We Are Come to Worship Him – The Wise Men

Know the Setting

“There came wise men from the east to Jerusalem” (Matthew 2:1) “in the days of Herod the king” (Matthew 2:1).

Herod “was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3). The chief priests and scribes pointed to Bethlehem from the prophet's words.

Who Speaks

• The wise men (verse 2)
• The chief priests and scribes (verses 5–6)
• Herod (verse 8)

Look Closer

• Matthew never says how many wise men came or calls them kings. He names three gifts: “gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). Our pictures show three travelers as an artistic choice.
• They found “the young child with Mary his mother” (Matthew 2:11) in “the house” (Matthew 2:11). Matthew does not say how long this was after the birth.
• Herod said he wanted to “come and worship him also” (Matthew 2:8), but the next verses show his true intent (Matthew 2:13). The wise men were “warned of God in a dream” (Matthew 2:12) and went home “another way” (Matthew 2:12).