Magi and Herod: Journey Home

Magi and Herod
Journey Home
December 1/2, 2007
Digging Deeper (Questions are on the last page)
Journey Home: Magi and Herod
(Robert Ismon Brown)

Study Notes
Key Scripture Text: Matthew 2:1-12

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Introduction
Scarcely a month after his conversion to the Christian faith, T.S. Eliot penned the words of his poem, "Journey of The Magi", containing the words "A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey…". Erudite literary critics have analyzed Eliot's intent, focusing on his conversion. The poem is available in Appendix 1 at the end of these Background Notes. You are encouraged to read it. Common to Eliot's craft was his use of dramatic monologue, and in this case, he uses it to speak directly to the reader. The poet finds irony in his journey, one filled with difficulty and occasional disappointment. Upon arriving he wonders aloud, "were we led all that way for Birth or Death?" His own encounter with the real Jesus brought to an end his old spiritual world rooted in Eastern thought. Early on he had studied Buddhism. Appropriately, Eliot's coming to Christ and his baptism marked the passing of the "old dispensation" where "an alien people" were "clutching their gods". The arrival to the Christ child was "not a moment too soon", and, writes Eliot, he found the place "satisfactory". Powerful symbols surround the journey: "three trees on a low sky", "empty wineskins", "dead of winter", "cities hostile and towns unfriendly", and the "temperate valley…smelling of vegetation". So as to hinder the travelers, there were "voices singing in our ears, saying that this was all folly." His last stanza begins, "All this was a long time ago, I remember, and I would do it again…" Again, indeed. For Eliot this was not merely the Magi's journey, it was his as well. And though the poem is not a polished piece of theology (how could it be, Eliot had just begun his own journey), the intimations for a solitary life extend far beyond the poet's. "Journey of the Magi" won't likely be found on a Hallmark card. Traveling from "the East" to meet the Christ child is also a "long journey" for solitary souls living in the 21st century.

Admittedly, Eliot wrote his poem at the beginning of his Christian experience. We can hardly fault him for the gloomy moody which hangs over much of it. This was all new to him, and it left him feeling terribly out of place in the world where he began his life. Nothing felt the same anymore. On returning to the East, the magi no longer see their landscape in the same way. Almost sarcastically, they speak about returning to "our places", "these kingdoms", but "no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, with an alien people clutching their gods." It is at this point Eliot ends his poem writing summarily, "I should be glad of another death", presumably that part of himself still connected to the old life, now that he had come face to face with the new one in the Christ child.

How many of us have taken that journey from "the East" to the Christ child? Most of us probably never embraced Buddhism or followed "alien" teachings. Some have, to be sure. Yet all of us are called upon to live a distinctively "old life" behind when we make our journey to Jesus. This was, of course, Eliot's point, but more importantly, it accurately expresses the meaning of the story we find in Matthew 2. Though the biblical text does not tell us a great deal about the Magi, we can sift through historical threads and discover a bit more than we read there.

And then there is Herod, all too much at home in his kingdom, and plainly fearful of any threats to it. How does he merit the role as host to these eastern worthies who are in search of the Christ child? Couldn't God have arranged a more suitable welcoming party for these distinguished visitors? Is Herod the sort of fellow we would want to represent the people of God to "the East"? Isn't he the worst kind of caricature of Jewish life and culture, not to mention religion and spirituality? Yet, there he is, large as life, receiving the Magi into his court, entertaining their disturbing questions, and, no doubt with extreme reluctance, asking his scribes to offer a Bible lesson to the Magi.

Strange bedfellows: Herod and the Magi. Who would have put them together? It will be our task to sort through the remarkable account Matthew gives us, and then to align ourselves with the Magi's journey.

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Preliminary Perspectives
Our text commences with the matter-of-fact statement, "Now the [one] Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judea in [the] days of Herod the king…" We follow a literally rendering of the Greek text here which uses something called a "genitive absolute" to declare the previous completion of an event as a prerequisite for what follows. If we recall our previous study of Mary and Joseph, the passage just prior to this one (Matthew 1:25) stated that Joseph had no marital relations with Mary until (or, during the time before) she gave birth to a son and called his name "Jesus". Matthew relies on one single verse to tell us that Jesus was born, and now, at the beginning of the Magi story, he places that birth at some time in the past as he presses forward with the Magi narrative. Judging from 2:16, Jesus could have been as old as two years by the time the Magi arrived in Jerusalem looking for him. Unlike Luke who dwells on the arrival in Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus in a crude place, and the visit of the shepherds, Matthew quite literally tells us nothing about the circumstances of the birth, except for these sparse references in 1:25 and 2:1. According to 2:11 the Magi entered "the house", Mary and Joseph's brief stay at the "manager" of Luke's Gospel now a distant memory.

