Messiah for the Magi

“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?”

— Matthew 2:1–2

Unlike Luke, Matthew does not tell us about the shepherds coming to visit Jesus in the stable. His focus is immediately on foreigners — Gentiles, non-Jews — coming from the east to worship Jesus.

So, Matthew portrays Jesus at the beginning and ending of his Gospel as a universal Messiah for all the nations, not just for Jews.

Here the first worshipers are court magicians, or astrologers, or wise men not from Israel but from the East — perhaps from Babylon. They were Gentiles. Unclean, according to the Old Testament ceremonial laws.

And at the end of Matthew, the last words of Jesus are, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18–19).

This not only opened the door for us Gentiles to rejoice in the Messiah; it added proof that he was the Messiah. Because one of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come to him as the ruler of the world. For example, Isaiah 60:3, “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

So, Matthew adds proof to the messiahship of Jesus and shows that he is Messiah — a King, and Promise-Fulfiller — for all the nations, not just Israel.

©Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/messiah-for-the-magi

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.”

— Isaiah 65:17-19

Heavenly Father, “Joy to the World,” indeed. By the grace of his first coming, we have Jesus as our righteousness and you as our Father. And the Spirit as the firstfruits and guarantee of everything Isaiah describes in this heart-palpitating imagination-expanding passage.

Our tears and pain have an expiration date; but our joy and delight are just waiting to exponentially surge. You will restore, (not replace) your first creation. This world matters—everywhere we live, work, and play. Indeed, Jesus has come “to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found”—to make all things new; not make all new things.

We are pregnant with your joy, which is so very different from circumstantial happiness. The new earth will be a gigantic sanctuary of eternal delight. We—your every-nation-family will be a delight. And we will experience your unfiltered, unfettered delight forever. Hallelujah, many times over! So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ beautiful and trustworthy name.