When the Apostle Paul spoke to the Grecian pagans in Athens, he told them that God is not too far away from people and that each person should search for Him with all their might. He met their desire by leading them to Jesus Christ via the star that shined brightly at the birth of Christ. They lived in the midst of a pagan people, in the midst of idol worship, yet they wanted to know the true God and were seeking after Him.
the writers at wikipedia)įrom the text that we read earlier,there is one thing that is clear these “magi” were seeking the true God. We cannot generalize and say that the magi in the Gospel of Matthew were astrologers or readers of the stars as many often do (i.e. In a general sense, this was the name given to the wise men, the philosophers of the day. This was the name given by the Babylonians (Chaldeans), Medes, Persians, and other Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asian countries to the wise men of their day such as professors, priests, doctors, astrologers, fortune tellers, dream interpreters, clairvoyants, magicians, etc. The word translated into English as “magi” (plural of magus) comes from the Greek word μάγος (magos). And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went their way and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea for this is what has been written by the prophet : ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’ ” Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews ? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. It is important that we understand the meaning of the word “ magi” from the text where it is used in the Gospel according to Matthew. How do I respond to this type of question? The magi were the wise men of their era who searched for Jesus Some claim that this is a contradiction in the Bible because forbids reading the stars in one place and then uses reading the stars to lead people to Jesus.
God used the “star” to lead the wise men to Jesus and protect Him as well. The question was about the birth of Jesus Christ. I heard a rebuttal to this that made me think. I felt the need to share with them the truth of what the Bible says about reading the stars (astrology, horoscopes, etc), that it is a sin and not allowed by God (at least that is what I have seen from the Bible). I have met people who claim that they are Christians yet at the same time have a passion for “ astrology”.
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