Although the Luke and Matthew versions are notably dissimilar, nothing between them begs for contradiction. True, they are wildly different perspectives, each paying attention to details ignored or possibly unknown by the other. In earlier Background Notes, we have commented on what scholars call the "synoptic problem", that is, how the Gospels "look together at" (that's the meaning of "synoptic") various episodes in the life of Jesus. No one believes they all saw things exactly the same way, though at times, they may share language or ideas. Of interest are the several differences, among which, are these two accounts of the birth story in Matthew and Luke. Each Gospel writer had his special concerns and wanted to teach his readers a distinct lesson in each case. Matthew advances his interest in the role of Herod and the Magi for reasons we will discover in what follows.

Old Testament Background Texts
Scene One of our narrative explicitly references Micah 5:2 and 2 Samuel 5:2, which we present here in their full context:
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." 3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of the Yahweh his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth" (Micah 5:2-4)
"All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And Yahweh said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler'" (2 Samuel 5:1-2)
When Matthew opened his Gospel (as we saw in the previous study Mary and Joseph), he provided a family tree of Jesus which began with "son of David, son of Abraham". Here, through his quotations from Micah and 2 Samuel, he makes clear the role of Jesus as "son of David", born in Bethlehem, David's hometown. Though in 2 Samuel the text attributes the shepherd's role to David, Matthew uses this reference to support his claims about the coming one who would be born to do in the future what David had done in the past. That is, Messiah would be David's future heir and shepherd king. The difference can be found in the way Micah completes his prophecy: "his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth". Although Matthew does not explicitly include that wider context in his quotation, the reader instantly sees that with the arrival of the Magi "from the East", this coming one has now touched "the ends of the earth". We will have more to say about this later in the study.

Next, Matthew alludes to an Old Testament passage, but does not quote from it. Consider these Scriptures:
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Yahweh rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. 5 Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. 6 Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of Yahweh" (Isaiah 60:1-6).
"The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. 11 All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him" (Psalm 72:10-11).
Isaiah's prophecy announces the "light" and "glory of Yahweh" which "rises upon you". The earth is shrouded in the darkness which is "over the peoples" (Hebrew: goyim="Gentiles", "pagans"). Because the light has risen, "nations come to" it, as do the "kings". He then goes on to describe a great camel caravan from the East bringing "gold and incense". Isaiah may well have had in mind the next passage from the Psalms. In it, David speaks of his own son Solomon, but in a larger sense spoke of his future "Son" when he remarks, "all kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him". David writes these words after he also wrote that those who come to do homage to the son "will present him gifts". With these two passages in mind, Matthew no doubt sees a fulfillment in the coming of the Magi who literally do what the prophecy said.

Before examining the final Old Testament background, we need to assess the importance of these quotations and allusions. What is Matthew telling his reader by using them? Based on the material in the Old Testament, the coming Messiah arises as David's true heir, "son of David" (1:1a), the everlasting king from Bethlehem who reigns on Yahweh's throne. He gathers the flocks of Israel to himself. But, as "son of Abraham" (1:1b) the interests of this coming Messiah reach to the ends of the earth. We recall those key words from Genesis, "17 Then Yahweh said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him" (Genesis 18:17-18). No doubt Matthew saw the coming of the Magi from the East as the first fulfillment of this promise through the Messiah. It was more than a coincidence that, some two years after Jesus' birth, these representatives of the Gentiles, "the nations", arrive on the scene in a manner reminiscent of these ancient prophecies.

Still there remains one additional text to consider. It comes from an episode of Israel's history during the sojourn in the Sinai Desert. Let's set the stage. Balak, king of Moab, fears the imminent approach of the Israelites to the land of Canaan. His people, the Moabites, had a checkered history with God's people, and knowing that Yahweh was with them, Balak looked for a prophet, a "seer" who was powerful enough to put a curse on Israel. Paid handsomely, that prophet was a man named Balaam. But his several attempts at cursing Israel were thwarted by Yahweh and turned into blessings instead. Finally, he informs Balak that there is no point in further attempts, and, in one of the most mysterious prophecies of the Old Testament, speaks the following "oracle":
"'14 Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.' 15 Then he uttered his oracle: 'The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, 16 the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: 17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel"'" (Numbers 24:14-17).
What interests Bible students are the words "A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel". And the fact that those words were spoken by a pagan prophet. So what do the Magi tell Herod? "We have seen his star…" How is it that pagan Magi can possibly receive revelation from God about the birth of the Messiah, when Herod himself needs to consult his scribes, who in turn must search the Scriptures to find the Micah text telling of Messiah's birth in Bethlehem? How can Magi trump the Torah scholars? The answer, it seems, lies in the Balaam story. For there, a pagan prophet, inspired by Yahweh, speaks words about what will happen "in days to come". And lo and behold, he declares that a "star" will come out of Jacob in the form of a ruler. Given these associations, Matthew might well have concluded that the similarities are too close to ignore, but, more significantly, that the rise of the star, the arrival of the Magi, and the homage given by them to Jesus were already in the sacred texts, waiting to be fulfilled at the proper time. And that time had come.

