Matthew 1:25+21, ‘And he called his name Jesus…for He will save His people from their sins.’
Matthew 2:2, ‘Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?”
Matthew 27:37, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’
The Magi’s question is never answered in the immediate context. Yes, they find Jesus and worship Him, foreshadowing the fulfillment of the in-gathering of the nations, but their specific question: ‘where is…the King of the Jews (ὁ…βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων)’ is never explicitly answered. It is not until 27:37 that Matthew finally—and with the same language as used by the Magi—reveals where the one born King of the Jews is to be found: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews (ὁ βασιλεῦς τῶν Ἰουδαίων).
Where is the King of the Jews? Suspended on the cross of His people’s curse, laying down His life as Jesus—as Yahoshua, as YHWH who Saves His people from their sin. This vision, which can only be received in light of His resurrection as the one who holds all authority in heaven and on earth (28:18), is where ‘He who has been born King of the Jews,’ is seen in His Beauty (Is.33:17).
John sees this perhaps more clearly than any other when he is shown the slaughtered and living Lamb reigning from the throne of heaven (Rev.5:6ff). The vision of the enthroned Lamb is not primarily what happens *after* the cross, it *IS* the cross, perceived by the illumination of the Spirit.
May we all, with the Magi and with John, come and worship the King as He reigns—Alive—from the Altar-Throne of the universe.
