1. Matthew 2:2 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why do the wise men of the east want to worship the king of the Jews?

Matthew 2:2 (ESV)

2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

In short

The wise men probably wanted to worship the newborn Jewish king because Daniel, who had been a leader of the wise men of Babylon (Daniel 2:48), prophesied the coming of Jesus.

That these Babylonian astrologers are preoccupied with the birth of a Jewish king and come to worship him can be clarified from the fact that the prophet Daniel, who had once been their leader (Daniel 2:48), prophesied of his coming.1