Telling the story of Christ's birth was not enough for Matthew! He also told about two reactions to the birth of the Messiah.

The first reaction, as Matthew told it, was from the Magi who came from the East to Jerusalem and asked the question, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" Contemporary customs - children dressed in faded bathrobes, tired Christmas pageants, and unsightly stable scenes in church parking lots, have taken away from the wisdom of the Wise Men's story.

It is difficult to understand what Matthew meant by Magi. They might have been Zoroastrian priests who had special power to interpret dreams. Or, they could have been men who practiced various forms of secret love and magic. In the Old Testament, they were referred to as enchanters, astronomers, and interpreters of d…