This story is generally used by the church at the time of  ‘Epiphany’ which is celebrated on January 6 -  12 days after Christmas.  Epiphany, means manifestation, or provision of proof, or revealing, of a superhuman being, and specifically in this case, manifestation of Christ to the Magi.  It’s when Christians celebrate the appearance of Christ to the world in general and to the gentiles, or non-Jews, in particular.

V 1.
Jesus was born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of Herod. After his birth astrologers from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking,
NLT.  Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judaea, during the reign  of King Herod.  About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,
NIV.  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem

Matthew firmly places the birth of Jesus in a place and time

Bethlehem  was about 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Jerusalem.  It was significant to the Jews as being the birthplace of King David.  The tomb of Rachel, wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph, was there.  It was also the place where the love story of Ruth and Boaz took place.

New Bible Commentary, p 909.  King Herod (‘the Great’) died in  4 BC.  This episode did not necessarily take place immediately after Jesus’ birth, but within two years of it, so that Jesus’ birth was probably not later than around 6 BC.

Quest Study Bible note, p 1334.  Herod the Great reigned over Judaea from 37BC to4 BC.  A bloodthirsty tyrant who murdered, among others, his wife, his mother-in-law and three sons, Herod was part Jew and part Gentile.  The Roman empire gave Herod his authority to rule the Jews, but most Jews hated him even though he referred to himself as the king of the Jews.

New Bible Commentary, p 908.  Magi were astrologers, who played a prominent part in court life in many eastern states, as advisers to kings.  Their insights were derived from sophisticated astronomical observation combined with the sort of ‘interpretation’ which present day horoscopes provide.  By such calculations made in the east (probably Mesopotamia, modern Iraq) they had concluded that an important royal birth had taken place in Palestine, which called for a ‘state visit’.  Matthew clearly sees this as an acceptable Gentile response to genuine revelation, despite its dubious means.

V 2.
 ‘Where  is the child who is born to be king of the Jews?  We observed the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage.’  (NIV, NLT, TEV - we have come to worship him)

The Magi were looking for an important personage, so it was reasonable that they go to Jerusalem where the official ruler was.  They obviously weren’t familiar with the Jewish scriptures, so they didn’t think of the child as a religious figure, but as a secular ruler, and they needed to ask around to try to find out where he was.  They must have been rather puzzled that no-one seemed to know anything about a royal birth.

It would seem to me that the NEB translation of coming to pay homage might be more of what they were there for than to ‘worship’, if they were thinking of this baby as a secular ruler.

V 3.
King Herod was greatly perturbed when he heard this; and so was the whole of Jerusalem.
NIV.  When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
NLT.  Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem.
TEV.  When King Herod heard about this he was very upset, and so was everybody else in Jerusalem.
The Message: When word of their inquiry got to Herod,  he was terrified - and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well.

No wonder Herod was worried.  His right to rule came from the Roman authorities and they wouldn’t take kindly to someone else setting themselves up as ruler in his territory. If someone else was putting forward a child as potential ruler, this had potential for civil unrest, and the Romans would blame him for that.  Other highly placed people in the city would have shared his concern.

I wonder why ‘all of ‘Jerusalem’ might have been worried.  Who was spreading stories?  But most of us don’t like change and, even if we’re not entirely happy with things as they are, we don’t like our ‘boat’ to be ‘rocked’.  Maybe the general public felt the same.

New Bible Commentary p909.  The sharp contrast between these well-motivated foreigners and the unscrupulous jealousy of Herod … foreshadows the response which official Judaism will make to Jesus, and the future welcome of Gentile believers into the true people of God.

V 4.
He called a meeting of the chief priests and lawyers of the Jewish people, and put before them the question: ‘Where is it that the Messiah is to be born?’
NIV. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
NLT. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law.  "Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?"  he asked them.

Herod also was apparently not familiar with the scriptures and relied on others to let him know what he should know about them.  I wonder what made him connect this rumour of a new baby ruler with a Messiah.  There seems to have been from time to time people who announced themselves as the Messiah and had tried to gather a following to overthrow the Roman rule. Maybe he thought this was happening again.

How often do we rely on someone else to tell us what the Bible says, rather than reading it and checking it out for ourselves?  Different people interpret God’s Word differently.  We need to read it for ourselves as well as listen to other people’s viewpoints to try to understand what God wants us to know about him and his will.

Vs 5,6.
At Bethlehem in Judaea’, they replied; and they referred him to the prophesy which reads:  ‘Bethlehem in the land of Judaea, you are far from least in the eyes of the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a leader to be the shepherd of my people Israel.’
NIV. " ‘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’"
NLT. ‘O Bethlehem of Judah,
you are not just a lowly village in Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’"
TEV. ….who will guide my people Israel.’

Bethlehem was a town about 5miles (8 km) south-east of Jerusalem. It was remembered by the Jews as the birthplace of King David.  Rachel, wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph, was buried there and it was the setting of the love story of Ruth and Boaz.

It was the prophet Micah who had predicted Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah
(Micah 5: 2)

V 7, 8
Herod next called the astrologers to meet him in private, and ascertained from them the time when the star had appeared.  He then sent them on to Bethlehem, and said, ‘Go and make a careful inquiry for the child.  When you have found him, report to me, so that I may go myself and pay him homage.’
NIV.  Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.

This seems like real ‘cloak-and-dagger’ stuff.  Herod was asking the Magi to spy for him, although he tried to fool them into thinking his motives were the same as theirs.

V 9, 10
They set out at the king’s bidding; and the star which they had seen at its rising went ahead of them until it stopped above the place where the child lay. At the sight of the star they were overjoyed.
NIV.  After this interview the wise men went their way.  Once again the star appeared to them and stopped over the place where the child was.

Now that they were again on the right track, God’s sign led them towards the Christ child. They were pleased to have this reassurance.

V 11.
Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and bowed to the ground in homage to him; then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It might have seemed strange to us that these wealthy and important men so readily accepted the child Jesus as someone to give such respect to.  Their interpretation of the stars must have made them very sure of the importance of the one they were seeing, even if they didn’t fully understand who Jesus was.

Some notes I’ve made during sermons on this passage tell me some of the symbolism of the gifts that the wise men gave to Jesus:
gold: a token of greeting
frankincense:  Lord of the world
myrrh: Jesus as saviour
and:
Gold - indication of acceptance of Jesus as a king.  Signified that Jesus would have to go through suffering to become a king (gold must be refined)
Frankincense - induction of Jesus as High Priest
Myrrh - a preservative - saves things.  Was used to embalm bodies.  Precursor to the death of Jesus

V 12.
And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned home another way.
NIV. ……they returned to their country by another route.

Another dream.  This time God communicated with people who most of those who believed in him would have thought had no right to be contacted this way!  But God doesn’t always choose the people we think he should.

The Magi took notice - which often those of us who believe don’t do.

New Bible Commentary, p 909.  God communicates by a dream to another Gentile in Matthew 27: 19 ( Pilate’s wife at the time of Jesus’ trial, who was told that Jesus was an innocent man and who relayed this information to Pilate - and was ignored.)  Like the star, it is a means of communication which would have been familiar in the Magi’s culture. The only other such dream-revelations Matthew records are given to Joseph.