Behold, magi from the east came to Jerusalem . . . (Matthew 2:1)
Matthew says "behold" to make sure he has our attention. He knows how prone we are to fall asleep while we're reading.
"Wake up. Make sure you're listening. This is huge. Don't miss it. It's not what you'd expect..."
But what's so shocking about magi coming to Jesus? We might be so used to this annual Christmas story that we're not surprised, like Matthew wants us to be, that magi came to Jesus. Don't they come every Christmas?
We should we be surprised. Because magi is an ancient word referring to pagan astrologers. And since they dabble in the dark arts, we eventually got our English word magic from such magi.
"Behold," Matthew says. "Look at this: Astrologers are coming! Pagan sorcerers are searching for Jesus! Wizards want to worship! Behold! This is shocking—and spectacular!"

These Dudes Aren't Kings

Now "We Three Kings" is a wonderful Christmas song. Perhaps the Beach Boys' version is best, if that's not too sacrilegious to say. I'm not eager to play the spoiler here, but these dudes aren't kings. They are pagan astrologers, not too far from what we'd call sorcerers and wizards.
Gandalf and Dumbledore are coming to worship the baby Jesus.
Read the rest CLICK HERE.