Wise Men, Part 1: Wise by Revelation

(Matthew 2:1–2 DKJV) Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod; behold, wise men (Magi) from the East came to Jerusalem, (2) saying, “Where is the one born to be King of the Jews? For we saw his star rising in the east, and have come to worship him.”

Amazing events, supernatural occurrences, and divine signs accompanied the birth of Jesus: angels appearing, Elizabeth’s baby leaping in the womb, women having a prophetic praise meeting, being at God’s right place and time by governmental decree, a virgin birth, a baby in a manger, true shepherds, the list goes on. One of the truly amazing events is the story of the wise men (Magi) that came to find Jesus.

The first thing we note about the wise men is that they were from the “East.” The meaning of the word, “east,” in Bible times was, “a rising of light.”5 So, they were prophetically coming from a place of, and in obedience to, the dawning of light. They came on a pilgrimage to find the one born to be “King of the Jews.” What’s even more remarkable is that what alerted them to his birth was a “star (rising) in the east.”

Much of the meaning and prophetic power of the phrase, “in the east,” is lost in its translation into English. For example, in the minds of the “wise men,” the ideas of “rising” and “east” were synonymous—from the idea that it is the direction to the horizon where the sun rises. Obviously, they had been watching for signs in the sky. Despite the counterfeit star gazing of astrology, God said he set the lights in the sky for signs:

(Genesis 1:14, 16 NKJV) Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; ... (16) Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

I am by no means advocating astrology, which Scripture condemns in the strongest possible terms (See: Jer. 10:2). Normally, God uses the sun, moon, and stars to signify the seasons and weather, etc. But in the case of the wise men, God used the revealing of a special star as a sign to them of Jesus’s birth. This is astounding. But before we get distracted with looking at stars to see what God is saying, let’s think about what this means prophetically:

(2 Peter 1:19 TPT) And so we have been given the prophetic word—the written message of the prophets, made more reliable and fully validated by the confirming voice of God on the Mount of Transfiguration. And you will continue to do well if you stay focused on it. For this prophetic message is like a piercing light shining in a gloomy place until the dawning of a new day, when the Morning Star rises in your hearts.

One way to look at the star that led to Jesus is to see it as a picture of what this verse explains. Here, the Holy Spirit tells us to pay attention to, heed, or focus on the written word; it is like a small light or lamp shining in a dark place. God wants us to keep this up—meditating in his word day and night—until revelation of it comes via the Holy Spirit. When it does, it is like the rising of the morning star; the lamp has done its job when the sun dawns over the eastern horizon.

To me, this clarifies the meaning of the vivid picture painted in God’s word by the wise men’s star. It dawned on the horizon; like the written word, it was truly a light in a very dark place. The wise men immediately dropped all their other priorities; refusing to remove their focus from the star, they followed it to Jesus. He is the living Word of God. The star—representing the written word, led them to Jesus—the living Word, because they gave it their full attention and followed it all the way to the revelation God assigned it to bring them.

The next phrase in our opening passage is: “have come to worship him.” They weren’t coming to pay homage to a book. Worship in their mind was evidenced by bowing and giving, but these were body language for a much deeper, humble surrender to the absolute sovereign of the universe—including complete submission to him.

(2 Peter 1:19 CSB) … the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

When we hear from God—that is, when his word comes to life in our hearts—we too need to bow before Jesus, the living Word, in humble surrender and worship. In other words, when God reveals something to you in your heart from your study and meditation of Scripture; this is not just something that leads to life, praise, and rejoicing; the living Word calls for our submission and true heart worship.

Some historical evidence points to the wise men being kings. They were certainly magi—men considered wise and perceptive, who would have probably been closely associated with royalty (See: Dan. 2). Daniel saved the lives of their predecessors when he could interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Perhaps they still respected the Jews because of this.

Maybe they perceived that the one whose birth the star signified would be the ultimate magi—the one with all authority in heaven and on earth. Just as the queen of Sheba came to pay homage to God’s wisdom in Solomon; so these royal emissaries came to worship the one who saved their predecessors, and who now was incarnate in the one born to be “King of the Jews.” (See: 1 Kings 10, 2 Chr. 9)

Today from this story, I see two applications for us:

First, we can learn from, and apply the wise men’s attentiveness to, the dawning of light. They felt a prompting to focus on the fresh new star; we should be tenderly waiting for the “lamp” of a written word to be lit and highlighted to us. Next, they gave the star their full attention, dropping all else to follow where it led. When the Holy Spirit highlights a passage to us, we too should give it our full attention, heed, and focus. We should follow where it leads through meditation, study, parallel passages, and cross-references, etc.

The limited light of the star led the wise men to Jesus. He is the light of the world (John 8:12). For Paul, Jesus was a “light brighter than the sun” (Acts 26:13 nkjv). For us, the highlighted written word, like a lamp in a dark place, guides us to the living Word, Jesus. When we find him—when true divine revelation of the word comes to us via the Holy Spirit—he is brighter than any dawning of the natural sun.

Second, we can learn and apply the wise men’s willingness to bow in worship and giving to King Jesus. They sacrificed much time, effort, expenditure, and dignity to follow the limited light they had until they found Jesus—the true and brilliant “light of the world.” When they did, their intention was clear:

(Matthew 2:2 NKJV) “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

They came to worship—meaning to bow in homage and submission. Similarly, we can and should apply this to our situation: When our attention to the highlighted written word finally leads us to find the living Word, we need to obey what God is saying to us. That is, we need to worship him with our inner man—our spirit bowing to him in full surrender and willingness to obey.

At times, we can be tempted to think that receiving the word is enough. It clearly isn’t. When our pilgrimage in the word, following the star of illumination with which God leads us, brings us to the revelation of Jesus—the living Word of God—our response is then to bow to what he says to us in reverent submission to his will. In other words, receive, believe, and obey what God is saying. Jesus led the way in this himself:

(Luke 22:41–42 NKJV) And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, (42) saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

The One the wise men wisely sought, later followed his own destiny to revelation of, and obedience to, the living Word. He walked the dusty roads of Israel, and meditated his way through the Old Testament. He was following the light revealed by his Father till it led him to Jerusalem—the place of his physical destiny. He had received the living Word for his calling and now for his destiny:

(Mark 10:33–34 NKJV) “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; (34) and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

To enable us to reach our destiny in him, Jesus had to obey what the revelation from heaven was asking of him—public ridicule, torture, and death. At times, for us to obey feels like dying, and in a sense, it is; it is denying self, putting off the old nature, and dying daily (See: 1 Cor. 15:31). But when we do, the living Word has resurrection power and a new life begins the moment we obey.

Don’t turn back from your Promised Land like the children of Israel. You have gone too far with Jesus and his written word; you have asked him, pursued him, and now his lamp in a dark place has brought you to the dawning of his true rhema. Today, do not give up on it or refuse to obey it through unbelief, doubt, fear of man, or intimidation; your destiny in Jesus is far too important for that.