodra, means “to a high degree.” Putting this all together we see that the text says, “they joyfully rejoiced exceedingly greatly.” It expresses the utmost in joyful exuberance!
Meaning Explained
Most nativity scenes show three kings offering gifts to the Christ child who is lying in a manger surrounded by the stable animals. However, a careful examination of the text along with Luke 2:21, 22 and Leviticus 12:1-8, reveals that Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem for at least 40 days after Jesus’ birth in order to fulfill the law. If Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with the Christ child immediately after the Magi departed, there wouldn’t have been time for the purification, if the Magi came to the stable.
Also, note that verse eleven says “when they (the Magi) had come into the house …” The word translated “house” is oikos, which refers to the family dwelling place and is never used in reference to a stable. Finally, the word translated young Child in verse eleven is not the word that means “new born infant,” it simply means “baby.”
Application
Many of the things we think we know about these magi are, in fact, either speculation or downright untrue. We don’t know if they were kings (they probably weren’t). We don’t know how many of them there were. We don’t know their names! And, they didn’t come to the stable! But we do know that they were seeking a prophetically foretold king of the Jews and that they got incredibly excited when they knew they were about to come into His presence.
Is this how you view the Child who came into this world to die for your sins? Is this how you view God?
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2008 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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