Christmas 2022: Matthew 2:1-12---the Mysterious Magi

 The biblical account of the magi in Matthew 2:1-12 raises lots of questions for readers: From where in "the east" did they come? How many of them were there? What was the nature of the "star" that led them to Jerusalem?

One imaginative ancient attempt to answer these questions and others is found in Revelation of the Magi, a work of Christian apocrypha that may have been written as early as the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. The first translation of this work from Syriac into English was carried out in the Harvard dissertation of Brent Landau (now at the University of Texas). 

Revelation of the Magi imagines the magi as an ancient religious order of twelve men from the land of Shir in "the outer part of the entire East of the world" (2:3-4). Each month these men climbed the Mountain of Victories to pray silently at the Cave of Treasures, which housed books of revelation written by Adam's son Seth as well as the precious gifts that were to be given to the Messiah at the time when the star appeared. The magi taught the contents of the books to their families. When one of them died, his son would replace him in the order.

When the star appeared, its light took the form of a small human, a manifestation of Christ who instructed them in what to do next. To each of the men, the human appeared differently. One saw him as a boy. Another saw him on the cross. A third saw him rising from the dead. A fourth saw him ascending to heaven, etc.

The "star child" guided the magi on the long trek to Jerusalem. During that trip, their provisions were continually replenished and rough terrain was smoothed out before them. The magi were led to Bethlehem where they worshiped Christ and presented their gifts to him.

Christ, in this work, is present everywhere simultaneously. At the same time that he is living his life as a human in Galilee and Judea, he is also with the magi, whom he guides back to Shir. There they spread the good news to their countrymen, who also experience special visions and revelations when they eat the miraculous provisions that the magi bring back with them. Later the apostle Thomas comes to Shir. He baptizes the magi and others, and they carry out the Great Commission together.

The work is replete with allusions to scripture and the traditions of early Syriac Christianity.  In one interesting tradition, the sword that Simeon prophesies will pierce Mary's soul (Lk 2:35) is seen as reversing the effect of the swords which guard the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:24). Through the work of Christ, access to Eden is restored.

It turns out that the contents of Revelation of the Magi were summarized in a 5th century Latin commentary on Matthew that became popular in medieval Europe because of an alleged connection with John Chrysostom. As a result, some medieval art pictures the magi being guided by the "star child."

Revelation of the Magi is an imaginative work that tells us much more about the beliefs and traditions of its writer and his communiuty than it does about the historical magi.  It is more likely that the magi were royal advisors who used astrology in their work, and that the star was some distinctive astronomical phenomenon.  A number of candidates have been proposed for this phenomenon:

• Colin R. Nicholl's The Great Christ Comet makes the case for the Star of Bethlehem being a comet. 
• Mark Kidger in The Star of Bethlehem points to a combination of astronomical phenomena between 7 and 5 BC as a good candidate. 
• Ernest L. Martin in The Star that Astonished the World proposes a combination of astronomical phenomena in 3-2 BC.  He says that Jesus was born on the Feast of Trumpets in 3 BC.  

There is no general agreement on the identity of the star, as far as I know.  But studying the issue could be a fun way to learn more about ancient history and astronomy.

Whoever the magi were, wherever they came from, and whatever the star was, Matthew 2:1-12 carries the message that God's plan of salvation through Jesus the Messiah encompasses the entire world.