Magi

Historical Clues to Their Identity
So who were these Magi? The older English translations called them "Wise Men", no doubt influenced by the mysterious strangeness of "the East" and those sages who lived there. But how far "east" was their home? A number of theories emerged over the centuries about the identity of these visitors. The Greek text of Matthew calls them magoi. Herodotus is our authority for supposing that the Magi were the sacred caste of the Medes and served as priests for the Persians. To the head of this caste, Nergal Sharezar, Professor Jeremias gives the title Rab-Mag: "Chief Magus" (see Jeremiah 39:3, 39:13, in the Hebrew original) . When Assyria and Babylon fell, the religion of the Magi still dominated Persia. King Cyrus completely conquered the sacred caste, while his son Cambyses severely repressed it. The Magians revolted and set up Gaumata, their chief, as King of Persia under the name of Smerdis. He was, however, murdered in 521 B.C.E., and Darius became king. This downfall of the Magi was celebrated by a national Persian holiday called magophonia. Still the religious influence of this priestly caste continued throughout the rule of the Achaemenian dynasty in Persia; and, at the time of the birth of Christ may still have flourished under the Parthians, also from "the East". In fact Strabo says that the Magian priests formed one of the two councils of the Parthian Empire.

The Magi were also part of the ancient Persian religion of "Zoroastrianism", founded by Magi who succeeded a Persian sage who was called Zoroaster Spitama. They were astrologers of the first rank, and their influence was known over the ancient world. Providing occult information to the Medo-Persians and Babylonians at a kingly level the magi even made inroads into areas of Kashmir where ancient Israelites had established a colony. By the sixth century B.C.E. they had acquired power to overturn governments, according to Herodotus. Obviously, to a king, such information, if accurate, would prove invaluable in thwarting one's enemies and maintaining royal power. It also added an air of mystery and "magic" to the royal court. Having such counselors at hand bolstered the perception of "wisdom".

We know from the book of Daniel in the Bible that such persons were present in the courts of both Babylon and Persia, and were sought for the interpretation of dreams and omens. When the Babylonian king Belshazzar held his famous party at which the "handwriting on the wall" appeared, its was such persons, including Daniel that he summoned to make sense out of the divine graffiti. Earlier in the book, Nebuchadnezzar relied on Daniel to decrypt his dreams, some of which pointed to the rise and fall of future empires in the ancient world, including his own. Daniel would have viewed by his peers as a "Magus", though not formally part of the Persian school of "Magoi". What's significant in Matthew's chapter two account is the insight these Magi were given into the "newly rising star", especially what it meant: "one is born king of the Jews, worthy of worship". Throughout the history of interpretation, much has been made of the long journey of the Magi, their careful selection of "gifts", and their diligence in seeking the place of the Messianic child. Nowhere does Matthew pass judgment on these pagan astrologers, but accepts as God's will, backed up by Old Testament scripture (see above), that they came to Israel genuinely interested in seeing the young child.

They came "from the East". Shrouded in mystery, the East could have meant Parthia, Persia, Babylon, Arabia or the Syrian desert. Some have conjectured it might even mean India, where a caste of Magi also existed. Other scholars want to place them in Babylon, but make them into surviving Jews who never returned from captivity to Israel some five hundred years before. Educated in Torah and acquainted with the prophets of Israel, including the more recent Daniel, they emigrated from there back to Israel. Though an attractive solution, Matthew makes no particular point of their Jewishness, but leaves the mystery of their identity wrapped in that phrase "Magi from the East"--the direction of the rising Sun, and also the commonly accepted direction of Messiah's arrival. Of all these views, the setting in Arabia is the earliest view attested by the church fathers, including Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Clement of Rome, all within the first and second centuries. Even the Old Testament attests to wisdom among "the people of the East" (see 1 Kings 4:30; Proverbs 30:1; 31:1 which have Arabian or Sheban settings). We know that the Hebrews had contact with South Arabia as early as Solomon's time (recall the queen of Sheba).

The Star They Saw
If the identity of the Magi has captured scholars' imaginations, more so has the origin of the Bethlehem "star". Our study of Numbers 24 has already revealed an embedded "star prophecy" in ancient Israel. Combined with the "rising light" language of Isaiah 60, there's probably sufficient evidence to support a prophetic background to the use of the "star" in Matthew's narrative of the Magi. Still, scholars suspect that Matthew would not have gone to all the trouble to bring in the Magi had they no seen something of significance in their role as "star gazers" and "start interpreters". A long-standing history of astrology exists in the ancient world, including among the Israelites. There was, in fact, a Jewish zodiac, while the practice of pagan soothsaying, sorcery, and divination was explicitly condemned in the Torah (see Leviticus 19:26 and Deuteronomy 18:9-12). Among the prophets, star-gazing was criticized in such places as Isaiah 47:13 and Jeremiah 10:2. Non-biblical works, such as the Book of Jubilees and the Book of Enoch, had low views of astrology. On the other hand, the Jewish historian Josephus cites astronomical signs as forecasting the fall of Jerusalem (Wars, vi. 5. 3). The Jewish Talmud and Midrash, commentaries on Torah and related theology generally rejected astrology. The Middle Ages saw a change in attitude, and several Jewish thinkers elevated astrology to a respectable science.

