He was a man of ambition. By steely resolve and cold-hearted determination he had carved out a place for himself on the world stage. There was no price too high to maintain his position, including killing his wife and sons. No one would stand in his way. His clever maneuvering in Rome had gotten him the title, King of the Jews 35 years prior. But he had had to wrest his throne from another, which took three years of fierce battles. Finally, the defeated Parthians and their appointed Jewish client king had been driven out, and he had gotten his prize. Not everyone was as happy as he, however. The Jews had preferred one of their own on the throne, even if he was subject to the Parthians. Now, a Gentile was king; not only a Gentile but an Arab/Edomite, ancient enemies. So he had been ruling unwilling subjects. Only an iron hand and ruthless methods had made and maintained his rule.

Now he was aging and sick. He had built fortresses for protection, but for this enemy, he was unprepared. One fine day a whole retinue of his hated former enemies, the Parthians, proudly paraded into his capital. An armed, well outfitted contingency protecting a wealthy and powerful group of ‘king makers’ had the gall to come directly to his palace. Their thinly veiled threat, ‘Where is the new king?’ was almost more than he could tolerate, but as always, he played it cool and calm. “A new king, indeed! We shall see about that!” he thought. Feigning good intentions, he gathered as much information as possible about this baby king. Imagine, born king of the Jews! He had struggled, schemed, and paid dearly to be king of the Jews. And this baby is simply born into it?! Not if he could help it.

And as if being king weren’t enough, this Baby is purported to become a spiritual leader, too. Oh, yes, the ancient hope among these people that some Anointed One from God will come and deliver them. And now even foreigners are eager for this Messiah?! “Well, I’ll put a quick and sudden end to all this dangerous foolishness as soon as I hear back from those blasted Magi on his exact whereabouts. Of course, there are other babies in Bethlehem, but they will find the One and report back to me. Then it will be the end of the matter,” he thought smugly.

What the old king didn’t know was that he was part of a story as old as the first people on Earth. Unfortunately for him, he was on the losing side, no matter how he manipulated. It had begun with the firstborn of Adam and Eve, the hard-hearted brother-killer and rebel against God’s way. There has always been the struggle of man’s way against God’s way. The king himself was descended from two genealogies of man-centered thinking. Being an Arab/Edomite, his lineage was from Ishmael, the firstborn of godly Abraham, and Esau, the firstborn of Isaac. Both were passed over by God for the special blessing of being progenitors of the Anointed One. Ishmael was the result of the union of Abraham with his wife’s Egyptian servant, an arrangement orchestrated by his barren wife in order to get offspring for Abraham. But God didn’t need help getting offspring for Abraham. Sarai’s ill-fated scheme was unnecessary and damaging. Later, God miraculously caused Sarai, now Sarah, to conceive a child with Abraham, although she was beyond her child-bearing years. That way God got the credit and due honor since it was humanly impossible. The child, Isaac, was a son of promise, the result of his parents’ faith in the God who promised them a child when it wasn’t possible. He would be a progenitor of the other promised, miraculous child, the Messiah.

When Isaac grew into adulthood, his wife, Rebekah, gave birth to twin boys. Again, the firstborn, Esau, wasn’t chosen to be in the line of the Messiah. It was his brother, Jacob, who became the patriarch through whom the Sent One would come. Esau and Jacob were symbols of two very different ways of approaching God. Esau represented trying to get God’s approval through human effort. Jacob represented coming to God by faith on God’s terms, relying on him alone to save. Legalism or Grace- human good works or God’s unmerited favor. Forever in conflict. So the conflict broke out once again. Old king Herod, the humanly appointed king of the Jews fighting against the God-appointed King of the Jews.

We can see why the threatened king was murderously interested in the baby King of the Jews, but why were those esteemed and learned men from the East interested in him?

