Will the Real Magi Please Stand Up!

Wednesday, December 9, 2015 

            In my attempt to look beneath the surface of the all-too-familiar nativity stories in Luke and then this week in Matthew, I am looking for what I hope may be a deeper truth in those ancient tales so that they may speak in a new and fresh way for all of us.  An academic truism is that we must know what biblical texts meant to the original audience in order to know what they mean for us.  I am struggling with this truism that I have held so deeply for so long.  Yes, I am interested in what the story meant over two thousand years ago; however, my heart is struggling to get beneath the layers of tradition – both mine as the collective tradition of all who have come before me.  I am asking myself what these passages have to say in our world that is in some ways so beautiful, and yet so broken.  There are Herods all over the globe who are trying to destroy what is good, even in our own country.  However, I still believe that the magi are present in this holy season in our world.  But…what I am truly asking is “Will the Real Magi for OUR World Please Stand Up!”

            The magi probably weren’t who we have been led to believe throughout our lives.  According to Albright and Mann, the text does not say that there were three magi.  This notion may have come from the fact that three gifts were brought to Jesus.  Furthermore, the idea that they were Gentile kings also cannot be substantiated.  Moreover, the magi did not necessarily come from the East; this comes from a copyist’s error.  “In the East” seems to be a “technical expression referring to the beginning of the phenomenon observed by the magi” (12).  The phrase is better translated as “in our own land” (12).  These men should not be known as astrologers or wise men; Albright and Mann hold that “magi” is the proper term for them.  However, that leaves me with more questions than answers: What are “magi?”  Also, I also wonder what “homage” really means; I have always assumed that it meant something like “to bow down and worship,” but I have learned that a lot of the assumptions I have had from this passage have been wrong.  I would have liked clarification on this, but I was not able to learn any more about it than the fact that the word “homage” is used more often in Matthew (thirteen times) than in the other synoptic gospels (12).

            Regarding the person of Herod, he ruled from 37-4 BCE.  In verse 3, when he learned about the birth of a child who to be the king of the Jews, he was “frightened” or “disturbed.”  The same word is used of the disciples when in Matthew 14.26 it is translated “terrified” to describe the Twelve when they saw Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee.  This correlation helps me to better understand Herod’s feelings.  The one thing that the Romans did not want was insurrection – someone threatening or claiming to be the king.  Moreover, Albright and Mann further clarify how Herod and the disciples felt: “In both instances the fear results from a lack of faith” (12).

            Over the centuries much symbolism has been attached to the gold, frankincense, and myrrh that the magi brought to Jesus as a young child.  Some have based their suggestions on texts in the Old Testament (Psalm 72.10, 11, 15 and Isaiah 60.6).  Justin Martyr seems to be the first writer who has drawn a connection between these verses (13).  Although myrrh was used to anoint a king and its ink was used to write magical charms, these three gifts were also common to the work of magi.  However, they would not have been used as homage to a king.

            Albright and Mann reveal that the Jews were not the only people in the ancient world who had hopes for a “semidivine hero-ruler” (13).  (I suspect that it has been a longing for various groups of people as well as individuals across all time.  I know that it was a longing of mine long before I was cognizant of Jesus as being described as a Messiah.)

            More insights concerning the magi can be found throughout the literature.  One thing is certain, however: There is so much more to these characters in the nativity stories of Jesus than meets the eye.  I still want The Real Magi to Please Stand Up!