ntly for the young child; and when ye have found Him, bring
me word again, that I may come and worship Him also. 9. When they
had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they
saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over
where the young child was. 10. When they saw the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11. And when they were come into
the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell
down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
31. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return
to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.'--MATT.
ii. 1-12.

Matthew's Gospel is the gospel of the King. It has a distinctly Jewish
colouring. All the more remarkable, therefore, is this narrative, which
we should rather have looked for in Luke, the evangelist who delights to
emphasise the universality of Christ's work. But the gathering of the
Gentiles to the light of Israel was an essential part of true Judaism,
and could not but be represented in the Gospel which set forth the
glories of the King. There is something extremely striking and
stimulating to the imagination in the vagueness of the description of
these Eastern pilgrims. Where they came from, how long they had been in
travelling, how many they were, what was their rank, whither they
went,--all these questions are left unsolved. They glide into the story,
present their silent adoration, and as silently steal away.' The
tasteless mediaeval tradition knows all about them: they were three; they
were kings. It knows their names; and, if we choose to pay the fee, we
can see their bones to-day in the shrine behind the high altar in
Cologne Cathedral. How much more impressive is the indefiniteness of our
narrative! How much more the half sometimes is than the whole!

I. We see here heathen wisdom led by God to the cradle of Christ. It is
futile to attempt to determine the nationality of the wise men. Possibly
they were Persian magi, whose astronomy was half astrology and wholly
observation, or they may have travelled from some place even deeper in
the mysterious East; but, in any case, they were led by God through
their science, such as it was. The great lesson which they teach remains
the same, however subordinate questions about the nature of the star an