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THE EPISODE OF THE MAGI
The Gospel of the Infancy, according to Matthew, presents the antecedents of the great work of Jesus of Nazareth and shows how the roots of his existence foreshadow the fruits ofhis messianic work. From 5 quotes from the prophets, the school of scribes that we call the school of Matthew, the group that made the final editorial of this text, has elaborated narrations according to the apostolic tradition on the birth of Jesus. He is Immanuel, the God-with-us. Scholars speak of a great inclusion, that is, a quote that contains the entire text.
At the beginning, it is announced that a child will be born of Mary; Joseph gives him the name of Jesus, but to fulfill what the prophet says, he will be called Immanuel. Matthew explains that this name means God-with-us. This meaning becomes clear in the end. The last words of the Risen Christ are, “I will be with you.” This is Immanuel, Jesus-God is with us, with the Christian community, every day until the end of the world. This is called inclusion. Jesus is the Immanuel; at the text’s beginning and end, an element frames it and highlights the Christological theme and its relationship with the Church.
Jesus is God-with-us because the Church is the community in which the Risen Lord identifies himself. At the center of the gospel, in chapter 18, the ecclesial discourse, we find another essential saying that completes the third with the two at the extremes: “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I will be there in their midst.” Here is Immanuel again. ‘I am / I will be’ = the name of God, amid two or three gathered in my name. Therefore, the meeting in the name of Jesus is not simply a meeting in the parish; it implies that people are united through and in relation to Jesus, and there is the authentic and real presence of the Risen Lord.
From the beginning, we understand the meaning of the event. The final fulfillment sheds light on Jesus’ history. The Gospel’s first and seventh parts clarify the central block, which is divided into five parts. But let’s go back to the infancy narratives. After Joseph’s dream, Matthew narrates a well-known yet little-understood episode: that of the magi. The birth of Jesus is not narrated; instead, the dream of Joseph, who agrees to receive Mary, pregnant with the child, is recounted. And then comes the visit of these strange characters called magi.
“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem.” At the beginning of Matthew’s chapter two, we assumethat Jesus was born. It does not mention any details about the place or the manner. It is notedwith a parenthetical phrase: “When Jesus was born.” We are told where: “in Bethlehem” andwhen: “In the days of King Herod.”
All attention is focused on the “magi.” It does not say how many there are. The text does not say there were three, nor does it even say they were “kings.” It simply presents them as μάγοι = ‘magoi,’ and we have translated them as ‘magicians.’ Why do we call them ‘magicians’? We don’t like the name very much, but in fact, in Greek μάγοι is what in English we call ‘magicians.’ But, correctly, the Greek term indicated priests of the Persians of the ‘Zoroastrian’ cult, the priests of Zarathustra, linked to the study of the stars; more astrologers than astronomers, astrologers who study the stars to know how the world is going and to determine the events in the world.
They are foreigners of another religion and a bit strange, but nothing is said about them, no description, just some magi who come from the East. “They came to Jerusalem asking: Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
The presentation is not very logical. In Jerusalem, they are perplexed, especially King Herod: “When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled.” He is the King of the Jews. If a new king is born, he is not yet king. Just imagine that probably the next two, three, four, or five popes are already alive and do not know that they will be pontiffs, but in due time,they will be. How do you know that the new pope was born? Simply, a child in 60 or 70 years may become a Pope, but who knows about it now?
In Herod’s family, there is no son to inherit the throne. If a child is born who, in the future, will take away Herod’s throne, this worries him. How do you know who the king is? These foreigners come to Jerusalem and ask, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have come to do him homage.” Herod says: ‘I am the King of the Jews; if you want to adore me, I have no problem.’ ‘No, we want to adore the newborn.’ ‘How can you say that another king has been born? Is he the one who will take my job away?’ They look for a king to worship.
We should not read the text simply anecdotally, like a fable, but we must learn to understand its depth, for it is a theological elaboration. They are foreign wise men of other religions who come to Jerusalem in search of a king to be worshiped. But why should they worship a king of the Jews? Why should they pay homage to a king? “We are looking for a king to worship.” It is strange, and Herod does not understand what is happening. The hint these foreigners offer is that they have seen a star. It can be translated: “We have seen its star in the East” or “We have seen its star rise,” because the concept of ‘East’ is precisely that of the sunrise or the rising of another star. What have these astrologers from the East seen? A star. Today, we would be sure it is a comet because we always put that in our examples, but the text does not say so. It just mentions a ἀστέρα = ‘astera’ = star.
Giotto was the first in the history of art to depict a comet, in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova, Italy, at the beginning of the 1300s. He was influenced by a circle of amateur astronomers who had discussed Halley’s Comet, which had been observed a few years earlier. Based on their descriptions, Giotto designed a comet, an artistic invention. The depiction was well received, and many others imitated it until it became a standard.
The text does not mention a comet. What did these astrologers see? Modern researchers have set out to look for celestial phenomena of this type: the appearance of a giant comet, a supernova, an explosion that gave rise to a new celestial body, or the conjunction of planets.
Astrologers handle these concepts, and then someone speaks of a particular superposition of Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter would be the king of the gods, and Saturn would be the reference for the Jews. How can they say that? In English, we have the word Saturday, and Saturday is the Jewish day; in English, it is called Saturday, so it is the day of Saturn. Typical American reasoning! Jupiter is king, and Saturn = Jews; if the two planets are put together, astrologers understand that the king of the Jews was born. And then, by looking at the reconstructions of these astral movements, it is also possible to identify the precise time atwhich this conjunction of planets has been observed.
