God is Not the Possession of Church Members
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him." Matt. 2:1, 2, NKJV.
An important truth of the Bible is that God works with all people, not just those in the "church." So it was with the "Magi from the east" (NIV). Those men probably came from Persia, where they formed a priestly class learned in such areas as philosophy, medicine, and natural science. One of the main interests of such people was astrology, a "science" prevalent throughout the ancient world as a way of discerning the purposes of the gods. Thus when the Magi saw the supernatural star they set out to discover its significance.
We do not know exactly how they came to connect that special star with the birth of the "King of the Jews," but there are several possibilities. For one thing, as a result of the Babylonian captivity Jewish communities had scattered throughout the Near East. And since the second century B.C. those exiled Jews had a translation of the Bible in the universal Greek language. Thus learned individuals of the priestly type would have had access to the Old Testament.
Of special note to the astrological interest of the Magi would have been the words of another Gentile Magi in Numbers 24:17, in which Balaam declared: "A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel" (NIV). Many Jews about the time of Jesus' birth viewed that very text as a prediction of the coming Messiah.
That specific expectation and the more general Jewish one of the coming Messiah-King led to a widespread belief in the Roman Empire that a world ruler would arise in Palestine. Thus the Roman historian Suetonius (c. A.D. 100) could write: "There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judea to rule the world" (Life of Vespasian 4:5). Similarly, Tacitus (c. A.D. 55-120), another Roman historian, reported that "there was a firm persuasion...that at this very time the East was to grow powerful, and rulers coming from Judea were to acquire a universal empire" (Histories 5:13). With those thoughts in mind, it is not too unusual that the Magi followed the star in their search for "He who has been born King of the Jews." Then again, the God who warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod (Matt. 2:12) may also have given them dreams concerning the star. Our God is able and willing to utilize a multitude of ways and people to set forth His saving truth.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him." Matt. 2:1, 2, NKJV.
An important truth of the Bible is that God works with all people, not just those in the "church." So it was with the "Magi from the east" (NIV). Those men probably came from Persia, where they formed a priestly class learned in such areas as philosophy, medicine, and natural science. One of the main interests of such people was astrology, a "science" prevalent throughout the ancient world as a way of discerning the purposes of the gods. Thus when the Magi saw the supernatural star they set out to discover its significance.
We do not know exactly how they came to connect that special star with the birth of the "King of the Jews," but there are several possibilities. For one thing, as a result of the Babylonian captivity Jewish communities had scattered throughout the Near East. And since the second century B.C. those exiled Jews had a translation of the Bible in the universal Greek language. Thus learned individuals of the priestly type would have had access to the Old Testament.
Of special note to the astrological interest of the Magi would have been the words of another Gentile Magi in Numbers 24:17, in which Balaam declared: "A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel" (NIV). Many Jews about the time of Jesus' birth viewed that very text as a prediction of the coming Messiah.
That specific expectation and the more general Jewish one of the coming Messiah-King led to a widespread belief in the Roman Empire that a world ruler would arise in Palestine. Thus the Roman historian Suetonius (c. A.D. 100) could write: "There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judea to rule the world" (Life of Vespasian 4:5). Similarly, Tacitus (c. A.D. 55-120), another Roman historian, reported that "there was a firm persuasion...that at this very time the East was to grow powerful, and rulers coming from Judea were to acquire a universal empire" (Histories 5:13). With those thoughts in mind, it is not too unusual that the Magi followed the star in their search for "He who has been born King of the Jews." Then again, the God who warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod (Matt. 2:12) may also have given them dreams concerning the star. Our God is able and willing to utilize a multitude of ways and people to set forth His saving truth.
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