What does scripture say?

• What is a wise man?
  • Context is everything
  • In New Testament, Greek “Magos”
  • Can mean magician, astronomer, scientist, doctor, etc.
  • True meaning usually derived from text
  • Acts 13:6 – Bar-Jesus (Elymas)
• Hebrew “Chakam”
  • Wise men – 124 times
  • Cunning – 10 times
  • Unwise – 2 times
  • Wiser – 2 times
  • Subtle (shrewd) – 1 time
  • Not the same as sorcerer (Kashaph) or magician (chartom)

Wise men in Old Testament

• Pharaohs had wise men AND sorcerers
  • Genesis 41:8
  • Exodus 7:11
• Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men – Daniel 2:2
  • Magicians – occult knowledge
  • Sorcerers
  • Conjurers – astrologers
  • Chaldeans – smartest people in the land (compare Bohemian)
• There were men who were wise
  • Their virtues were extolled
  • Deuteronomy 1:13-15
  • Proverbs 13:20; 29:8

Wisdom in the New Testament

• Compared to foolish – Matthew 7:24-27
• Their wisdom compared to God’s majesty – Romans 1:20-23
• Wisdom desirable for a Christian – Romans 16:19; Ephesians 5:15
• But not in one’s own eyes – Romans 11:25
• Not in the wisdom of this world – I Corinthians 1:20

What about the magi?

• Translations divided between “magi” and “wise men”
  • Transliteration versus translation
  • Selection of “wise men” over other possibilities
  • Dodging the issue by transliteration
    • Similar to “baptism”
• What happened
  • Matthew 2:1-12
    • Matthew 2:6 – This is a quote from Micah 5:2.
  • Took place “… after Jesus was born in Bethlehem …”
    • Not the night of His birth
    • Wise men from “the East”
      • Likely Persia (Iran)
      • One-way trip of 800-900 miles
      • Daniel 9:24-27
        • Written in Persia
        • Timeline given
      • Balaam’s prophecy? Numbers 24:17
    • Were they Jews?
      • Many had remained after the captivity
      • At the time, outnumbered Jews in Judea
      • “His star” was their signal of the event
  • Went to Jerusalem
    • Began inquiring whereabouts of Jesus
    • Stated intent to worship Him
    • Herod’s trouble
    • Scribes and priests understood prophecy of Micah
    • Herod got the timing of Jesus’ birth from appearance of star
    • Herod’s lie – intent to worship
    • Wise men go, find, give, worship
      • Star indicated where Jesus was
      • They rejoiced
      • Three gifts or gifts of three things?
        • Gold
          • Valuable, could fund journey to Egypt
          • Representative of royalty, divinity
        • Frankincense
          • Sap from the Boswellia tree – Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, South Africa, India
          • Also valuable in trade
          • Used in offerings (see Leviticus 2:1-2 – grain offerings)
          • Exodus 30:34 – Kept in the testimony of the tabernacle
          • Symbolic of Jesus as high priest?
        • Myrrh
          • Sap of Commiphora tree
          • Purification ritual – Esther 2:12
          • Anointing tabernacle, high priests, kings
          • Bitter taste – Mark 15:23
          • Embalming – John 19:39-40
      • Aided in Jesus’ escape
    • How did they know not to go back to Herod?
    • Herod’s subsequence action – Matthew 2:16-18

What can we say about the wise men?

• Read, understood, believed God’s word
• Sought Jesus – despite great effort involved
• Saw Him as God – to be humbly worshipped
• Saw Him as valuable – opened their treasures to Him
• In conflict of commands – Herod and God
• Chose to obey God