After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared. And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Significance
Isaiah 60:6 envisions the eschatological pilgrimage of the nations to Zion: "all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD." The specific items named — gold and frankincense (levonah) — correspond directly to the Magi's gifts of gold and frankincense offered to Jesus in Matthew 2:11. Matthew's account of the Magi coming from the east presents the arrival of Gentiles bearing these very gifts as an inaugural fulfillment of Isaiah's vision of the nations streaming to the light of Yahweh's restored Zion. The chapter-wide vision of Isaiah 60 (nations coming, darkness dispelled, glory of the LORD risen upon Israel) provides the prophetic backdrop for Matthew's Magi narrative. In bringing these treasures to the infant Messiah, the Magi become the firstfruits of the eschatological Gentile pilgrimage, signaling that the light of Isaiah 60 has dawned in Jesus.
