I.      Background

    A.   Magi

        1.     What’s a “magi”?

                    (1)  Comes from Greek “magos,” which came from the even older Persian word, “magus”

                                    (a)    “refers to a magician, sorcerer, or one wise in interpreting the stars and/or dreams”

                                    (a)    in the Persian Empire, it was the magi who were responsible for religious practices and for funerals

                                    (b)   so they were essentially pagan priests who dabbled in sorcery, magic, and astrology

            d)    Now, what does the Old Testament say about these kind of people?

                    (1)  Deuteronomy 18:9-13

                    (2)  2 Chronicles 33:1-2, 5-6

    B.  Herod

        1.     Herod was the king of Israel

        2.     Herod was a pretty nasty guy

            a)     Had 10 wives—not at the same time

                    (1)  We don’t know how all of them died, but of the ones we do know about—we know that they did    something to make Herod mad, so Herod found a reason to have them executed

            b)    With 10 wives, you’d assume Herod had a lot of kids

                    (1)  And he did

                    (2)  And they were all fighting over who would be king when Herod was dead

                    (3)  Herod wrote 6 wills, each time naming a different successor, depending on who he liked best at the time

                                        (a)    Antipater, the son who was set to become king under Herod’s 4^th will tried to poison Herod before he changed his mind again

                                        (b)   And then Antipater was imprisoned

                    (4)  Because of all this fighting over the throne, I imagine that Herod probably became a bit paranoid

    C.   Why do I tell you all of this?

        2.     It’s important because when Matthew wrote this in his gospel, I think he was deliberately making a distinction between these foreign astrologers and the local king

II.   The distinction

    A.   When we look at the magi—who they were, what they did, where they came from—we begin to get a clearer understanding of what their visit meant

        1.     On the one hand, we have the magi who were foreigners, who traveled a huge distance to find a king that they didn’t even know

        2.     They were completely unconnected to God—at least in terms of the religion they practiced—and were of a class of people that the Old Testament said were an abomination!

        3.     And, yet, look at the effort they made to find the Messiah!

    B.   And you have Herod on the other hand

        1.     Even though he was not Jewish, I think the distinction is still being made between those who were eagerly seeking the Messiah from far away, and those who could have easily welcomed and worshiped the Messiah, but didn’t

    C.   So, you can see the distinction that Matthew is making as he writes this gospel

        1.     The distinction is between the foreign magi who traveled hundreds of miles through the desert, facing hardship, illness, hunger, thirst, threat of bandits, etc.

            a)     And the local King Herod who could have so easily welcomed the Christ Child into the world

            b)    who could so easily have worshiped him and brought him gifts

III.           Now why does Matthew make this distinction?

    A.   The audience for whom Matthew wrote his gospel was Jew

        1.     So he’s asking his Jewish audience, what do you think about this?

            a)     Not only were these foreign astrologers actively seeking the Messiah

            b)    But they were the very first religious figures to come and worship the Christ child

        2.     Notice who doesn’t worship the Christ child

            a)     Herod, the local king, who could have easily welcomed the Child

            b)    and the chief priests and the teachers of the law

    B.   And I think the reason Matthew emphasizes this distinction is so that we would consider with whom we most identify

        1.     Do we most identify with the magi, who made personal sacrifices, who put forth energy, who traveled great distances, to find the Messiah?

        2.     Or do we identify more with Herod and the Jewish religious leaders, who really made no effort to find the Messiah

        3.     Who do you most identify with?

            a)     Are you putting all your energy into finding the Messiah, the Christ?

            b)    Or are you not really doing too much?

            c)     And when you see the Christ Child, what do you do?

                    (1)  Do you humble yourself like the magi did?

                    (2)  Or do you respond with pride and arrogance like Herod did?