MAGICIANS: The First Christians

-John Moraga

 

       When people identify the early "Church," they will likely identify the believers in Christ beginning with Christ's apostles and subsequent Christians of the first and second centuries of the Common Era. However, if asked "who were the first people documented to WORSHIP Christ?" very few people would be able to correctly answer that question (well-versed biblical scholars stipulated). In the second chapter of the very first book of the Gospels, in fact the very first book of the New Testament (although, scholars believe the Gospel of Mark predates Matthew), we find the answer to that question:

 

       "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, MAGI from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,

'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?

For we saw His star in the east and have come to WORSHIP Him.'...

       After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother;

and they fell to the ground and WORSHIPED Him." -Matthew 2:1-2 & 11

 

       So, the obvious inquiry is: who were these MAGI? Various biblical translations of Matthew 2:1, and even some commentators, render the translation of the term "Magi" to mean "shepherds," "kings," or most traditionally as "wise men." However, the original Greek word used in this verse is in fact "μάγοι" or "magoi/magos" from which the word magician is associated. Therefore, if a literal translation of the original Greek is applied, it is quite reasonable to argue that magicians were indeed the first Christians, as they were the first documented people to recognize the deity of Christ, when they dramatically "fell to the ground and WORSHIPED Him."

 

       Although my thesis is pretty well supported, let us dig a little bit deeper into who these magicians were, historically. Were they the type of magicians who performed card tricks or seemingly sawed people in half? Were they sorcerers who conjured demons to do their nefarious bidding? Academic research into this matter has revealed that the Magi were more akin to the latter, but perhaps not as malevolent.

       Initially, the Magi are believed to have been a tribe of people from the Middle East, who may or may not have had any direct association with the type of magical arts of which we are familiar at all. However, as time progressed they did engage in an ancient form of science, which was universally considered "magic," "sorcery," "mysticism," or "spirituality." The Magi became synonymous with esoteric practices such as astrology. Before the advent of empiricism and the scientific revolution, all ancient scientific practices were assumed to be "magic." Intriguingly, even at the dawn of the scientific revolution, renowned mathematician and a father of physics, Sir Isaac Newton, invested a substantial portion of his life obsessed with the occult practice of alchemy (another influential scientist and contemporary of Newton, Robert Boyle, was also a devotee of alchemy). Of course, the mystical practice of alchemy was a precursor to the hard science of chemistry. So, understandably, some historians may chalk up Newton's flirtations with alchemy as simply his pursuit of objective scientific truths. However, the National Endowment For The Humanities does not consider Newton's intimacy with alchemy so simplistic.* Ironically, the scientific method is often used to dispel accounts of spiritual and supernatural experiences, but contemporary sciences do have their origins in ancient schools of occultism. In fact, the field of medicine still uses the term "occult blood," and it is no coincidence that the caduceus is the recognized symbol of many organizations of Western medicine.

       Returning to our examination of Matthew's Magi, we find that they have an eclectic history. Prior to them "falling to the ground and WORSHIPING" the Messiah, the term "Magi" referred to a tribal group of people who may or may not have been associated with magical practices. However, by the advent of Christ's birth, the Magi were indisputably magicians, at the very least by the ancient identification of who magicians were e.g. they practiced an archaic form of science, which incorporated occult and mystical studies. Interestingly, these magicians hold a place in documented history to be the first people to worship Christ.

 

 

       John MacArthur provides a pretty well-articulated and orthodox Christian presentation of who the Magi were. However, predictably, I do disagree with some of his points, and he does not claim the same thesis as I do, but I will not spend time picking apart his presentation, as I do agree with the vast majority of his position.