It had all started on a starry night two years prior. One of the Parthian king’s advisors, a Magus, a trained astronomer, and a gifted astrologer was studying the night sky as he often did. The king had asked his advice, and he must try to ascertain the best answer by consulting the stars. But all thoughts of the king’s question left him the minute he noticed that one bright star that outshone the others. Alarmed, he called his cohorts. They consulted their star charts and determined which planets had aligned. By methods we moderns don’t understand, they decided this special bright star was announcing the arrival of a new King of the Jews. Whether this sign announced his conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a Jewish virgin, or whether it announced the birth of the King we can’t be sure. But the bright sign burned into the hearts of the Magi. They felt a strange pull to meet and celebrate this baby. Their king’s permission for such a long absence must be obtained. Preparations were made. A military escort was procured. And gifts must be gathered. Only the best and rarest treasures would do since they were convinced this baby wasn’t just another political figure. He was so extraordinary that the heavens had announced his coming.

Upon arriving in Israel, it only made sense to ask for the new king at the palace in the capital city of Jerusalem. In good faith they explained their mission- to worship the new King. Herod immediately equated a Jewish king with the promised Messiah. Alarmed, but ever cool under pressure, he had summoned the scholars of the ancient Scriptures. These men had been hoping for the Anointed One since childhood as had their parents and grandparents. They were very clear what the prophets of long ago had foretold about his coming.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from the days of eternity.
He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.” Micah 5:2,4

The Magi were now certain why they were drawn to the Babe. He is the eternal one! He will be ruler, not just of Israel, but the world!

So what does a murdering king and influential government officials have to do with us? We don’t rule or influence nations. I believe these events should remind us that God rules and God chooses. Herod wasn’t able to stop God’s plan for the Messiah to atone for sins- he would be killed by a Gentile ruler, but not until it was God’s time 33 years later. (Daniel 9:24, Isaiah 53). God reveals himself to whomever he chooses. I, for one, wouldn’t have picked elite and powerful practitioners of another religion as likely to humbly bow down to a Jewish toddler they believed was sent from God. In other words, God will have the last say and he doesn’t do things the way we would. So we, like the Magi, humbly bow and worship.

P.S.  King Herod wasn’t able to kill the One born King of the Jews. The Magi were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod.  He and his parents made a night escape after the Magi’s visit.

For further reading: (If you’re a nerd like me and want more info on the Magi)
Throughout history, Magi were advisors to kings. Some of them also acted on behalf of their king as governors, as was the case with Daniel. In this regard, they were similar to our cabinet members- both advisors and administrators. They had ancient knowledge of astronomy which they applied to astrological interpretations. Their expertise included: religion, philosophy, interpreting dreams, doing magic, educating the heir to the throne, and often being influential in choosing the rising king. In different epochs, they were members of king’s courts in Egypt- as seen in Exodus when they tried to imitate the signs God enabled Moses to do, but were only partially successful. History mentions them in Persia, Parthia, Media, Turkey, Ethiopia, Arabia, and possibly China.

Historians have proposed different answers as to why these learned men came to honor the new King of the Jews. It seems evident that they believed he was more than a future political figure of a small country. If the Magi were practitioners of Zoroastrianism, their religion also anticipated a savior who would make an end of evil and usher in a perfect world. They did not know where this ‘Greater Messenger’ from God would come from or when. So perhaps the Magi thought the star was a sign to them to welcome their anticipated savior.

Another proposed reason the Magi may have been so excited about a King of the Jews is that their tradition may have preserved Daniel’s, the chief Magus of Persia in the 500s BC, prophecy of the Messiah’s kingdom. Daniel’s prophecy foretold the time of ‘Messiah the Prince’, with a date. 483 years from the Persian king’s decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the One who would make atonement would come into the world. (Daniel 9) Maybe Daniel’s book had been preserved by the Magi since that caste was hereditary and information was carefully passed down from one generation to the next. Since influential Daniel was Jewish, they may even have had other Jewish Scriptures, or at least Jewish teaching that was passed down for nearly 500 years to the Magi who came to worship Jesus.

Sources:

https://www.khouse.org/personal_update/articles/2021/history-magi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_Bethlehem

https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/90338/why-did-the-magi-refer-to-infant-jesus-as-king-of-jews

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great#Biography

https://www.gotquestions.org/three-wise-men.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magi

https://biblearchaeology.org/research/chronological-categories/life-and-ministry-of-jesus-and-apostles/4932-the-parthian-war-paradigm-and-the-reign-of-herod-the-great

https://jewsforjesus.org/learn/the-messianic-time-table-according-to-daniel-the-prophet