Matthew 2:8
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Herod dispatched the eastern wise men to Bethlehem with orders to hunt carefully for the infant and report back his whereabouts. His professed desire to honor the child was a courteous lie masking envy, fear and anger toward a rival king he meant to destroy. God saw through the deceit the travelers could not detect and shielded Jesus until his mission was finished by sending the family to Egypt for safety. The seekers themselves were upright philosophers led in a way suited to their study of the heavens by a remarkable moving light, a company of shining angels appearing as a star that brought them to worship the newborn. Though he lay as a babe in a manger, they recognized his exalted place more clearly than many who followed later, bowing before him in pure faith with costly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh that witnessed to him as Redeemer and Son of God.
Herod's Deceptive Command
Herod sent the wise men, the magi, on to Bethlehem with the charge to go and search carefully and diligently for the young child and, when they had found his location, to bring him word again. His added claim that he himself wished to come and worship the child was pretense, courteous and deceitful words that concealed a hostile purpose. He spoke as if he wanted to honor the Messiah, but his request disguised envy and hatred, fear and anger. He saw the newborn king as a rival who might grow up to take his throne and kingdom, and who threatened his rule. His hidden purpose in wanting to learn the child's whereabouts was not worship but to find and destroy and kill the infant.
Before sending them he had privately questioned the wise men about when they had seen the star. While he waited for their return his impatience, envy and hatred grew. He feared they had discovered his murderous plan and were deliberately avoiding him.
The wise men could not see his deceit, but God knew his motives and his hidden purpose. God protected the Saviour from his plans and from Satan's plans until His earthly mission was accomplished. He guided Joseph to take Jesus and His mother to Egypt for safety from the tyrannical king.
Magi Guided to Worship
Matthew 2:8 belongs to the account of the upright wise men, philosophers and magi or seers from the East and from a distant country, honored for integrity and wisdom, who were guided by a star to worship Jesus at his birthplace. Signs and wonders in the heavens were given to guide them in that search for Christ, and the star guided them so they could find him whom their souls loved. The star recognized Christ and directed them to the child at Bethlehem, and that heavenly sign guiding the seers to the manger bore witness to Christ as the Redeemer and Son of God.
God revealed Christ to the magi and led them toward him by a star suited to their way of learning, for they read God's works in the heavens. They studied the heavens, and God used a remarkable star, attended by angels, to lead them onward, illustrating his reaching people through means fitted to them and to their understanding. The light they followed was of strange appearance and movement, not a fixed star nor a planet but a distant company of shining angels appearing as a luminous star, though they were ignorant of this, yet impressed that the star was of special import to them. It was a remarkable star with heavenly angels attending them onward, guiding them all the way, resting above the temple and then fading from view.
As they studied the starry heavens and sought to fathom the mystery hidden in their bright paths, they beheld the glory of the Creator, and seeking clearer knowledge to find him whom their souls loved they turned to the Hebrew Scriptures and to prophetic writings treasured in their own land. They consulted priests and philosophers and searched the scrolls of the ancient records and searched the Scriptures and traced the prophecies to learn about the time of Christ's coming. There Balaam, who belonged to the magicians though at one time a prophet of God and who had foretold by the Holy Spirit the prosperity of Israel and the appearing of the Messiah in prophecies handed down by tradition, had declared that a star would come out of Jacob and a scepter rise out of Israel, and learning with joy that his coming was near and that the whole world was to be filled with a knowledge of the glory of the Lord, they went in search of the newborn Prince.
Having welcomed and heeded the Heaven-sent light and truth they had received, brighter rays were shed upon them leading them to seek the Promised One, and they went in search of the newborn Prince as instructed through dreams. God revealed his truth to these Eastern magi who had heeded the light, while the proud and unbelieving religious leaders were passed by. They reached the land of Israel and descended the Mount of Olives with Jerusalem in sight, after being guided all the way by the star, and pressed onward with eager steps, confidently expecting the Messiah's birth to be the joyful talk of everyone. Entering the holy city they went to the temple with their inquiries, but the inquiries were in vain; to their amazement none there seemed to have knowledge of the newborn King, and their questions brought no expressions of joy but surprise and fear mixed with contempt.
Their search for Jesus made the nation aware of his coming and drew attention to the events taking place. Though he was a babe cradled in a manger, they recognized his exalted position and the honor due him more clearly than his own disciples and later followers did, and bowed before him in homage with precious and costly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh in pure, uncorrupted faith. Guided by a star they came from a distant country to find Jesus and gave him those gifts, which honor Jesus in contrast to Christmas giving that forgets him and directs money toward selfish indulgence rather than remembering the great Giver.
The heavenly sign bore witness to Christ as the Redeemer and Son of God, and his birth in a humble place was part of the plan of redemption. He entered human life and its needs and temptations to sanctify every stage of human experience and show that people need not continue in sin. The valuable gifts the wise men brought provided for the poor family during their stay in Egypt.