So what are we to make of the "star" as interpreted by pagan Magi? Several theories have emerged, with three of them taking prominence.
The star was really a "new star", that is, "Supernova". The Greek of Matthew 2:2 reads: eidomen gar autou ton astera en te anatole, that is, "For we have seen his star in the rising…", where anatole does not really mean "in the East", but rather describes what the star was doing: rising. According to this view, suddenly, out of nowhere, this astera, "star", appeared, and they saw this happen. The emphasis is on the manner of its "birth". Astronomers refer to such "stars" as "nova" ("new ones") or "supernova". Once a faint star, it explodes so that for weeks or months a burst of light appears, sometimes visible during daylight hours. Often brighter than our moon, the nova are actually brighter (though far away) than our Sun. The astronomy Johannes Kepler theorized such an occurrence for the star of Bethlehem. Yet, no evidence in historical data supports such an event just before the birth of Jesus.
The star was a comet. Fascinations throughout history, comets follow serpentine trails in the sky, though really more elliptical as they pass around the Sun. Unseen when far away, they may suddenly appear in their orbits, filled with gasses and dust. Such comets as Halley make rare appearances, such as once in every 77 years. Though Halley appeared in 12-11 B.C.E., this does seem too early for the Magi's timetable and the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem.
The star was a conjunction of planets against the background of a constellation. When Jupiter and Saturn revolve around the Sun, these large planets take their time: Jupiter once every 12 years; Saturn once every 30. Sooner or later, these planets line up or are "in conjunction". Sometimes they are joined by Mars in this alignment. Kepler reported such a coincidence in 1604, and determined that this occurs once in every 805 years. He calculated such an event in the 7-6 B.C.E. timeframe. "Star Almanacs", written on ancient cuneiform tablets document the phenomenon. But during 7 B.C.E., the conjunction happen not once, but three times in the same year, to be joined by Mars the following year. To add to the drama, astronomers have shown that the constellation Pisces was in the background. From the vantage point of the observer on Earth, the effects would have been striking. When the conjunctions aligned, then misaligned, and repeated this three times; when Mars added its "touch" to the heavenly canvass, with Pisces supplying the scenery, we can only imagine what a gifted astrology might have thought was happening. One theory contends that Jupiter symbolized "World Ruler", while Saturn pointed to Palestine, as did Pisces. Other theories include the idea of Messiah in the mix. The theory points to the correct timeframe, as we shall see when discussing the role of Herod and his rule. The current thinking places Jesus' birth in the 7-6 B.C.E. range.

Clever as these views might seem, none are conclusive. The most we might gather from #3 is that there was a plausible explanation for what the Magi saw, assuming they attributed enough meaning to the phenomenon; assuming they could conclude from the conjunction that the king of the Jews had been born, based on what they saw in the alignment of the planets.

However…

Another type of explanation completely sidesteps the natural astronomical one. Instead of looking for a real star (or star event), this perspective claims that God Himself caused His own "glory" to appear, as He did in the days He led Israel through the wilderness. In which case, the "star" is Yahweh's "glory pillar": cloud by day and fire by night. Or as it is sometimes called, the "Shekinah Glory": the glory of God that "pitches its tent". This "glory pillar" protected, guided, and authenticated Yahweh's presence among His people. Could Matthew's account in Matthew 2 simply be applying this image to God's leading of the Magi who imagined they were following a star, but all along were simply led by Yahweh's own light? We certainly have John's word for it in John 1:14 when he wrote, "The Logos became flesh and "tabernacled" (read, "pitched his tent", from the Hebrew idea) among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the only begotten son of the Father, full of grace and truth". In other words, when God's Son took up residence ("pitched His tent") in our world, what we "saw" was the "glory pillar of God". Were the Magi granted special eyes to behold such a glory pillar in the heavens? Did it lead them to the "house" where the "young child lay" in a more precise fashion than one could ever expect from a "star in the sky"? Could this be what Isaiah meant when he told his readers "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you…" (60:1)? We commend this suggestion for the student's careful consideration, with the possibility that other Scriptures might support the view.

Whatever theory we propose, nothing robs Matthew's narrative of its plain value. Through His special providence (that is, "foresight"), God arranged for Gentile Magi who came from the "ends of the earth" to follow what they thought was a "star" that had a very particular meaning (that the king of the Jews is born). But of even greater importance is what they thought they ought to do about this special insight. No doubt accustomed to telling other people, such as kings, about the meaning of the stars, these Magi had a personal stake in their discovery. They were not merely objective scientists, reading meanings out of the stars, and sharing their findings with their starry eyed fellow citizens! No, these Magi were invested in their own message. They had much to gain or lose by following their inclinations, informed by their astrology. It was not enough to "make predictions" based on the "star". Their understanding led them on a long and dangerous journey, one that took them from the safety and familiarity of the "East" to the uncertain paths of Roman occupied Israel. Do we not see here the essence of faith?

