When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” 9 After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
When Matthew tells us that magi come “from the east,” he is already widening the horizon of the story. These are not Israelites coming up to Jerusalem for worship. They are Gentile seekers who have read a sign in the heavens and now come looking for a king. Matthew is not endorsing horoscopes or astrology; he is showing that God can use even what they observed in creation to draw them toward Christ, and then he directs and completes their search through the Scriptures. In that sense, they stand at the doorway of a theme that runs through the whole Gospel: the Messiah of Israel draws the nations of the world to himself, not by force, but by a light that God provides.
Their question is direct and unsettling: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” That title sounds like a simple description of a child’s birth, but the Gospels will later place the same words at the center of Jesus’ Passion, when rulers mock him and the charge is written above him (Mk. 15:2; Jn. 19:19). Matthew lets the reader hear from the beginning that Jesus’ kingship will be contested. Herod reacts exactly as a threatened ruler reacts. Israel’s Scriptures had long promised a coming Messiah - a son of David who would rule and ‘shepherd’ God’s people - so talk of a ‘newborn king of the Jews’ sounds like a rival claim to the throne. He is “greatly troubled,” and “all Jerusalem with him.” The city’s leaders sense danger because Herod senses danger. The newborn King is not received as good news by everyone.
Herod then gathers “the chief priests and the scribes,” and the story turns in a striking direction. The magi have a star, but they still need Scripture. The leaders answer Herod from the prophet: Bethlehem is the place where a ruler will come who will “shepherd my people Israel.” Matthew is not only giving a location. He is saying that the Messiah’s kingship is meant to be shepherd-like. The true ruler does not devour the flock. He protects and gathers it. Herod’s fear and calculation are already the opposite of what God intends for his people.
Herod’s next move shows the darker side of political power. He calls the magi “secretly,” presses them for timing, and then sends them to Bethlehem with a pious-sounding lie meant to use their search for his own ends: “that I too may go and do him homage.” In Matthew’s story, worship and deception sit close together. The magi speak of homage in sincerity. Herod speaks of homage as a mask for violence.
When the magi leave Jerusalem, the star appears again and leads them onward. Matthew does not pause to explain what the star “was” in scientific terms. The point is theological: God guides the seekers he has drawn, and he brings them where they need to go. Their joy is immediate and intense because the sign has not failed them. It has brought them to the place where the child is.
The moment inside the house is quiet but full of meaning. By this point, the family is staying in a house rather than the place where Jesus was first laid in a manger. They see “the child with Mary his mother.” Matthew places Mary in the scene without speeches or explanations. She is simply there as the mother of the Messiah, while the child is the focus of worship. The magi then do two things: they prostrate themselves, and they offer gifts. Matthew describes not casual respect, but acts of reverence. The nations are bending low before Israel’s Messiah.
The gifts named are simple and concrete: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew does not explain them, but the Church has long heard them as fitting gifts for who Jesus is. Gold is a fitting gift for a king. Frankincense is a fitting gift for worship, since incense was used in sacred offering (Ex. 30:34-38). Myrrh, used in burial and costly anointing, quietly hints that this King’s path will pass through suffering and death. Even here, the Gospel’s joy is not sentimental. It is joy that already stands near a shadow that leads to the Cross and to salvation.
The final line shows God’s protection and the magi’s obedience: they are warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they go home “by another way.” That is not only a safe route. It is also the first clear frustration of Herod’s designs. God guards the child, and the Gentile worshipers do not become tools of a tyrant. Here Matthew shows the Incarnation’s humility: the Son of God comes among us in real human lowliness, so that humanity might be saved. Luke will soon show Israel’s poor receiving the news with readiness and praise (Lk. 2:15-20). Matthew shows Gentiles doing the same. Both accounts announce that God is gathering a people for his Son, while opposition already begins to rise.
Lord Jesus Christ, light for the nations and shepherd of your people, lead every seeking heart to the truth, guard the vulnerable from the power of the violent, and receive the worship of our lives with the same mercy that drew the magi to your presence. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), including NABRE notes on Mt. 2:1-12.
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: St Matthew (Four Courts/Scepter), commentary on Mt. 2:1-18 (pp. 51-52).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (Paulist Press, 2018), commentary on Mt. 2:1-23 (pp. 912-913).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, 1990), Matthew infancy narrative notes (pp. 635-636, para. 12).
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