Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 2:12

"And being warned [of God] in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way." — Matthew 2:12 (ASV)

Being warned of God — Following the order of events, it seems probable that after paying homage on the evening of their arrival, the Magi retired, possibly to the “inn” at Bethlehem. While asleep, they were warned not to return to Jerusalem the next day, but to make their way to the fords of the Jordan and in this way escape the tyrant’s jealous pursuit.

This is all we know of the Magi's visit. St. Matthew, writing for a Jewish audience, apparently recorded it as a testimony to the kingly character of Jesus. Christendom, however, has rightly seen in it an even deeper significance. The “wise men” have been regarded as the first-fruits of the outlying Gentile world—a pledge of the future ingathering. Among all the festivals in the Christmas cycle, none has made a deeper impression on Christian feeling, poetry, and art than the Epiphany, or the “Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.” The arrangement that places this festival only twelve days after the Nativity is purely arbitrary.

We should acknowledge that many critics have treated the narrative as purely mythical. Those who view it this way, however, almost without exception, extend their theory to every supernatural element in the Gospel history. This issue is therefore only one part of a much wider question that is beyond our scope here. At the very least, there are no particular signs of a legendary character in this narrative that would justify considering it less trustworthy than the rest of the Gospel. Why St. Matthew alone records this event, and St. Luke alone records the visit of the shepherds, is a question we can ask but cannot answer. In any case, the two narratives are in no way irreconcilable.