Matthew's account of the Magi sets them in contrast to their hosts, Herod and the Jerusalem scholars. Whereas they arrive in Jerusalem, confident of their findings ("he who has been born" implies a fact), they intend to "do homage" (Greek: proskunein, mentioned three times in this context and meaning "act of prostration", "homage", "adoration", or "worship" if applied to a deity). This is what they came to do. As the story progresses, they enter the "house" where Mary, Joseph and Jesus were staying, and proceed to open their "treasure boxes" (from the Greek thesaurus, the coffer holding these precious items). What they present to the child is nothing less than gifts for royalty. Ironically, some two or three years earlier, king Herod, before whom the Magi have come, had himself been honored when envoys from many nations brought gifts to commemorate the building of Caesarea. Now standing before Herod are eastern Magi who tell tales of the star and its meaning, prepared to pay homage, not to Herod, but to the newborn king. And Herod was not pleased as we shall soon explain why.

Before we leave the "treasure" episode, a few observations about the three named items might be in order.
1. Through a quirk of interpretation, the traditional telling of the Magi story made a connection between three gifts and three Magi. Matthew's narrative makes no such inference. Frankly, we do not know how many Magi came. Tradition offers its supporting tales, but the number of gifts clearly has no direct bearing on the number of visitors. There might have been two or a dozen.
2. More promising is the theological association of the three gifts. Scripture does deal in symbolic language, though the reader must take care not to read more into the imagery than is warranted, or, as some scholars describe it, "over-interpret". In this case, some suggestions have arisen in the piety of the post-biblical Christian community.
a. "Gold" is associated with the kingly role of Messiah.
b. "Frankincense", as a common companion of worship and prayer, with Messiah's connection to God.
c. "Myrrh", as the fragrance used for the first-stage of Jewish burial.

From these three references, interpreters have imagined subtle prophecies about the future of Jesus, in particular, the significance of myrrh, pointing to his coming death. What are we to make of these suggestions? That they grew out of the worship life of the church and may not have been on the minds of the Magi. Surely, taken together, they constituted a fitting "treasure" for one whom they called "king of the Jews". More significantly, the birth of Jesus mattered to them, and even before they met him, they had prepared their precious homage-gifts. Theirs was distinctively a journey of faith. One could compare them to the ancient patriarchs like Abraham who struck out on a journey, guided by God's call, traveling to a land unknown to them, seeking the promise of God. Their treasures only reinforce our perception of their faith.

Does this story matter to Matthew even beyond his telling of it? We think that it does, for he cannot fail to take note of how the newborn Christ child drew men from other nations to bring him homage. And indeed, later in his Gospel, Matthew would quote Jesus' words:
"I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 8:11).
Quite nicely Matthew sees how Jesus is the "son of Abraham" who calls together those "from the east" and seats them with the ancient patriarch in God's coming kingdom. Of course when such things happen, it only confirms that God is bringing His purposes to their grand climax. When the "nations come to that light", Isaiah reminded us, Yahweh is becoming king of His people once again. For that very purpose the Magi are in Jerusalem, demanding from the "king" now sitting on Judah's throne where the newborn king could be found.

The New Testament elsewhere speaks of the "star" rising, this time, in human hearts. Consider:
"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:16-19)
Glory, majesty, a light shining, the day dawning, and "the morning star" rising in our hearts. These are Peter's descriptions of Jesus, both in his advent and in his living in our hearts. Similarly, John, in his Revelation, records the words of Jesus: "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star" (Revelation 22:16). Notice the connection between "son of David" and the "Star".

But now we turn from Magi, with their powerful "star light" associations, to the less well-lit palace of Israel's king. A darkness surrounds Herod, one that grows even blacker as the story takes its fateful turn. To this bit of history we now turn.

Herod
Of Herod we know a great deal more than we care admit. Put simply, he was not a nice man. Still, Jewish people admired his cleverness, especially in his dealings with Rome, the great occupier of Israel's land. Space does not permit an embroidered discussion of this man. His life commenced a dynasty of rulers which ended with the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. He ruled Israel during 37 to 4 B.C.E. (born in 73), known as Herod the Great. His dynasty ended in the fourth generation with Herod Agrippa II before whom St. Paul made his famous speech. One famous son was Herod Antipas (4 B.C.E. to 39 C.E.) whose story coincided with the trial and death of Jesus. Yet another Herod, Agrippa I (37 to 44 C.E.), was responsible for the death of James. With so many "Herods", it's easy to get confused. For our purposes, we want to focus on this king before whom the Magi came, and by whose hands the lives of many infants were lost, while Jesus safely escaped to Egypt.

"Where is he who has been born, King of the Jews?" asked the Magi. Herod could not have taken kindly to this address, for after all, that was his title: "King of the Jews". Below is a summary of his ascent to power and the intrigues associates with his rule:

Herod the Great, born, 73 B.C.E., was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean, an official under the Jewish ruler Hyrcanus II, and Cypros, a Nabatean. A supporter of Hyrcanus II, Antipater appointed Herod the governor of Galilee at the age of 25, and his older brother, Phasael, as the governor of Jerusalem. Rome supported Herod, but his excessive brutality was condemned by the Jewish Sanhedrin.

