Some parts of the Bible come with questions and assumptions. The story of the visitors from the East is one.
“Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem during the reign of King Herod. After Jesus’ birth a group of spiritual priests from the East came to Jerusalem and inquired of the people, “Where is the child who is born king of the Jewish people? We observed his star rising in the sky and we’ve come to bow before him in worship.”
Who were these visitors? Most translations call them “wise men” or “magi” (meaning “wise men” or “magicians” or “astrologers”), although one calls them “scholars.” So the line in the Christmas carol “We Three Kings of Orient Are” is not quite correct. These visitors were probably not kings, but scholars of the stars and priests of Zoroaster. The priests of Zoroaster in Persia were descended from the Babylonians and would have had not only priestly but governmental duties, much as Daniel was set by Nebuchadnezzar to rule over the wise men of Babylon (Daniel 2:48). Note, also, that the Bible doesn’t tell us how many visitors approached Jerusalem. Our Christmas carol tells us three, and our traditions even name them (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar), but it’s highly unlikely esteemed scholars would travel by themselves around the desert for months on end. No matter how many wise men came to Jerusalem, they probably had an armed regiment with them for protection.
We three kings of Orient are;
bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain,
following yonder star.
These wise visitors asked a question that rocked the reigning king and the city.
King Herod was shaken to the core when he heard this, and not only he, but all of Jerusalem was disturbed when they heard this news. So he called a meeting of the Jewish ruling priests and religious scholars, demanding that they tell him where the promised Messiah was prophesied to be born. “He will be born in Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,” they told him. “Because the prophecy states: And you, little Bethlehem, are not insignificant among the clans of Judah, for out of you will emerge the Shepherd-King of my people Israel!”
Just as the Jewish priests in Jerusalem knew the ancient prophecies of a king of Israel being born in Bethlehem, the well-educated wise men probably knew them. I expect that Daniel’s generation’s influence on the scholars of Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar’s time meant that Herod’s generation of scholars knew these prophecies. Coupled with their continued interest in watching the stars, they were quickly interested in this new celestial body whose light was bright – but not so bright it had attracted the dangerous Herod’s attention.
“Then Herod secretly summoned the spiritual priests from the East to ascertain the exact time the star first appeared. And he told them, “Now go to Bethlehem and carefully look there for the child, and when you’ve found him, report to me so that I can go and bow down and worship him too.” And on their way to Bethlehem, the same star they had seen in the East suddenly reappeared! Amazed, they watched as it went ahead of them and stopped directly over the place where the child was.“
Like the appearance of exactly three kings in our Nativity scenes, we assume that the wise men from the East arrived while the baby Jesus was still lodged in the manger in a stable. But, the kings would have had months – maybe more than a year – of travel from Persia to Judea after first seeing this star. So the census’s housing crisis in Bethlehem that led to a baby born in a barn was likely over by the time the wise men arrived. My educated guess is that, after fleeing the potential scandal, condemnation, and shame in their hometown, staying in Bethlehem (where as a good carpenter Joseph could easily find work) was a welcome change. Whatever the exact details, the wise men followed the star from the East to the place where the child was.
“And when they saw the star, they were so ecstatic that they shouted and celebrated with unrestrained joy. When they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, they fell to the ground at his feet and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests full of gifts and presented him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
Why these gifts? The joke is that if there had been wise women, they would have given gifts of food, blankets, and formula. But gold, frankincense, and myrrh were very, very expensive substances in the ancient Near East. They were gifts chosen by the wise men to give to a newborn king and they would have likely helped to finance the family’s upcoming flight to Egypt.
Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain,
gold I bring to crown him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
over us all to reign.
Frankincense to offer have I;
incense owns a Deity nigh;
prayer and praising, voices raising,
worshiping God on high.
Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume
breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
Some have said that these gifts also have spiritual significance, like the myrrh (an embalming agent) that foreshadowed Jesus’s death and burial. No matter what the background, the wise men knew there was something very special about this child. He was the King of the Jews – and he was worthy of their worship.
Glorious now behold him arise;
King and God and sacrifice:
Alleluia, Alleluia,
sounds through the earth and skies.
“Afterward they returned to their own country by another route because God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.” (Matthew 2:1-12 TPT)
King Herod was the kind of ruler no one wants – insecure, ruthless, probably insane. He’d murdered his wife and several of his sons because he thought they were trying to depose him. His assignment by the Roman Empire’s “higher ups” was tenuous, at best, so it’s no surprise that under the “sweetness” of his request to find out the location of the child so he could “go and bow down and worship him, too,” was the intention to kill off this child that threatened his kingship.
No matter where the facts and motives lie in this story, the Biblical narrative simply doesn’t expound upon every angle. For instance, when was Jesus born? Messianic Jewish scholars believe Jesus was conceived around the time of the Winter Solstice, so he would have been born around the Jewish feasts in our month of September. And if the shepherds were “out in their fields keeping watch over their flocks by night,” does that mean they were especially vigilant because it was lambing season — in the spring of the year??
There is also the ever-present question of this star in the sky. What was it? An explosion of supernova star? This is one theory suggested by the show “Mystery of the Christmas Star” at our local planetarium. Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story” from Christmas 1975 claimed that the “star in the night sky” was formed by a conjunction of the orbits of the planets Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars – an occasion that only happens every 1811 years. I’m not sure exactly what caused that light, but I know Who put it into place and I know we can see the important role it had in sending the wise men and their gifts to assist the young Messiah and his family.
Using our “Biblical imagination,” as Michael Card calls it, to explore different aspects of the Christmas story is one way to search for the Truth God wants us to see. Thank you for reading this far with your imagination and your spiritual ears open for Truth. Here are some take-aways I see in this story:
- The Biblical stories take place within the larger context of HIStory – the whole story of Creation that God set in motion and is still overseeing.
- God fulfilled Old Testament prophecies in Jesus’s birth
- Knowing what God has said in the past can help us know how to interpret and respond to the events of today
- God places “stars” of guidance where we can see them so we can seek Him
- It is right and appropriate to worship the King of Kings
- It is right and appropriate to bring gifts to God as part of our worship
- We can be careful to walk in faith and listen for God’s messages to us in his Word, even if we have unanswered questions about those stories.
With appreciation for your grace in reading this lengthy post (and a promise that tomorrow’s post is much shorter and focuses on pondering and prayer), let us close today:
God of the Universe,
Thank you for your Story recorded in the Bible and the ways in which it still speaks to us today. Thank you for your role in history and your messages to us through that history and through the Bible. Holy Spirit, help our spiritual eyes and ears see and hear the “stars” of guidance you have for us today. Help us worship the King of Kings with celebration and unrestrained joy, and may the tithes, gifts, and offerings we give to you be pleasing in your sight. Strengthen our faith as we consider the prophecies, the Messiah, your wisdom, and your messages, and as we worship. We ask in Jesus’s name, Amen.
“We Three Kings of Orient Are”
by John H. Hopkins (1857; public domain)
We three kings of Orient are;
bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain,
following yonder star.
(Refrain:) O star of wonder, star of light,
star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding,
guide us to thy perfect light.
Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain,
gold I bring to crown him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
over us all to reign. [Refrain]
Frankincense to offer have I;
incense owns a Deity nigh;
prayer and praising, voices raising,
worshiping God on high. [Refrain]
Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume
breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
sealed in the stone-cold tomb. [Refrain]
Glorious now behold him arise;
King and God and sacrifice:
Alleluia, Alleluia,
sounds through the earth and skies. [Refrain]