1. Wise men from the East
Matthew 2:1-12

2. Matthew 2: Were they Persians?
1
Now after Jesus was
born in Bethlehem of
Judea in the days of
Herod the king,
behold, wise
[μάγοι]
men
Ancient Greek: μάγος mag
os; Old Persian: maguš;
Persian: mogh;
Kurdish: manji
…terms used since at least
the 6th century BC for
followers of Zoroaster.
NT Greek and later:
magician, astrologer,
alchemist.

3. Matthew 2: Were they Chaldeans?
from the East
came
to Jerusalem,
Daniel 2
1 Now in the second year of
Nebuchadnezzar’s reign,
Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and
his spirit was so troubled that his
sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave
the command to call the
magicians, the astrologers,
the sorcerers, and the
Chaldeans to tell the king his
dreams. So they came and stood
before the king. 3 And the king said
to them, “I have had a dream, and
my spirit is anxious to know the
dream.”

4. Daniel 5: Regime change
30 That
very night Belshazzar, king of the
Chaldeans, was slain. 31 And Darius the
Mede received the kingdom, being about sixtytwo years old.

5. Matthew 2: divination!
forbidde
Genesis 1:14
2 saying, “Where is
Then God said, “Let there be lights in
n
the …heavens to divide the day from
He who has been
born King
of the
Jews? For we have
seen His star in
the East and have
come to worship
Him.”
the night; and let them be for signs
and seasons, and for days and years;
Deuteronomy 18:10-14
There shall not be
found among
you anyone…who practices
witchcraft, or a
soothsayer, or one
who interprets omens,
10
or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures
spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or
one who calls up the dead.

6. Numbers 24: Balaam’s prophecy
Edom
17 “I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near; knew
A
Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult.

7. Exiled Prophets
Ezekiel Medes/Persians and
Daniel Babylonians/Assyrians
knew.
Most Jews are not
Palestinians.

8. Matthew 2: Herod knew [1]
3 When
Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief
priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them
where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is
written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

9. Matthew 2: Herod knew [2]
7 Then
Herod, when he had secretly called the
wise men, determined from them what time the
star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem
and said, “Go and search carefully for the young
Child, and when you have found Him, bring back
word to me, that I may come and worship Him
also.”

10. Matthew 2: What was the star?
9 When
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. 10 When they saw the
star, they rejoiced with
exceedingly great joy.
Star cannot be
identified with
any certainty.
Appears to be
utterly
supernatural
event.

11. Matthew 2: Strange gifts for a
toddler!
11 And
when they had come into
the house, they saw the young
Child with Mary His mother, and
fell down and
worshiped Him.
Magi really
knew

12. Matthew 2: Strange gifts for a
toddler!
And when they had opened
their treasures, they
presented gifts to Him:
gold,
frankincense, and
myrrh.
Young child not
baby.
House not manger.
No Joseph.
Gold  King?
Frankincense 
Priest
Myrhh  death!

13. Matthew 2
12 Then,
being
divinely
warned in a dream that they
should not return to Herod, they
departed for their own country
another way.

14. magi =
wise men?

15. Your response?
Wise man or
Herod or
rabble?