In 43 B.C.E., after the scandal in which Antipater supported Julius Caesar's murderers, he was poisoned by his enemies. Herod, reinforced by the Roman Army, executed his father's murderer. Later, Antigonus, Hyrcanus' nephew, tried to take the throne from his uncle. Herod defeated him and then married his teenage niece, Mariamne (known as Mariamne I), securing his throne and gaining some Jewish favor. However, Herod already had a wife, Doris, and a three year old son, Antipater and chose to exile both of them.

In 42 B.C.E., Herod convinced Mark Antony and Octavian (later to become Caesar Augustus) that his father had been coerced to aid Caesar's murderers. Herod was then named tetrarch of Galilee by the Romans. However, many of the Jews were very upset by this since most Jews did not consider Herod to be a true Jew. The Idumaean family, successors to the Edomites of the Hebrew Bible, settled in Idumea, formerly known as Edom, in southern Judea. When the Maccabean John Hyrcanus conquered Idumea in 140–130 BC, he required all Idumaeans to obey Jewish law or to leave; most Idumaeans thus converted to Judaism. While King Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew, this claim was undermined by his Hellenistic (Greek) cultural affinity, something repugnant to Torah observant Jews.

In 40 B.C.E. Antigonus attempted to seize the throne again aided by the Parthians (people "from the East"), this time succeeding. Herod fled to Rome, asking the Romans to help his return to power. The Roman Senate elected him "King of the Jews". By 37 B.C.E. the Romans fully secured Judea and executed Antigonus. Herod became sole ruler of Judea, assuming the title of "king", commencing the Herodian Dynasty and ending the decades old Hasmonean Dynasty. He ruled for 34 years. [This summary is drawn from the writings of Duane W. Roller, Robert Gree, and Michael Grant. A fascinating work by the Jewish writer, Aryeh Kasher, King Herod: A Persecuted Persecutor: A Case Study in Psychohistory and Psychobiography, offers insights into this complicated king.]

What sort of man was Herod?
The new king started an extensive building program: Jews could take pride in the new walls of Jerusalem and the citadel which guarded its Temple. (This fortress was called Antonia, in order to please Herod's patron Mark Antony.) Coins were minted in his own name and showed an incense burner on a tripod, intended to signify Herod's care for the orthodox Jewish cult practices. These coins had a Greek legend -HÈRÔDOU BASILEÔS- which indicates that Herod considered his standing abroad. And the new king continued to please the Romans, to make sure that they would continue their support. He sent lavish presents to their representative in the East, Mark Antony, and to his mistress, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. However, history would not favor Antony, but Octavian instead who would become Caesar Augustus (of Luke 2 fame!) During Herod's initial contacts with the new Roman ruler, Octavian was impressed by Herod's boldness, and the Emperor confirmed Herod's monarchy, adding the coast of Judaea and Samaria to his realm. Actually, Octavian did not have much choice: his opponents were still alive, and if he were to pursue them to Egypt, Herod could be a useful ally. As it turned out, Mark Antony and Cleopatra preferred death to surrender, and Octavian became the only ruler in the Roman world. Under the name Augustus, he became the first emperor. He rewarded his ally, Herod, with new possessions: Jericho and Gaza, which had been independent of Jewish rule.

Herod's position was still insecure. He continued his building policy to win the hearts of his subjects. A severe earthquake in 31 B.C.E. had destroyed many houses, killing thousands of people. In Jerusalem, the king built a new market, an amphitheater, a theater, a new building where the Sanhedrin could convene, a new royal palace, and last but not least, in 20 B.C.E. he started to rebuild the Temple. And there were other cities where he ordered new buildings to be placed: Jericho and Samaria are examples. New fortresses served the security of both the Jews and their king: Herodion, Machaereus and Masada are among them. But Herod's crowning achievement was a splendid new port, called Caesarea in honor of the emperor (the harbor was called Sebastos, the Greek translation of 'Augustus'). Dedicated in 9 B.C.E., it was built to rival Alexandria in the land trade to Arabia, from which spices, perfume and incense were imported. It was not an oriental town like Jerusalem; it was laid out on a Greek grid plan, with a market, an aqueduct, government offices, baths, villas, a circus, and pagan temples. The most important of these was the temple where the emperor was worshipped.

With building projects, the expansion of his territories, the establishment of a sound bureaucracy, and the development of economic resources, Herod did much for his country, at least on a material level. The standing of his country -foreign and at home- was certainly enhanced. However, many of his projects won him the bitter hatred of the orthodox Jews, who disliked Herod's Greek taste - a taste he showed not only in his building projects, but also in several transgressions of the Mosaic Law.

The orthodox were not the only ones who came to hate the new king. The Sadducees hated him because he had terminated the rule of the old royal house to which many of them were related; their own influence in the Sanhedrin was curtailed. The Pharisees despised any ruler who despised the Law. And probably all his subjects resented his excessive taxation. According to Flavius Josephus, there were two taxes in kind at annual rates equivalent to 10.7% and 8.6%, which were extremely high in any pre-industrial society (Jewish Antiquities, 14.202-206). It comes as no surprise that Herod sometimes had to revert to violence, employing mercenaries and a secret police to enforce order.

