STAR, SUPERNOVA, OR SHEKHINAH?

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

Matthew 2:1 (BSB)

SUSAN: Herod whose name means “Son of a hero” was dubbed “The Great” probably due to his planning and financing fantastic building projects including the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. He was ruthless as proved by his actions later in this passage.

SUSIE: He was identified as being Idumean meaning he descended from the Edomites, the offspring of Esau. The Edomites refused to help Israel against their enemies. Herod was made king over the Israelites by the Roman authorities.

SUSAN: Herod was a puppet king put in place and manipulated by Rome. His only interest was to keep his cushy position and not rock the Roman authorities. We will see later that he felt threatened by the idea of baby born to be king of the Jews. He received this news from travelers who came from the East.

SUSIE: According to both the Reformation Study Bible and John MacArthur Study Bible notes, these men were NOT kings, but were most likely court advisers who were both astronomers and astrologers. They may have been Zoroastrian wise men. If you want to know more about that religion, there is a brief article here:

 http://www.religionfacts.com/zoroastrianism/beliefs

SUSIE: Many scholars believe they may have been from Persia or Babylonia and would have learned of the prophesied Messiah due to Daniel’s captivity.

SUSAN: Another point of view on the Magi insists they were actually Jewish wise men who still lived in Babylon.

SUSIE: Some have even speculated that these wise men came from a Jewish school that went back to Daniel’s day, where the prophets looked to the heavens for the promised arrival of the Messiah. The star in the east was in fact a manifestation of Adonai’s Sh’khinah (Divine Presence), marking the arrival of the Son of Man.

. . . asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

 Matthew 2:2

SUSIE: Scientists have tried to explain the phenomenon of the star by saying it was a conjunction of three planets or a supernova. However, the fact that it moved and rested in one place would negate those theories. The Reformation Study Bible notes proposed that it may have been some form of the Shekinah glory of God similar to the cloud by day and pillar of light at night which led the Israelites out of Egypt. John MacArthur, Jr., in his book God with Us, The Miracle of Christmas, discusses this same theory and states it was the same glory that had shone on the shepherds. At any rate, it was a miraculous occurrence.

SUSAN: I think the star was the Father’s personal birthday candle in the sky announcing the birth of His son. The glory of the Father would surely shine at the birth of His only begotten Son who would live in perfect obedience to His law and fulfill His plan to redeem the ones He had chosen.

SUSIE:  The wise men stated that their sole purpose in traveling from the East was to find this Baby and worship Him.

SUSAN: The wise men may have been only seekers, or they may have been expectant Jewish scholars, anticipating the Messiah’s arrival like Simeon and Anna.

SUSIE: If they were Zoroastrians, they believed in a multiplicity of saviors and may have thought the one born king of the Jews was just one of them. If they were Jewish sages from Babylon as proposed in the Complete Jewish Study Bible, then they truly came to worship the Messiah, the Son of God. They did not come desiring gifts from Him but bearing gifts for Him.

SUSAN: Their gifts were even of symbolic significance.  They did not see this baby King as a cosmic Santa Claus or a supernatural slot machine like many people approach God today. They saw Him as an important spiritual figure to be worshipped.