The Western Church commemorates the coming of the Magi and the miracle at Cana on January 6th as Epiphany. The basic story in St Matthew’s Gospel is that three visitors arrived in Jerusalem asking about the newborn child because they had seen a spectacular star and believed it to be the star of the messianic prophecy. They came ‘from the east’ and brought three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. It is important to note what the Gospel writer does not say. He cites no prophecy that was fulfilled by the Magi. He does not even say there were three of them. The familiar picture of the Magi today is largely the product of fertile imaginations. They became ‘three’ because three gifts are mentioned, and they became kings with names by the sixth century. The Western Church knew them as Gaspar, Melchior and Balthassar and depicted them wearing crowns and often with a retinue of servants. Their exotic kingdoms derive from the Old Testament texts deemed to be prophecies of their coming (cf. Isa.60.1-22 & Ps.72). Thus, the Magi came to symbolize the homage of the Gentiles. Where they came from is not known, but the mysterious visitors were a lasting fascination, and many legendary stories were told.
It is important to understand that this story was written in Hebrew by a first century Hebrew Christian for other Hebrew Christians. They would have immediately recognised the gold, frankincense and myrrh as symbolic of the temple; the temple vessels were made of pure gold, the temple incense was made with frankincense and was burned to invoke the presence of the Lord, and myrrh was the perfumed anointing oil that imparted holiness (Exod.30.29). Margaret Barker, a distinguished Old Testament scholar, points out that ‘Magi from the east’ is written in the same way as ‘Magi from ancient times.’ The Hebrew word miqqedem usually translated as ‘from the east’ can also mean ‘from ancient times’. The Garden of Eden was planted miqqedem so the Magi were a sign for the Hebrew Christians that Paradise was being restored.
Anglican devotion on the feast of Epiphany is most beautifully expressed in Bishop Heber’s hymn “Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning”. Heber was a brilliant classical scholar at Oxford. He became vicar of his father’s parish of Hodnet, just a few miles away, and he became Bishop of Calcutta. Tired and worn out by travel and the weather he died three years later in 1823. His output included 57 hymns many of which are in regular use today.
Christopher Jobson
Disclaimer: The following YouTube video carries adverts over which we have no control.
Feature Image: Cambridge_-_Kings_College_Chapel_1446-1544_-_Choir_-_Altarpiece-_Adoration_of_the_Magi_1641_by_Peter_Paul_Rubens, Wikicommons, PD.