Herod had become the ruler of the Jews with Roman help and he boasted to be philokaisar ('Caesar's friend'), entertaining Agrippa, Augustus' right-hand man. On top of the gate of the new Temple, a golden eagle was erected, a symbol of Roman power in the heart of the holy city resented by all pious believers. Worse, Augustus ordered and paid the priests of the Temple to sacrifice twice a day on behalf of himself, the Roman senate and people. The Jewish populace started to believe rumors that their pagan ruler had violated Jewish tombs, stealing golden objects from the tomb of David and Solomon. During the course of his career he had, at one time or another, married ten different women, largely out of political considerations.

Herod's reign ended in terror. The monastery at Qumran, the home of the Essenes, suffered a violent and deliberate destruction by fire in 8 B.C.E., for which Herod may have been responsible. When the king fell ill, two popular teachers, Judas and Matthias, incited their pupils to remove the golden eagle from the entrance of the Temple: after all, according to the Ten Commandments, it was a sin to make idols. The teachers and the pupils were burned alive. Some Jewish scholars had discovered that seventy-six generations had passed since the Creation, and there was a well-known prophecy that the Messiah was to deliver Israel from its foreign rulers in the seventy-seventh generation. The story about the slaughter of infants of Bethlehem in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew is not known from other sources, but it would have been totally in character for the later Herod to commit such a terrible act.
A horrible disease (probably a cancer-like affection called Fournier's gangrene) made acute the problem of Herod's succession, and the result was factional strife in his family. Shortly before his death, Herod decided against his sons Aristobulus and Antipater, who were executed in 7 and 4 B.C.E., causing the emperor Augustus to joke that it was preferable to be Herod's pig (Greek: hus) than his son (Greek: huios) - a very insulting remark to any Jew.

However, the emperor confirmed Herod's last will. After his death in 4 B.C.E., the kingdom was divided among his sons. Herod Antipas was to rule Galilee and the east bank of the Jordan as a tetrarch; Philip was to be tetrarch of the Golan heights in the north-east; and Archelaus became the ethnarch ('national leader') of Samaria and Judaea. Herod was buried in one of the fortresses he had build, Herodion. Few mourned him. [Sources: Jona Lendering; Flavius Josephus, Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities; Nikos Kokkinos, The Herodian Dynasty. Origins, Role in Society and Eclipse (1998, Sheffield); D.W. Roller, The Building Program of Herod the Great (1998)]

Herod the Great constructed a kingdom based on compromise with the Romans and nervous accommodation with the Jewish leadership. His building projects enhanced Jewish standing in the Roman world, but lost him support among the devout. His paranoia was well-known, and his willingness to kill members of his own family to protect his rule was equally famous. That is why Matthew's account of Herod's order to slaughter the innocents seems authentic. He was capable of such brutality in his own interests.

Having fought the Parthians in the East, Herod probably had moments of pause when the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, speaking about a "king of the Jews" newly born. Did he suspect a conspiracy against his kingdom? More than likely. Might it be inspired by his old Parthian nemesis? Perhaps. Matthew describes Herod's response with the word "startled", from the Greek, tarasso, a word implying a deeply unsettled state of mind. And not only Herod, but also Jerusalem shared this anxiety. It had been during the 7-4 B.C.E. timeframe that Herod had executed his sons Aristobulus and Antipater. No doubt this was fresh on everyone's mind. If Herod was unhappy, we might say, everybody is unhappy!

Inquiring from the chief priests and legal experts, Herod wants to know "where" the Messiah was suppose to be born. Not, mind you, because he cared to do homage to him as he claimed, but, as the text later records, because he had designs on the life of the child much as he had eliminated his own two sons. Here is stark irony. King Herod wants the word of scripture so that he can execute his deadly scheme against the Christ child. And he is more than willing to manipulate the religious authorities to do so.

Readers of the story form a fast impression of the man Herod. Manipulative, paranoid, scheming, he exploits the extent of power for his own purposes. Once the Magi quietly slip out of town, he does not hesitate to enforce a massacre of male children two years and younger. His conduct parallels that of Pharaoh who, at the time of Moses' birth, systematically eliminated Hebrew boys (see Exodus 1:15-22). Is Matthew making a point here? Is he saying that Herod has become the "new Pharaoh of the oppression"? If so, he rules in Israel and not in Egypt! It is Jesus, and not Moses, in this case, whose life is in danger. Ironically, when Joseph takes Mary and the child Jesus and flees from Judea, he chooses Egypt as his destination! Our writer is sending a series of coded messages to his readers. He is telling them that Israel has become a place of oppression, ruled by Herod the Great, a king in league with imperial Rome. From this place, Matthew seems to be saying, Jesus must flee (as did Moses), until such a time as God decides, and then he will return for the long-term purpose of delivering his people.

