Matthew 2....
The Magi were not religious at all. They were astrologers. They saw the star.....God put the star there and they saw it and wanted to see Jesus.
King Herod was threatened by baby Jesus. He wanted all the praise and power so he called his men asking them where Jesus was born. Verse 6 is from Micah 5:2 if toy want to see who's they knew where Jesus was at his birth.
Verse 8....the king wanted the magi to report to him when they found Jesus. He claims he wanted to worship him too....but that was a lie. Verse 11....the came to a house and saw a child. The magi would have rode about 800-900 miles on donkeys. Jesus was probably about 2 years old until they got to Him but God led the way with the star for them to get there. They were warned to go home a different way because Herod was looking to kill Jesus.
Verse 18 is from Jeremiah 31:15
Herod wanted to kill all boys age 2 and under because he wanted Jesus dead. He figures if he kills all the boys he has a chance to get Jesus then too because he didn't know where exactly he was.
Verse 23 is from Isaiah 53:3.....tells of the word despised is the same as a Nazarene. A Nazarene is someone from Nazareth and it was not good status to be from there.
Is there a reason or verses why you say the wise men were not religious at all?
ReplyDeleteHonestly.....I have 2 study Bibles that state this. I have also heard speakers in the past say this as well. This goes to prove once again that our God uses who He wants when he wants for His glory and purpose. I feel God put that desire in their heart at just that time to look for the messiah and He gave them the way.
ReplyDeleteI wonder once they got to Jesus and saw and worshiped him if they gave up their magician ways. I'm not sure how they could go back to that once they were in Jesus's company.
I was thinking and researching other sites and found these truths we know from the verses.
ReplyDelete1. Gods word was not readily available like today, yet they knew the prophesies
2. They sought Jesus
3. They recognized His worth (they brought the gifts expecting to find Him)
4. When they did find Him, they worshipped Him
5. They recognized God in the dream and obeyed Him by not telling Herod
I think you are right anyone who truly encounters Jesus will leave changed.
DeleteVery good truths....I will add them to my notes. I have a ton of notebooks that I continue to add to. Great additions!
ReplyDelete