What Made The Magi So Wise?

It’s that time of year again when we see nativity scenes everywhere, and while we know a lot – or at least can speculate – about most of the figures in these sets, there are are three characters who are clouded in mystery. These men, known to us as the ‘Magi’, simply appear in the story following a star, find and worship Jesus, then disappear back where they came from. There is no background story, no record of what drew them in the first place, and no record of how their journey affected them. Nobody knows much about them, and I think the reason for that is to help us see a bigger picture. From the records we do have, it seems plausible to say that they were the intellectuals of the day and it is very likely that they had extensive knowledge in the field of astrology.

However, the thing about human wisdom is that it is obsolete soon after it is declared to be true because God and His wisdom are the only things that are eternal; they alone have stood the test of time when all other wisdom has gone out of date. This isn’t to say that human wisdom has no purpose – it has its limits, but it points to God and His eternal wisdom. God leaves His fingerprints everywhere, but we make the mistake of stopping short of God to admire His creation instead of allowing our gaze to follow through to the Creator.

God gave the Magi the capacity to understand many things and the desire to search matters out, and while that didn’t save them, it paved a road to the ultimate source of wisdom; they followed a star and found their Savior. They were faithful to follow their road to its destination, and it is up to each of us to decide if we will follow ours.

 ^“Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” ”    1 Corinthians 3:18-20