The Persians at the Cradle
What Matthew 2 Was Actually Describing When It Wrote About the Magi Two chapters into the Gospel of Matthew, before the angels and the shepherds and most of the imagery the Western imagination associates with Christmas, foreigners arrive in Jerusalem. They come from the east. They have been following a star. They want to know where to find the newborn king of the Jews so that they may worship him. They eventually find him in Bethlehem, prostrate themselves, open their treasures, and present three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
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What Matthew 2 Was Actually Describing When It Wrote About the Magi Two chapters into the Gospel of Matthew, before the angels and the shepherds and most of the imagery the Western imagination associates with Christmas, foreigners arrive in Jerusalem. They come from the east. They have been following a star. They want to know where to find the newborn king of the Jews so that they may worship him. They eventually find him in Bethlehem, prostrate themselves, open their treasures, and present three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They are warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they go home another way. The Greek word Matthew uses for these visitors is magoi , the plural of magos .
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