Matthew is not saying that all useless, unfounded proceedings are irrelevant. His reference is the Scriptures. If a particular star is mentioned, Matthew thinks of the star seen by Balaam, a magician from the east. As mentioned in the book of Numbers, chapter 24, there is a great oracle of Balaam, “son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is true,” who was called to curse Israel but instead blessed it and announced something they were looking forward to. “I see him, though not now; I observe him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel” (Num 24:17).
It is the promise of the monarchy of David, a star or a scepter. ‘A star shall rise’; a great personage has emerged who holds the scepter (a sign of royal command). Therefore, the Star of David arises. The oracular prophetic announcement of a monarchy in Israel will bring unity to the people and power to the nation. A magus from the East announced that a star would rise in Israel. Other magi from the East say that this star has arisen. A star has risen from Jacob; a scepter has risen from Israel, and the king of the Jews was born.
The true monarchy, which inherits the promises made to David and his descendants, has now come to pass. Herod understands that it speaks of the Messiah, the son of David, and asks the court scribes to explain where the Messiah will be born. They know the theory and explain to the king that Micah said it will be in Bethlehem because David was born there; therefore, the new shepherd will emerge from Bethlehem. The star rises over Bethlehem, the place where David was born. The distant people have moved; they have come a long way and reached Jerusalem.
In the kingdom’s capital, the theory is known, the scriptures are known, and the city is identified, but you don’t move the story of Matthew. The story of Matthew shows that those who are distant come closer, while those who are close, those who know the theory, do not actually accept it. It is an anticipation of what will happen after Easter. The people of Israel, the natural recipients of the evangelical promise, will not accept it.
Knowing the Scriptures and seeing the life of Jesus, they could not welcome or understand the fulfillment of the Scriptures. However, the distant ones, like the people of Antioquia, where Mathew’s school is located, come closer and are willing to embrace the ancient Scriptures and recognize that Jesus is the fulfillment. Those who come from afar are looking for a king to worship. And it’s not Herod; it is not that dominant human mentality that seeks power for itself, which those who come from afar want to worship.
They are willing to bend their knees before another kind of king, the Lord Jesus, in the simplicity of a house in Bethlehem. Herod tries to deceive the magi by pretending interest and sending them ahead, asking them to let him know where the child is. The magi depart, and as they leave Jerusalem, they see the star again.
In reality, a star is very far away; it cannot accurately indicate a place or a city. Between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, there are about 9 kilometers. Based on a star, Bethlehem is not recognizable. The town of Bethlehem is very small … the star is always in the same place; itdoes not stop in a country, much less in a house. It is a theological story.
The star is an image of faith, of availability to the transcendent, that distant foreigners from another religion allow themselves to be guided by the signs of creation. If one is available, along with the Scriptures that mention Bethlehem, there is also creation that indicates Bethlehem. Following the two paths, they are confident to start the march; they arrive, enter the house, and realize that the star precedes them: “When they saw the star, they were filled with immense joy.” It is the enthusiasm needed to recognize that the desired goal has been achieved. “They entered the house; they saw the child with his mother, Mary.” They didn’t see a king, they didn’t enter a palace, but in a simple house in Bethlehem: “They saw the child with his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.”
It is the same verb we find at the end of Matthew. On the mountain of Galilee, the disciples prostrated themselves in adoration upon seeing the risen Jesus. When Jesus was a small child, the Magi made the same gesture of adoration. These distant foreigners, strange figures, recognized in that child the Immanuel, the God-with-us. The king, who has been given all power in heaven and on earth, deserves worship.
“Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” These are symbolic gifts. Church tradition has never hesitated to interpret them this way: Gold could also be understood as coins or money, but in fact it is an object made of gold, probably a crown, and therefore reminiscent of royalty. But what is incense for? If we contemplate a scene from everyday life, we see Joseph receiving the gift of precious incense. What does he do with it? Does he put it in the censer? Incense was used in the temple as a sign of recognition of divinity; burning incense before the Lord signified raising one’s prayer to God.
Offering gold means acknowledging that the child is king. Offering incense means acknowledging that he is God. And myrrh is the strangest and most paradoxical gift. To us, it just sounds like an exotic term. Myrrh is a very fragrant and precious perfume, but it was used to anoint corpses; it is like giving the chest of death. A child is not given a coffin. It would indeed be a useful gift to put under the bed and keep there; in due course, it will be useful … it can be kept, but one does not give it as a gift. The gift of myrrh to a child has symbolic value. Myrrh serves the dead; it is an ointment that announces Jesus’ burial. Therefore, it is a recognition of humanity and an indication of mortality.
It is the third element: king, God, and mortal man. These alien astrologers kneel before a child, acknowledging his mortal humanity, yet they know he is also God and the universal king. Therefore, they disobey Herod. They worship another king, leave Herod in his palace, let him go his way, and return by another way. Their lives have changed; they do not reveal what they discovered to Herod; they are different from when they arrived. They return to their land by another way. A change has occurred.
The encounter with the Lord Jesus, recognized as king, changed their lives. This episode is a marvel of theological history, demonstrating universal openness. We also depict the magi with different skin tones to represent large groups of humanity and perhaps to reflect different ages: one young, one middle-aged, and one elderly. It is possible to recognize Jesus in all stages of life.
The apocryphal tradition has also given them names. We know them as Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar, and these names are significant. One represents the king of light: Melchior, black (Africa). Balthasar is a Babylonian Semitic name that refers to the Semites, and Gaspar is a German name that denotes the Nordic, blond; they are Indo-European. These are traditional inventions to say that all people, not just Israel, all people of all ages, of all races, of all cultures, and all religions are looking for a king to worship: Jesus is that king, that child, mortal man but true God to worship.
Matthew begins with the meaning that will be understood at the end, and in the story of his gospel, he will then explain what the infancy gospel had already hinted at.