Matthew 2:1

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

During the reign of Herod the king, Jesus was born. We read in the Gospel of Matthew that wise men from the East came to Jerusalem. Why were they called the ‘wise men’? In Greek the wise men is translated to magos. This is where we see the term Magi. It means either a magician, or a sorcerer or even a wizard.

In the Book of Genesis and Exodus, we read that the Pharoah consulted with the magicians, sorcerers and the wise men to understand his dreams and to play against Moses using the serpents.

The wise men indeed were smart and since the Bible says they traveled from the East, it could mean that they were either from Iran or Iraq regions. Some even speculate that they were Zoroastrian priests who were known for their skills in interpreting the night sky, and were considered to be astrologers. 

God allowed a star to help them track their way to the Savior of the world. According to their calculations these men traveled for a long time and planned ahead of time to reach their destination. Perhaps a lot of research was put in to accomplish this task. One thing we all must grasp is that these wise men were coming to worship the new born King.

In order for them to see this King Jesus, they had to plan way ahead of time. That means they had to first sketch how they would go about and how many days will it take to travel. In those days and even now, traveling between these places will be in the extremities of hot weather or bone chilling cold weather. Because most of the land is arid.

These men were called the Magi, because they prepared well in advance and even though it was treacherous they traveled because of one goal and that it is to worship God. They traveled with gifts to surrender it to the new born Jesus Christ. The lesson learned in this is that when we want to be in the presence of Christ we have to plan ahead of time.

We need to enter into His presence with discipline and we need to visit Him with the haste to worship Him only and not with any other motives. As a born again believer we need to carry the gifts that He has lavished upon us and surrender it to Him at His Feet.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!