The wise men are among the favorite characters in our nativity sets, Christmas cards, and holiday pageants. By now you probably know there were likely more than three and that they didn’t arrive at the same time as the shepherds. But who are these traveling sages? There has been a lot of speculation throughout church history, mainly because the Bible is somewhat vague on the details.
We get the word “wise men” in our English translations as a way of interpreting the word magos, which typically means something like “those who have wisdom through investigation and interpretation of the movements of heavenly bodies.”1 Matthew tells us they came “from the East.” Many have speculated that perhaps they came from Persia, now modern-day Iraq. This would seem to make sense, though we cannot be sure about it. Many in the East were watchers of the stars, often divining special meaning and purpose.
Could it be that they were from Babylon, where Jewish exiles were taken? The Book of Daniel records the use of “wise men” (Daniel 2:2, 10) to help the kings understand their dreams and visions. It’s not hard to imagine that someone like Daniel, who rose to prominent positions in Babylon and was outspoken about his faith in the coming Messiah, had an influence on several generations of Eastern intellectuals.
Were there three of them? And were they kings, as the famous hymn, “We Three Kings,” seems to indicate? Probably not. We get the idea of three from the three gifts offered, but it’s likely that the gifts were presented as a whole by the entire delegation. And it’s likely that there were more than three, given how much of a stir Matthew says they caused when they arrived in Jerusalem. This was probably a caravan of quite a few people. They weren’t kings, but they were prominent and influential religious leaders from the East.
What is clear to us is that the Magi were earnest in their desire to find the King of the Jews. They combined their knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures with a reliance on astrology. Scriptures speak strongly against looking to the stars for meaning, but here is God meeting these seekers where they are, utilizing His power over the heavenly bodies to direct them to His Son.
This doesn’t mean the Bible condones astrology, but it does show us that God is willing to meet those who genuinely seek Him. Consider how God met us. My guess is very few of us were completely sound in our theology when we first met Jesus. And yet God can meet a seeking sinner, with impure motives and uncertain beliefs and point that soul to His Son.
And consider what tools God employed here in this story to let the world know about the birth of His Son, Jesus. The entire universe was at God’s disposal in announcing the Gospel. In Luke, we read of the angelic messengers and the way the sky lit up with praise as the heavenly choir shouted the news to the shepherds. And in Matthew, we read of God using a star to point people from afar toward Bethlehem.
This story has a connection to the Old Testament. There is an obscure story in the book of Numbers (Numbers 22-24) of an irascible prophet named Balaam and a talking donkey. God asked Balaam to deliver three blessings to his people. One of those, the final message, contained these words:
the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
and knows the knowledge of the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
falling down with his eyes uncovered:
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth. (Numbers 24:16-17)
Some have speculated that perhaps this was just a coincidence, perhaps a comet that might have been in the sky at the same time. And perhaps a comet did lead the wise men to Bethlehem, but there is no doubt here that this was The God who appeared as a pillar of fire and a cloud to His people, opening up the heavens to point the lost to Jesus.
All of creation is at God’s disposal to tell His story. King David, describing the joy that would one day cause the universe to announce the Son of David born in the City of David, says:
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy (Psalm 119:1-14).
The 19th century British pastor Charles Spurgeon said this about the star that led these men to Jesus:
He was born of lowly parents, laid in a manger, and wrapped in infant clothes. But the principalities and powers in the heavenly places are in motion. First an angel descends to proclaim the advent of the newborn king. But the activity was not confined to the spirits above, for in the heavens above the earth something began to stir. A star is sent on behalf of all the stars, as if it were the envoy of all worlds to represent them before their king. This star was put into commission to await the Lord, to be his herald to men far away, and to be God’s usher to conduct these wise men into Christ’s presence.2
It gives me goose bumps to think of this moment, when the star first appeared to those seeking sages in the East. The infant Son of God, creator of the Heavens and earth, who holds the universe in His hands, directing the stars to draw people to Himself. This shows us the love of God for the world. God so loved the world, Jesus would later say (John 3:16) that God offered His Son for the redemption of those who believe.
Perhaps this is a dreary Christmas for you. Maybe you are lonely and discouraged. But know this: if you are in Christ, God leveraged the entire universe to shout to you His message of love and drew you to Himself.
This adapted and excerpted with permission from The Characters of Christmas, by Dan Darling.
