Magi Tricks – Part 1

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”...After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh [Matthew 2:1-2, 11].

Let’s have a pop quiz today! How many magi came to see the baby Jesus on Christmas Day? Don’t be bashful now. You won’t flunk the course if you get it wrong. Go ahead. Give it your best shot.

“I know! I know! Pick me!” splutters an overly eager reader in the back of the room, his hand bobbing up and down like apples in a bucket of water. Unable to control his excitement, he blurts out the answer without waiting for an
acknowledgment, “Three! There were three wise men!” Gasping for air our learned scholar then sits back down, satisfied he can do no wrong. Then he waits for the accolades to come pouring in from around the world.

Well, I’ll give it to him. The traditional answer is “three magi”. He is right traditionally. But I am a Christian, so I believe the Bible to be the Word of God, not man’s traditions. Which prompts the question, “What does the Bible say about it?” That is Question #2 on the pop quiz. Any takers?

“I know the answer to that one, teacher,” a rather calm and composed fellow announces. His demeanor is in stark contrast to our overly eager brother who answered “three”. “The Bible says that magi or wise men came from the east. How many came is not stated, so we don’t really know how many.” And then he quietly retires to his seat, making no waves and waiting on no fanfare.

Thank you, kind sir. Your answer, both verbally and by example, teaches us truth. There can be no more fitting an answer than to quote the Bible. It is infallible. It is inerrant. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit. My words and yours are, contrariwise, fallible, errant, and inspired by sinners. Nothing could be further from the truth than to proclaim the wit and wisdom of tradition. As Rule #2 for Bible study teaches, The Bible is our sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

We will continue this pop quiz in our next posting. See you then.

To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...