Matthew 2:1 says, Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, After the birth of Jesus, which occurred during the reign of Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem seeking Jesus. They came to the rulers seeking Jesus, but Jesus was not born to be an earthly ruler. I sometimes read the names of the wise men, but have yet to find their names recorded in the Bible. Verse two adds, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. The wise men asked where they could find the One born to be King of the Jews so that they could worship Him. They said that they came because they had seen His star. This was probably quite a shock to Herod. When we seek Jesus, we should not go to leaders of the world to find Him, but should simply look to God to reveal Him to us. Verse three declares, When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Herod was troubled by this revelation of a new King of the Jews, and we are told all of Jerusalem was troubled with him. These were the people who were supposed to be God's people, and they were troubled by the wise men from another country announcing the birth of One Who was to be the King of the Jews. We as followers of Christ should make sure that we are following God and not just the leaders of the world. Verse four adds, And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. Herod gathered all the chief priests and scribes together and demanded to know where Christ, the awaited Messiah was to be born. At least Herod looked to the religious leaders, but Jesus' birth was not announced to the religious leaders, which says something about them I believe. We as Christians today have the responsibility of proclaiming Jesus Christ to the world, but if we fail, God will still reveal Him. Verse five says, And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, Then verse six adds, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. The chief priests and scribes at least knew what the scripture said, and told Herod that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. Of course, knowing scripture does not mean that a person has a relationship with God. Verse seven declares, Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. Herod called the wise men privately to ask when the star appeared. We are not told a specific time frame here, but know that Herod was not asking in order to worship Christ, which is why he called the wise men privately. Verse eight continues, And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. Herod gave the wise men a mission, and that was to go to Bethlehem, find the young Child, and come back and tell him where He was so that he could go and worship Him. Like Herod, not everyone who professes to seek Jesus to worship Him really want to do so. Verse nine declares, When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. After the wise men left Herod, the star guided them to where Jesus, the young Child, was. This was probably not the day Jesus was born, but possibly up to two years later. I don't believe that we can say that for certain, but based on the time the wise men were following the star, we now usually say that it was when Jesus was about two years old. I personally do not believe that His age at that time is important, but the fact that God led the wise men to Him is. It is not important how long it takes a person to come to Jesus today, but is only important that he or she comes to Jesus in faith to accept Him as Savior and Lord. Verse ten adds, When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. When the wise men saw the star again, the rejoiced, since it was leading them to Jesus. However we are lead to Jesus today, we should rejoice that God has led us there. Verse eleven states, And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. When they found Jesus and His mother Mary, they fell down and worshipped Jesus, but not Mary. Some people basically worship Mary today, but this was never God's intention. The wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and because there are three gifts listed, we usually say that there were three wise men, but we are not really told this in the Bible. When we come to Jesus, accepting Him as our personal Savior and Lord, then we should bring to Him all that we are and have. We should live under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. and worship God in all that we do. Verse twelve declares, And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. God warned the wise men to not return to Herod, so they went back to their country another way. They obeyed God and not Herod, just as we today must obey God above all earthly rulers if we are followers of Christ and the earthly rulers are doing anything that is against God.
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