The Magi From the East : Eyewitnesses of the First Christmas

The Magi From The East : Eyewitnesses of the First Christmas

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod , Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, “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 : 1 – 2

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worship him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with the gift s of gold of incense and of myrrh.

Matthew 2 : 11

Among the events revolving around Christmas I find the “Visit of the Magi” an interesting one. Who are really these Magi ? I heard from one Pastor who was expounding on this topic that they were wisemen from Persia. This incident shows that people from other parts of the world not just from Israel were anticipating the Messiah. The Magi’s visit implies that Jesus came for all people not just for the Jews.

These wise men from Persia were among the eyewitnesses of the first Christmas.They were the ones who experienced the true spirit of Christmas which is worship. These wisemen must be anticipating the coming of the Messiah for many years already. That is why when the actual day of Messiah’s birth arrived, they did not hesitate to travel great distance just to witness his arrival on earth. Upon seeing the boy Jesus, these wise men worshipped the child and gave their best offerings. The wisemen acknowledged the Lordship of the Christ child.

It is an irony that the religious leaders of Israel were totally ignorant of the event of the coming of the Messiah , while the wisemen from faraway Gentile nation had a knowledge of it. Truly the first will be last and the last will be the first. The wisemen from faraway heathen nation had seen salvation first before the religious Jewish leaders.

The visit of the Magi implies that Jesus is the Messiah for all nations not just for the nation Israel. The salvation Jesus brings is for all nations of the world.

The true spirit of Christmas is worship as it was experienced by the Magi from the East, Christmas must be centered on Christ not to anybody. There are some people who are more concern on what gifts they will receive this Christmas season rather than what should they offer to Christ this Christmas, The Magi from the East offered their best gifts to Christ out of their treasures. Are we willing to give to Christ the best gift out of our treasures. One of the best gift the we can give to Christ this Christmas is a holy and consecrated life.Christmas is a great time for rededicating our lives to God so that we may experience true worship which is the true spirit of Christmas. Christ should be the center of our lives daily so that everyday will be a christmas to us.

We don’t’ have to spend extravagantly to experience the true spirit of Christmas . There are some who celebrates Christmas extravagantly but the truth is they have a christless christmas because they are living in wickedness apart from the will of God. We may just have a simple Christmas but as long as Jesus is Lord in our lives , we will experience the true spirit of Christmas.