One of the most mysterious details of the Christmas story is the part in Matthew’s Gospel about the men who come from the east.  Who were they?  Well, some refer to them as wise men while others call them Magi.  The Greek word used is Magoi, which doesn’t clear the waters too much.  That word could be used to refer to magicians or astrologers, to educated men and/or men of enormous power and influence, which is why some believe them to be kings.  But the truth is we don’t know for sure. 

We also don’t know where exactly they were from.  Matthew tells us that they came from the east.  Based on that information, some believed them to be from Persia while others thought them to be Babylonian, but again we cannot know for sure. 

We also have no idea how there were.  Tradition says there were three because there were three types of gifts given—gold, frankincense and myrrh, but we don’t know that for sure either.  We know there was more than one, but there could have been as many as ten. 

So there is a lot of mystery surrounding these guys.  We are not certain whom they were, where they were from or how many there were, but that’s not Matthew’s main point.  His emphasis in chapter 2 is placed on how they respond to Jesus.  That’s what’s truly significant.  Notice their response in Matthew 2:9-12,

⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Notice how they respond.  In v. 10, we learn that they were “overjoyed” when they arrived at the place where the child was.  In v. 11 we see that they bowed down and worshiped him and brought him gifts and in v. 12 we learn that after meeting the child the men were warned in a dream to not return to Herod, so they responded to God in obedience and protected the child by bypassing Herod and returning home by a different rout.  So again, notice the response:  They sought him, they gave to him, they responded to him, they worshipped him.

So, we learn a key truth from the wise men in this passage.  We learn that it doesn’t matter how far you are away from Christ; you can come to Him.  The wise men were a ways away from him both in proximity and religiously, yet they are the ones who sacrifice the most to come and worship Him.