Matthew Chapter 2: The Magi and the Monster

Bible Answer Man Podcast with Hank Hanegraaff

On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (03/04/21), Hank begins by talking about the star that the Magi had seen in the east. This star which the wise men saw in the east, says St. Matthew, “went before the Magi, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.” Thus the question: what is this star? In the West, there have been all kinds of rationalistic efforts to explain its existence. Some suppose that it’s a comet, some speculate that it’s the convergence of two planets—Jupiter and Saturn or Jupiter and Venus—and others think it’s a supernova—a very bright exploding star. But there’s a problem with these rationalistic theories. They all fail to explain how the star which the Magi saw in the east went before them until it stood fixed over Bethlehem. Neither a fixed star nor a comet could ever have disappeared, reappeared, and stood still. Only a miraculous explanation suffices.
Hank resumes his reading of Matthew chapter 2, picking up from verse 13 where we encounter a monster. Unlike the Magi, Herod had no interest in worshiping the Messiah. Instead, he wanted Him dead. He had every advantage that the Magi did not. He was a Jew, acquainted with the Prophets. He knew that Christ alone could emerge through the narrow doorway of prophecy. Yet it was the Magi, not the monster who saw the great light and followed it to the birthplace of the Messiah.