Matthew’s account of the arrival of the Magi is intriguing in many ways. For some, it has almost become part of the “once upon a time” character of the nativity story. But these were real historical figures whom we are certain to meet in heaven when that will have become our mutual eternal home. And this was a real historical event which was at the heart of the gospel itself. Matthew is the only one who chose (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) to include these Magi in the narrative. His is the Gospel written especially for the Jews, so how marvelous to read how he chose to tell them that the birth of their King was welcomed by these influential men (though probably not kings) from the East, and how they bowed down before Him to worship Him.
We often ask questions about the Magi that the Bible doesn’t answer. Who exactly were they? What was their home country? How did they know about this? Were they astrologists? What was this star? Did it actually move? How did they travel 800 miles across the desert? Were they riding on camels, wearing robes and turbans, balancing gift containers on their laps? How did their “escape” evade Herod’s spies, and why didn’t he send soldiers to chase them down? Obviously we do not need to know the answers to those questions, because the Holy Spirit has not chosen to provide such details. Our focus needs to be on the Spirit’s intent. As Alistair Begg has said, in places like this in the Bible “the main things are the plain things.”
The main thing here is the reason for their coming, and what they did when they arrived. They came at the prompting of the Lord to show for all time that the appropriate response to the birth of Jesus is to bow in worship before Him, even in in His incarnate infancy! We do get a couple of significant hints about their identity from the Scripture text. They are called “Magi,” which in Latin referred to someone from Persia from the priestly class of those who sought wisdom from the heavens. It might also be translated as a sage, pointing to great wisdom. That word should not be confused with the English word “magician.” There is something supernatural here, but it is divine wisdom and power, not human magic trickery. And neither should we imagine them to have any similarity to the astrologers of our day, who practice a semi-occultic trade that has its roots in connections with Satan and the dead. The fact that they were interpreting signs in the heavens suggests that they had some sense that matters on earth were affected by powers above. Of course we know that power to be a person, the sovereign God of the universe.
And how is it that they were scouring the heavens, expecting some sign from a star? Even Herod’s counselors had some knowledge of this, as they searched the scriptures and reported back to Herod that they had found this in Numbers 24:17. “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.” We can understand how Jewish scholars in Israel would have known of this passage, but how would it have been known to Magi in Persia? The most likely answer is that this prophecy could have been taught by Daniel during the years he was there, and then passed on down through the ages, guarded by the Holy Spirit, and then brought to their attention at the perfect moment in history.
Since we commonly (and appropriately) call them “wise men,” they are a model for us to seek the wisdom that would lead us to bow before the royal majesty of this heavenly King. We find that it the common phrase at Christmastime, “Wise men still seek Him.” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:25-30 that the wisdom of God is foolishness to men. But this wisdom from above enables us to recognize that we are sinners, helplessly enslaved in our sinful nature and condemned to suffer the eternal, infinite wrath of a holy God. And that wisdom from above leads us to see in Jesus the perfect Lamb of God as our substitute, offering Himself as a vicarious sacrifice to achieve propitiation and therefore forgiveness and eternal life. What could be wiser for any human being than that?!
Here is a fine, but not so well-known, hymn that focuses on the wisdom of the wise men who came to look for wisdom: “Wise Men, They Came to Look for Wisdom.” It was written by the British hymn-writer, Christopher Martin Idle who was born in 1938 in Bromley, Kent. He was educated at Elthan College, St. Peter’s College, Oxford, and Clifton Theological College in Bristol, and was ordained in the Church of England. He served churches in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria; London; and Oakley, Suffolk; and later returned to London, where he was involved in various hymnal projects.
In 1963 he married Marjorie who was then studying nursing. Four sons followed, now married, and there are twelve grandchildren. Chris ministered for thirty years in Anglican parishes in Cumbria, London and Suffolk. A second spell of parish and schools ministry in Peckham, SE London, ended soon after Marjorie’s death in 2003. Chris retired to a bungalow in Bromley, then in 2013 moved to a high-rise flat in Herne Hill, not far from his eldest son Timothy. He joined Grace Church Dulwich and also St Paul’s, Herne Hill.
A prolific author of articles on the Christian’s public responsibilities, Idle has also published “The Lion Book of Favorite Hymns”(1980) and at least one hundred of his own hymns and biblical paraphrases. Some of his texts first appeared in hymnals published by the Jubilate Group, with which he has been associated. He was also editor of “Anglican Praise” (1987). In 1998 Hope Publishing released “Light Upon the River,” a collection of 279 of his psalm and hymn texts, along with suggested tunes, scripture references, and commentary.
