The story of the Magi fascinates me, because it leaves so many questions unanswered.
Who were the Magi?
Where exactly did they come from?
How did they know that the presence of this star meant the King of the Jews was born?
Why did they feel compelled to visit him and bring him gifts?
They weren’t Israelites. Jesus wasn’t “their” king.
It’s interesting to see how many traditions and legends have sprung up from the very limited information we get about the Magi in the Bible. Here are some I found on the Internet:
·They were kings (because verses from the Bible say that kings from other countries would bow down to Jesus).
·There were three of them (because of their three gifts).
·They had names I cannot spell.
·Each one came from a different racial and ethnic background.
·Each one represented a different age group (youth, middle-aged adults, seniors).
·They became Christians and were martyred.
We don’t have any proof to back any of that up, but we do know that the Magi were among the first humans to worship Jesus, after the shepherds. Various versions of the Biblical account suggest that they were wise men and astrologers (hence the interest in the star), and historians tell us that the Magi were a class of priests in the Zoroastrian religion, from the Parthinian empire to the east of Israel in what is now Iran. The word, “magi,” is a transliteration from the Greek, “magos,” which itself comes from a word in the Hebrew, “mag” or “magim” (plural), which was imported from another Indo-European language, possibly Babylonian. We get the English words, “magic,” and, “mage,” from this word.
The Magi’s gifts are well known: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Each gift can be identified with some aspect of Jesus’ story: his royalty (gold), his deity (frankincense, which is still burned before God in many churches today), and his death (myrrh, an ancient embalming oil).
If this wasn’t in the Bible, I would assume the list of gifts brought was another legend; it’s just too perfect. I can’t imagine the Magi believed this baby would someday die for the sins of the world. We, looking back, can see prophecies from the Old Testament that point this direction, but they hadn’t even seen the prophecy that said where exactly he would be born! The Jewish leaders, for that matter, the ones who had full access to the prophecies, didn’t see it themselves.
The Magi are one of many examples of God choosing “outsiders.” Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute, hides two Israelite spies; she becomes an ancestor of Jesus. Ruth, a Moabite widow, helps her Israelite mother-in-law and secures a husband to continue her line; she also becomes an ancestor of Jesus. These women were already low in the Israelites’ eyes because of their gender, but their foreignness and social status moved things from bad to worse. God used them anyway.
The pagan, foreign Magi may have tipped off jealous, power-hungry Herod to Jesus’ existence and put him in danger, but their gifts probably helped saved Jesus and his parents when they had to flee for their lives to Egypt. Mary and Joseph would have been able to sell or trade the precious materials for food and shelter.
The Magi are so well known for their gifts that, in many parts of the world, they are believed to bring children gifts on Epiphany/Three Kings’ Day (January 6), instead of Santa Claus bringing gifts on December 25.
Many celebrate the Feast of the Three Kings by eating rosca de reyes, a type of sweetbread shaped like a ring and filled with candied fruit and a tiny figurine of the baby Jesus. Everyone searches for the Jesus figurine. Whoever finds the tiny Jesus in their piece of rosca is blessed, and, here’s the twist, has to throw a party for their family and friends the next month.
What a beautiful tradition! It reminds me that whoever we are, wherever we come from, when we search for and find Jesus, the Bread of Life, we are blessed. And, here’s the twist, we’re called to throw a party, to share God’s outrageous, fulfilling love with others.
Michelle Rojas is the Reference & Special Collections Librarian at La Sierra University. She is a native of Loma Linda and enjoys reading, crafting, and the Internet.