Who Were The Magi?

Just who were the Magi, the Wise Men who went in search of the King of the Jews?

We really don't know who they were, as far as names. The traditional names are not recorded in Scripture, so as far as we know, history has forgotten their names. The term "magician" is derived from Magi, but it is erroneous in meaning, in other words, they were not magicians. There is historically a connection to sorcery, but not in the way we think of it. These men were actually a clan or tribe of priests in the area known as Media and Persia. They can be traced as far back as Ur of the Chaldees, Abraham's home. This would be present day Turkey and Iraq.

Fast forward to the time of the Babylonian exile with the prophet Daniel. We find Daniel being promoted to the chief of the Wise men...these were the Magi. To see that the Magi of the Nativity story knew about this new King of the Jews, otherwise known as the Messiah, they must have had, as part of their education, the writings of Belteshazzar. This was Daniel's Babylonian name.

They were scientists, astronomers, astrologers and political consultants. They were known as the "King-makers". History tells us that they could make or break a man's ascension to the throne. What they said was law. This is referred to in the book of Daniel when the Magi who were against Daniel sought to make him look bad to King Darius. When the king was deceived into creating a law that forbade anyone to pray to any God or gods other than himself, this was called the "Law of the Medes & Persians".

The East was at odds with Rome at the time of the Census. It was an area that had not bowed the knee to Caesar. Rome feared these Magi and their followers. They fought all the time in the area known as Palestine. This is probably why Herod was so uneasy at their arrival in Jerusalem and they more than likely had a regiment of soldiers with them.
Being astronomers/astrologers, it is no wonder they followed a Star to find Him. All through history stars had been harbingers of new & great kings at their births. It is said that the Star that led them was found in the "eye" of the constellation known as the Lion or Leo. Isn't it interesting that the Lion is a symbol of Christ?

They came looking for The King that would be the salvation of all men. He would bring an end to all war and strife. He would deliver men from themselves.

As the saying goes, Wise Men still seek Him.

Think about it.

CHRISTMAS IS LIKE CAP’N CRUNCH CEREAL

So, my lovely wife Beth brought home some cereal from the grocery the other day. It was Capt. Crunch...the Christmas version. It has red & green pieces in it to commemorate the birth of Jesus...wait...red & green have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus do they?

So, I was on my way to work the other day and saw a Christmas themed billboard about some sort of alcoholic beverage, because nothing says "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" like killing a few brain cells and getting drunk...no, wait, that doesn't have anything to do with the birth of Jesus either.

So, I was watching the news the other day when I saw a story about people trampling a Wal-Mart employee to death because that represents the Virgin birth of Jesus... no, wait, that has nothing to do Jesus either...hmmmmmm.

So what does happen this time of year that has to do with the Greatest Birth to ever take place? Not much. You may see a Nativity set on someone's lawn or mantle, or maybe hear the radio station that plays Christmas Music 24/7 from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Day. You may even pull out the Christmas videos/dvds and start watching them, you know, uh, well, uh, there really aren't very many anymore that have to do with the Baby Jesus.

If you're lucky, you may catch "The Little Drummer Boy" on late one night. It's on late so as not to offend those who don't believe that Christmas has anything to do with Jesus...unfortunately they are becoming correct.

Most of us know that Jesus wasn't born in December...more than likely He was born in the spring to coincide with the birth of lambs, many of which would be raised in a good Jewish home for 1 year only to be slaughtered as the Passover sacrifice the next spring...coincidence? I think not.
Most of us also know that December 25th is a holiday date of pagan origin, as is the Christmas tree. Many of the "window dressings" of Christmas are of pagan origin.

So what do we do with this information? Do we harp on it and rag on the people who celebrate this time of the year? Do we stand on a street corner and try to dissuade people from buying the evergreen trees which are a symbol of the fertility gods & godesses of the eastern European countries?

What we can do is...we celebrate the wondrous, Virgin Birth of the One Child who was born with the sole purpose of living a sinless life and dying a death that was meant for you & me. We do not keep this holiday for pagan reasons...if we knew all the things that we do/participate in that have "pagan origins" we would probably never leave our homes!

Remember, in spite of the nonsense that goes on this time of year; in spite of the commercialism and the selfishness that runs rampant the month of December, we must celebrate the One who came to make forgiveness available for the above mentioned offenses.

Think about it.