Stanza1 focuses on wisdom as a primary attribute of God, marvelously present in the Lord Jesus. It took divine wisdom to work out a plan of redemption to save guilty sinners without violating the justice and righteousness of God, who cannot let the guilty go unpunished (Exodus 34:7). The Magi were probably some of the wisest men of their generation. How well Idle has expressed it, that as they were looking for wisdom, they found “one wiser than they knew.” Based on the value of their gifts, it’s logical to assume they were quite wealthy. And again, how well Idle has written that though they were rich men, “they met with one yet richer. And the stanza concludes with that powerful combination of traits, that Jesus is “our wisdom from above, wealth and redemption, life and love.”
Wise men, they came to look for wisdom, finding one wiser than they knew;
rich men, they met with one yet richer, King of the kings, they knelt to you:
Jesus, our wisdom from above, wealth and redemption, life and love.
Stanza 2 focuses on the contrast between men “from unknown countries” searching for “one who knows the world,” the contrast between the words “unknown” and “knows.” We don’t know the names of these pilgrims or the names of the countries from which they came, but we know the name of the one they found! His name is Jesus. They are not as famous as the child to whom their zeal led them. The concluding contrasts are between “lost” and “aliens” on the one hand, and between “claimed” and “found” on the other.
Pilgrims they were, from unknown countries searching for one who knows the world;
lost are their names, and strange their journeys, famed is their zeal to find the child:
Jesus, in You the lost are claimed, aliens are found, and known, and named.
Stanza 3 focuses on the ideas of brilliance and glory that radiate from the Lord. We see it in words like “splendor,” “star,” “light,” and “shine.” It was a star that led them to the “supreme” light, to the Lord of glory. Idle changes the imagery slightly to look away from the light in the heavens that led the Magi, to the Light of the World who we now pray will shine on our paths.
Magi, they stooped to see Your splendor, led by a star to light supreme;
promised Messiah, Lord eternal, glory and peace are in Your name.
Joy of each day, our Song by night, shine on our path your holy light.
Stanza 4 focuses on the treasures the Magi brought as gifts for the Christ child. We are surprised and delighted by Idle’s description of them as “guests of their God,” perhaps suggesting that the Lord was inviting them through the star, and so they accepted His invitation and came as His “guests.” The text reminds us that the infant Jesus was too young to ask, or even think, about these gifts. And then Idle once more introduces another insightful literary observation as we sing that Jesus Himself is the greatest gift, a gift “beyond price of gold or gem.” We conclude with our prayer to Jesus that He would make us His Bethlehem, to be born in us.
Guests of their God, they opened treasures, incense and gold and solemn myrrh;
welcoming one too young to question how came these gifts, and what they were.
Gift beyond price of gold or gem, make among us Your Bethlehem.
Words © 1981 The Jubilate Group (admin. Hope Publishing Company)
The text is sung to the tune NEUMARK, composed by Georg Neumark (1621-1681) who lived during the time of the Thirty Years’ War, when social and economic conditions were deplorable. He had personal trials as well. On his way to Königsberg to study at the university, traveling in the comparative safety of a group of merchants, he was robbed of nearly all his possessions by a band of highwaymen, leaving only his prayer book and a little money he had sewn up in the clothes he was wearing. During the next two years he spent much of his time looking for employment. He finally secured a tutoring position in Kiel. When he had saved enough money, he returned to the University of Königsberg and studied there for five years. In Königsberg he again lost all his belongings, this time in a fire. Despite his personal suffering Neumark wrote many hymns in which he expressed his absolute trust in God. In 1651 he settled in Weimar, Thuringia, where he became court poet and archivist to Duke Johann Ernst and librarian and registrar of the city. Neumark wrote thirty-four hymns, of which “If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee” has become a classic.
This beautiful melody by Neumark was probably composed in 1641 along with the hymn, “If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee,” and was published with it in 1657. Johann Sebastian Bach composed a cantata based on the chorale. It is well known in England through its use by Mendelssohn in his oratorio “St. Paul” (“To Thee, O Lord, I yield my spirit”), and from its introduction into “Hymns Ancient & Modern,” along with many other collections.
Here is a recording of Idle’s words to Neumark’s music.