The message of the Magi (wise men) Matthew 2:1-12:
All of us are familiar with the story of the three wise men. We have seen the Nativity scene enacted many times in which the three wise men walk into the stable bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Who exactly were "wise men" anyway? How many of them were there? Matthew does not tell us how many wise men were there. All we can be sure of is that there was more than one. And when did the wise men visit Yahshua?

In his book ‘The Travels’ Marco Polo, the great traveler, wrote about the tombs of three great kings in Persia.
‘In Persia is the city called Saveh, from which the three Magi set out when they came to worship Messiah. Here they lie buried in three sepulchres of great size and beauty. Their bodies are still whole, and they have hair and beards. One was named Beltasar, the second Gaspar, and the third Melchior.’ Marco Polo asked several of the inhabitants who these Magi were; but no one could tell him anything except that they were three kings who were buried there in days gone by. The inhabitants declare that in days gone by three kings of this country went to worship a new-born prophet and took with them three offerings -gold, frankincense, and myrrh - so as to discover whether this prophet was a god, or an earthly king or a healer. For they said: 'If he takes gold, he is an earthly king; if frankincense, a god; if myrrh, a healer.'

When did the magi visit Messiah? A Sunday school Christmas performance shows the magi coming behind the shepherds--arriving minutes after the actual birth--but this was not so. "Now when Yahshua was born . . . there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem"(Matt.2:1). From Jerusalem, the magi still had to travel to Bethlehem. And when King Herod committed his massacre, he estimated that the "King of the Jews" was possibly as old as 2 years--and we read that he got this estimate from the magi(Matt.2:16).

Further, the three Wise Men were Magi, which was an order of the Pagan Medo-Persian religious order of Zoroaster. The Magi were ancient interpreters of dreams and were astrologers, sorcerers, and magicians. The three Wise Men were scholars and therefore had access to the writings of Daniel, in which the coming of the Messiah was prophesied. As astrologers with a religious background, the magi understood that this particular star over Bethlehem pointed to the birth and presence of the Messiah.

Now these are the details surrounding the visit of the magi, but there is much more for us to gain from this passage than just the details of their visit. We learn, more importantly, from the magi of the East, how we should respond to the presence of Messiah.

". . . and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy"(Matt.2:9-10). The star, which indicated of the presence of the Messiah, caused the magi to "rejoice". Matthew doesn't simply report that the magi "rejoiced", but he reports that they "rejoiced with exceeding great joy". Rejoicing "exceedingly with great joy"-- does that describe us when we are in the presence of Messiah? Messiah is always with us because we have the word of Elohim with us. When we read how the magi responded to the physical presence of Messiah, we must keep in mind that we are always in the presence of Messiah. The apostle Paul insists that we should "rejoice in the Lord always"(Phil. 4:4).

A Christian’s life is intended to be a joyful life. But, for many people, Christmas is not a joyful time. It is during the Christmas season when we seem to miss those people in our life who have passed away. It is during the Christmas season when we seem to worry most about finances. For these reasons, the Christmas season is not always a joy for every individual. The way in which Christians can win back their joy is simply to rejoice in the presence of Messiah. Our difficulties began when we focused on our circumstances rather than remembering that we are children who are loved by Elohim.
Mary and Joseph were also not happy with their circumstances. Neither Mary nor Joseph rejoiced at the news of Mary's pregnancy. Matthew tells us that Joseph initially wanted "to put Mary away quietly"(Matt. 1:19). Mary was confused, Joseph wanted to break up. Their thoughts changed when an angel convinced Joseph that he should not leave Mary. Mary sang, "My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my saviour"(Lk. 1:46, 47) when the angel appeared to her. The lesson to be learned here is very clear--Christmas season will be more joyful, life will be more joyful, when we take our attention off the circumstances and learn to "rejoice in the Lord".

We should be encouraged by the faith of the magi--they were rejoicing even though they had seen only the star but not the Messiah. The star was all the assurance the magi needed to be convinced of the presence of Messiah. We too must remember that the Bible gives us the assurance of the presence of Messiah. And this presence should make us ‘rejoice exceedingly’. We too will see him one day,

The second response they had to the presence of Messiah was that they "worshipped Him" by giving Him "gifts". “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matt.2:11)

Let us ask ourselves, "How often are we moved by the presence of Messiah to worship Him by bringing Him gifts?" What kind of gifts can we bring to Elohim? Paul tells us in Rom.12:1, how we are to worship God and what kind of gifts we are to bring," I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh might have been acceptable to the infant Yahshua, but not to the resurrected Messiah.
           
Some people think that by giving some money to the church or spending time in church makes them Christians. Paul wants every part of our life to be a form of worship to God. That means your marriage, your role as a parent, your job--all of these things are to be treated as contexts for worshipping Elohim, by living good Christian lives which are acceptable to Elohim and bring glory and honour to him. Many of us leave church on Sunday full of joy after an hour of worship only to have the rest of the week bring us stress. Why does this happen? This happens because when we leave church we often cease to worship God. If we could understand how to worship Elohim from Monday to Friday, then we will be joyful Christians, always.

Messiah is always with us. He is with us right now. He wants you to rejoice in Him, and He wants you to worship Him by bringing gifts. Not material gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh--He wants you. Yahshua was born for you, he died for you. The key to true joy is found in worshipping Him.