In our previous Background Notes, we have already addressed the story of the flight to Egypt and the slaughter of the innocents by Herod. Our reference to those events here simply underscore the cruelty of Herod, a man drunk with power, and also the remarkable providence of God in, 1) warning the Magi through a dream to avoid Herod on their return trip to the East, and 2) warning Joseph in a dream to take Mary and the child to Egypt. Herod is outwitted on both accounts. For the possession of power is no promise of the presence of God. Instead, the whole Herod-Magi narrative reveals God's overarching purpose to set aside the Herodian dynasty and replace it with the righteous rule of the one "born king of the Jews". The chief priests and scribes may have correctly provided information for Herod on the birthplace of the Christ child. But when it truly mattered, the Magi showed greater evidence of faith in the unfolding purposes of God. They saw the star. To them was given insight into its meaning. And, when the life of the child was in danger, they were given yet one more divine message to guide their journey.

At every turn, Matthew places the willing participants in his story "on the road". Consider the Magi's itinerary: the East, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the East. Or that of the holy family: Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazareth. Those who are in tune with the salvation plan of God receive his guidance. Herod, on the other hand, clinging tenaciously to the throne, watches helplessly from the sidelines, unable to subvert any of God's good plans for His pilgrim people.

But the journey home for the Magi was far from brief. T.S. Eliot had it right when he spoke of the "cold coming of it" and, to be sure, it was a "such a long journey". Nor was the journey home necessarily pleasant. Eliot makes a good case in his poem that upon arriving there, the Magi found an alien place. When we at last find the Christ child, going home is never the same again. Perhaps this is why Matthew underscores the later teaching of Jesus about "leaving" home when disciples follow him. The contemporary "Magi" find the world of the Christ message a different one from the one left behind. And on returning find everything changed.

Truly the worlds of "East" and "West" in our own time look vastly different from each other. Hostility and misunderstanding mark those differences. Who, we ask, are our Eastern visitors today? What sorts of Herods do they encounter on our doorsteps and in our capital cities here in the West? Or, is the path to the Christ child still lighted by the natal star, casting its rays until at once new Magi stand before the wonderment of the infant king? No easier answers present themselves. The early years of the 21st century swim in these currents. Would Matthew have told his story in the same way today, with our present circumstances? How would a visitor from the East be perceived? And would our Eastern guests still recognize the Christ child, embedded as he has become in the culture of the Western world, captive, in his own way, to the death-threats of power brokers more cruel than Herod?

Our prayer, in the light of the Magi's star, would be that Christ in his simplicity would challenge and attract our Eastern entourage. That, in the crass materialism of a commercially driven society, the star might stand over the place where the Christ child lies, and that our Eastern seekers would not fail to see in his face, the one born king, not only of the Jews, but of Eastern Gentiles as well. And that, in this journey from East to West, no Herods might intercept our pilgrims nor threaten to obscure the life of the One they have come to see.

To God Be the Glory! Amen!
Appendix 1: Poem by T.S. Eliot
"The Journey of the Magi"
T.S. Eliot (1927)
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The was deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter."
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires gong out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty, and charging high prices.:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death
Digger Deeper: Journey Home: Magi and Herod
(Bob Brown)

To gain a deeper understanding of Journey Home: Magi and Herod, carefully read the selected passages below. To aid you in your study, we invite you to visit the website http://notes.chicagofirstnaz.org, or pick up a copy of the notes at the Connect desk, or from your ABF leader. Now consider the following questions, as you ask the Lord to teach you.

Special Note: The Background Notes are especially useful in working through some of these questions. You are encouraged to secure a copy as you begin.

1. Carefully read Matthew 2:1-12, our main study text for the coming week. Make a list of the key players in the story told there. What do each contribute to the plot?
2. The following Old Testament passages provide important background to our text. Read each one and jot down the connections you see between the story of our text and what those Scriptures say:
a. Micah 5:2 and 2 Samuel 5:2
b. Isaiah 60:1-6 and Psalm 72:10-11
c. Numbers 24:14-17
3. Consult the Background Notes: Who might the Magi have been, according to the options scholars have suggested? Why do you think it was significant that Magi were led to the newborn Christ child?
4. Imagine the journey of the Magi from "East" to "West". What challenges might they have faced?
5. Consult the Background Notes: What might be the identity of the "star" which led the Magi? Do you think solving this riddle is necessary to gain meaning from the story?
6. Consult the Background Notes: Who was Herod and how does the story told my Matthew accurately reflect what we know about him?
7. Read Exodus 1:15-22 and compare it to Matthew 2:13-23. To whom does Matthew seem to be comparing Herod?
8. What do you think about Herod's consulting the chief priests and scribes for help in locating the Christ child? How was this a misuse of Scripture?
9. Why might "all of Jerusalem" been alarmed by the Magi's arrival and their inquiry?
10. Notice the three kinds of "treasure" the Magi offer. Does the text tell us the reason they do this? Do you think Matthew intends a detailed analysis of each kind of gift?
11. Consult Appendix 1 of the Background Notes: Read T.S. Eliot's poem and think about the kind of journey he imagined for the Magi. How does he describe the journey?
12. In what ways is the journey of the Magi like our own?