Wisdom is an interesting word. Wisdom is a kind of combinatory faculty of the human mind which uses knowledge, experience, comprehension, common sense, insight, intuition, the senses, perception, compassion, and understanding of signs and oracles, mysteries and miracles to discern what is true about something or a situation.

For the wise, knowledge is not limited to facts and figures but can comprise all of the mysteries of the universe and beyond. A wise person assesses a situation or person and intuits, sees, or understands things that others may miss. Wise people are good decision makers and accurate readers of people and personalities. They recognize patterns, and they make choices based on what many others might dismiss as missing in accuracy, proofs, or tangible evidence.

The wise prove that knowledge goes far beyond what the simple eye can see or communication can reveal. In fact, wisdom argues that sight and words are easily deceptive. True knowledge lies somewhere in the “in between.”

Those who rely on facts prefer to see only in the bright light of day. The wise see best in (or shall I say through or past) the grey, haze of humanness to reveal what lies beyond or beneath the surface.

In early biblical times, and still in the time of Jesus’ birth, every court in the known world employed “magi” –that is, wise men. These would be advisors to the King, for they could “see” and foretell, warn that is, of coming dangers to the kingdom. They could interpret dreams. They could give sound economic and agricultural advice, based on the movement of the stars, weather patterns, the planetary positions, and the skies. They could predict calamities and see-through enemy posers. They could detect the best solutions to problems and discern the right paths to take. They were sound in judgment. They were mathematicians, philosophers, theologians, cultural gurus, intellectuals, and prophets. They were astronomers and astrologers, psychologists, and spiritualists. They not only understood their own culture and religion but they studied the cultures and religions of their foreign neighbors and enemies. They read widely from the available libraries. They were the scholars of their day. They held one of the most prominent and vital positions in the kingdom. Their word was as good as gold.

We can’t be sure who the magi were who came to see the baby Jesus. We aren’t sure from which countries they hailed or from which prophetic manuscripts they knew about the coming Jewish Messiah. But we do know they knew.

Most believe they were following the predictions of one of their own ancient magi –Daniel. Daniel, appointed magus extraordinaire to King Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian captivity, was known as one of the wisest men ever to advise a king. Unhappy with his own advisors, the king appointed the Jewish Daniel, who was able to advise wisely for many years. In his writings, Daniel predicted the coming of a messiah, who would rule Jerusalem but later be cut down. From other texts, the magi knew this messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, and that a star would lead them to the place (Daniel 9, Micah 5, Numbers 24).

They studied the manuscripts, they studied the stars, they constructed timelines, and they looked for signs in their culture and in their world. When the time came for the messiah to be born, they knew and made the historic trip that Matthew recorded for us.

Most interesting is that these magi did not fear the child. The countries they heralded from did not see the new Jewish king as a threat, for he was to unite the world in peace. The ones who feared Jesus were the ones holding power in Jerusalem. The magi discerned their characters very quickly. They understood jealousy. And they understood the dangers and temptations of power.

At this point I want to remind you that writers of the gospels could not possibly record every single thing about Jesus or his life, his teachings, or even his ministry. The volumes would fill a library. No one could possibly record everything even about someone’s biography. When we write a biography, we choose moments, memories, and acts that stand out, that define that person, that we find interesting or useful, or that we hold in high esteem.

The gospel writers too wrote this way. In their “biography” of Jesus, what they choose to include is important. What they choose to highlight is extremely important. And we must ask why.

Why did they make that trip then? Why did they first go to Jerusalem? Why did they bring the gifts they did? Why did they thwart Herod? All good questions to ponder. When we do, we realize how very wise these magi truly were.

Something else becomes extremely important in the magi’s discernment of the birth of Jesus: his heritage. The Jewish scrolls (including what we now call apocrypha and missing texts no doubt) pointed to a messiah, whose both parents would hail from the line of the legendary King David. The Essenes long knew the importance of this lineage and would have protected that knowledge (and the family who bore it) as long as they could to ensure the life of the future king.

The magi not only sought Jesus. They protected him. This is vitally important to understand about the role of the magi in Matthew’s gospel. They are responsible for keeping Herod away from the child and enabling his family to shuffle him undercover to Egypt for the next few years until the death of Herod.

It seems that many around the Jewish territory understood what was going on in Jerusalem, understood the political and spiritual implications of the birth of this newborn king, understood the monumental religious meaning behind the birth of Jesus, and sought to honor and protect the newborn revolutionary.  In a sense, everyone knew but Herod and the Jewish elite! While the world was secretly contemplating and welcoming the birth of a prophetic Jewish ruler, who would revolutionize, bring peace to, and unite the world, the elite of Judea slept, or ignored the signs. They were too caught up in their own power and drama. Anything that would threaten it, they would see not as a welcome sign but as fodder for a kill.

By the time the magi saw the constellations that led them to make the long journey to Jerusalem in Judah, by the time they did their rounds with Herod, by the time they set off again in the direction of Bethlehem, and by the time they found the child, the child Jesus was in a house (most likely built by that time by his father Joseph) along with his mother, and he was probably at least 1 year old.

There they presented the child and his mother with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Gold for the journeying and raising of the child, frankincense for incense (which was also an anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial), and myrrh for healing of wounds. All of these were care and protective agents to ensure the life of the child. Many children died young in those days. They needed to make sure this one was kept well. These were valuable and practical gifts to ensure the well-being of a child. For the magi were not only philosophers but healers, natural healers, who understood the medicinal properties of herbs and stones, spices and oils.[1]

In everything they did, the magi protected Jesus. Finally, warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. Who warned them? The God of the Hebrews? Their own perception of the situation? Their inherent wisdom?

We will never quite know. But we do know that the magi had a key role in protecting and guarding the life of the infant messiah, the Jewish messiah, for whom they had great hopes for that nation and the world at large.

Today, the magi have an even more important lesson for us: that knowledge lies far beyond what we can see with our eyes and understand with facts and figures. Intuition, signs, mysteries, prophecies –these begin with faith in God, the God who came down among us as the Emmanuel and started a revolution.

Never underestimate the power of your faith, your spiritual discernment, your prayers, and your meditations. These are your gateways to true wisdom and knowledge of Christ.

Be the “magi” of your day. Study the scriptures. Seek to understand the ways of God. Engage in daily prayer, meditation, and solitude. Take part in worship, praise, and thanksgiving.

These are not just the joys of Christmas. These are the ways of the faithful and the wise.

May Christ be with you this season and always!