12/7/13
MESSIAH FOR THE MAGI
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” —Matthew
2:1–2
Unlike Luke, Matthew does not tell us about the shepherds
coming to visit Jesus in the stable. His focus is immediately on foreigners
coming from the east to worship Jesus. So Matthew portrays Jesus at the
beginning and ending of his Gospel as a universal Messiah for the nations, not
just for Jews. Here the first worshipers are court magicians or astrologers or
wise men not from Israel but from the East—perhaps from Babylon. They were
Gentiles. Unclean. And at the end of Matthew, the last words of Jesus are, “All
authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations.” This not only opened the door for the Gentiles
to rejoice in the Messiah, it added proof that he was the Messiah. Because one
of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come
to him as the ruler of the world. For example, Isaiah 60:3, “Nations will come
to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” So Matthew adds
proof to the messiahship of Jesus and shows that he is Messiah—a King, and
Promise-Fulfiller—for all the nations, not just Israel.
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