God of gods and King of kings

Matthew 2:1-12 (ESV)
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, [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." [3] When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; [4] and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. [5] They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

[6] " 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.' "

[7] Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. [8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." [9] After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. [10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. [11] And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. [12] And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
“and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him, then opening their treasures they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
Deut. 10:17 (ESV)
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
Psalm 136:2 (ESV)
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Daniel 2:47 (ESV)
The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a re vealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."
All this to show what is so often missed in commentary on this chapter. Jesus is God of gods. The visit of the magi is surrounded in mystery. How many there were, where they came from, they are all mysteries. We just know that the magi came, they worshiped and paid tribute, and it was an awesome event.
The word magi is the word so often translated wise men in the text. It is used in few other places in the Bible. It is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to refer to the pagan priests of Babylon in the book of Daniel, and it is used in Acts chapter 8 for Simon the magician, or Simon Magus. Now you get the sense of who these men were. They were wise in their cultures, priests and sorcerers for pagan gods charged with guarding and preserving their pagan culture or cultures. Most speculate that these men came from Babylon. Recently there has been some study saying they came from China. Who knows? But the important thing here is that pagan priests were called to worship the God of gods, to bow their knee, to confess with their tongues and deeds that Jesus Christ is Lord.
What you have here is a preview if you will of the eschaton, the last day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord:
“ By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
'To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.” (Isaiah 45:23 (ESV)
Matthew recounts this story, which is left out of Luke. It conveys one message that is too often looked over as people try to decipher the meaning of the gifts. These pagan priests were recognizing that Jesus took precedent even over the god’s they worshiped. They were recognizing Jesus as God of gods. And so he is, and on the last day it won’t be just a few obscure priests that recognize this, but the entire world, everyone who lives, lived, and ever will lived. But it would be better if they just recognized this now.
As a side thought, I was watching the local news the other day and they were explaining that Utah has the largest interfaith nativity display in the world. Evidently people from all over the globe of every faith background, Christian and non Christian come and set up nativity displays there. Perhaps that is a fitting homage to this story, even pagans recognizing our Lord and savior, they too in their own way worshiping him. Just as the magi, the pagan priests who make an appearance in every nativity scene also worshiped Jesus Christ, King of kings, and God of gods.