What Can I Give Him?

Cliff Loesch
January 6, 2007
Matthew 2:1-12
What Can I Give Him?

     There is a story in Matthew about a group of unlikely visitors that showed up in Bethlehem sometime after Jesus was born. Their presence was not expected. How they knew what was happening and when it was happening is still a mystery. Their arrival also shook things up-to the very top. Matthew tells us that King Herod was frightened by their arrival. And certainly these unusual visitors had their own religion (in fact they were probably priests of their own religion) so why were they so interested in Jesus that they would take such a long and expensive pilgrimage to come and pay homage?

     The first thing I have to say is that it is not possible to conclusively discover all the information that we would really like to know. For this specific journey, a few verses in Matthew are simply all we have. But we can learn more about these people called the "Magi" from numerous other sources.

     The Magi were a priestly group of people originally associated with the Medes-and the Medes were from the area that we now call Iran. But in the Old Testament book of Daniel, we also find what very well might be the Magi located in Babylon-over in what we now call Iraq. Ancient Babylon was about 50 miles south of the city of Baghdad. And in the book of Daniel, people called magicians, diviners, and conjurers keep showing up. Some speculate that these could have been some of the Magi from the East. So the Babylonian Empire not only brought in people from Israel (which was to their west) but also possibly Magi (from the region to their east). And Daniel lived in this diverse environment. (For the idea of Magi in Babylon, see http://www.biblebb.com/files/mac/sg2182.htm)

     Daniel, I have to say, needs further study (on my part at least) because looking at him in this way makes him more intriguing than ever. Here was a man who was known and respected by foreign kings, and who rose to a level of importance in that foreign empire. He was not without his enemies, of course. You do recall, I'm sure, the story of the lion's den. But even there, we note that the king of Babylon, himself, expressed his belief that Daniel's God would deliver him. Daniel also coexisted with priests and practitioners of various other religions-including the Magi from the East. Part of the time he even served as the chief of the Magi in Babylon. This is amazing if you think about it-for Daniel to be in such a position. All the while, of course, Daniel did not compromise his own beliefs and the practice of his faith-even if it put his own life in danger. Yet he managed to work alongside others and even thrive in a diverse, religious environment. His coexistence with others in that environment is really amazing and worth further reflection. But if indeed these were Magi who were living there in Babylon, one can also see that during this time period the Magi would have become exposed to Daniel's beliefs. And they would likely have become acquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures and would have heard about the prophecies of a coming Messiah.

     According to this scenario I'm presenting today, a few centuries pass, and back home in Persia (or what we now call Iran) the Magi are still thinking about those Hebrew Scriptures. They maintain their own religious practices, of course. And also (following their experience in Babylon) one king of Persia wanted to make the religion, Zoroastrianism, the national religion. The Magi, no doubt, either adopted this religion or aspects of it-which accounts in part for their emphasis on astrology.

     And they saw something happen in the night sky that, to them, indicated something big was happening back to the west. Is it possible, because of contact with Daniel centuries earlier, that they recognized it might be the birth of the messiah predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures?

     I have to add that the Magi were not simply some isolated religious group on the fringes of their society. They were actually the learned people of the country. They were, in fact, the king makers. John MacArthur says, "[The] Medo-Persian Empire was able to control essentially the entire known world of the Orient. These powerful men, then, [the Magi] were not only responsible for training every monarch in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, natural history, agriculture, architecture, and so on, in much the same way as "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" (Ac. 7:22), but they were also responsible for the actual selection of kings and judges, who served to counterbalance one another. All nobility was raised by these king-makers, and no one ruled at all apart from them." (http://www.biblebb.com/files/mac/sg2182.htm)

     So the Magi were powerful people and very much a part of the political establishment. And when they showed up in Jerusalem, no wonder Herod was nervous. Why would a king get upset about a few religious fanatics on a little pilgrimage? Why would a king even notice such a thing? But these were no ordinary pilgrims. They were powerful people. They were king-makers. From Persia. What were they doing here?

     John MacArthur says that some historians estimate that there were likely a thousand mounted Persian cavalrymen accompanying the Magi. [ibid.] No wonder Herod was frightened. His own little army was gone at the moment. And here was this delegation from the East at his door-these king-makers-looking for a new king. It begins to make a little more sense why Herod was frightened. From Herod's point of view, there weren't any positive scenarios. An invasion of Israel was one fear, no doubt. But Israel was already controlled by the Roman Empire. Were the Persians looking to engage the Romans? Nobody in Israel would have been sad about that. But the thought of being ground zero for such a conflict certainly could not have sounded too inviting.

     The stories surrounding the birth of Christ are intended to convey many things. There were the angelic announcements to the shepherds. The job of being a shepherd, as you may know, was just about the lowest job you could have in their society. The appearance of angels shows God's deep interest in the lowliest of people in our world. It is very significant the way this announcement was given specifically to shepherds and how shepherds were invited to share in the joy of Jesus' birth. The inclusion of the shepherds reveals Christ as a servant to all.

     But this appearance of the Magi is also important. Not only has Christ come to be good news to the poor, but Christ's presence will also shake up this world to the very highest levels. Kings tremble. The appearance of the Magi-the worship they give and the gifts they offer-shows the importance of Christ. In fact the presence of these "king-makers" reveals Christ as king.

     Indeed the presence of the Magi says many things: it says that Christ came not for the poor alone, but also for the rich and powerful; and Christ came not to bless one nation or one group alone, but to reach out to the remotest parts of the earth. I just can't stop thinking about how unusual it seems that men from a far-off land and of another religion would come and pay homage and bring gifts to Jesus. But to me this shows that God is already at work all over our world and in ways and places that might surprise us. Indeed, rather than criticizing and condemning other cultures and nations as we are sometimes quick to do, perhaps we should begin to look for the ways God might already be active and at work in those places.

     The journey itself is amazing. How long would it take? How much would it cost? It seems way too expensive, and too extravagant, to take the time to organize such a journey and find ways to pay for it. Why would a group of foreigners choose to do this? I really can't think of any logical explanations for this. But this unexplainable extravagance does have a message-that Christ is worthy of giving our all, and to seek Christ is a worthy pursuit.
Yes, God reaches out to all in Christ. And like the Magi-may we come from wherever we are to give honor and worship. The final verse of Christina Rosetti's famous poem, In the Bleak Midwinter, says:

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.