When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, wise men came from the East to Jerusalem seeking him and inquiring, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him?"
Who were these wise men ... where did they come from ... and where did they go?
Other than a brief appearance in Matthew's Gospel, we do not hear anymore about them in Scripture.
Frankly, we don't know exactly who they were, where they came from or what happened to them. Although we can't answer these questions with historical accuracy, much research has been done on them and many legends and traditions
have been developed about them.
According to some, they were kings; some suggested they were priests; some proposed they were scientists or astrologers; while others claimed they were scorcerers or magicians. One commentator suggested that the "Magi," a term which were translate as wise men, were descendants of an ancient tribe of people known as Medes who were part of the old Persian Empire. At one time the Medes had aspirations of overthrowing the Persians and establishing their own empire.
However, they had long given up their ambitions for power and prestige and
had become an order or tribe of priests. They were, in Persia, what the Levites were in Israel. Like Daniel and to a certain extent Joseph, the Magi were regarded as men of holiness and wisdom who advised and instructed kings. As trained and proficient holy men, they interpreted dreams and offered sacrifices to God. As teacher-priests, they were skilled in medicine and the sciences, as well as philosophy.
In their quest for truth, the wise men studied the stars. They knew that the stars never varied in their courses as they made their way across the heavens.
The same pattern that the stars follow now is the pattern that Adam and Eve observed when they looked up at their first starlit sky in Paradise.
For the wise men, the stars represented the unbroken order of the universe. They believed that a person's destiny was governed by the star under which he or she was born. Thus, if the unvarying order of the heavens was disturbed by the sudden appearance of some unusually bright star, they would naturally conclude that God was breaking through creation and order and announcing something special.
We don't know what star the wise men saw. We just know that as they watched the starlit heavens, some peculiar heavenly brilliance spoke to them about the entry of a special person, a king, into the world. This king was so special that he had his own star. None of the kings that they had known had their own star.
Not Darius, or Cyrus, or Nebuchadnezzar, not any of the Egyptian Pharaohs, nor any of the Roman Caesars, not even David or Solomon or any of Israel's other kings had their own stars. In the midst of heaven's unbroken pattern of stars that had been the same since the dawning of time, a new star appeared to announce the arrival of a new king. In their search of the ancient scriptures,
they were led to Palestine. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."
Why were these wise men so wise? Based upon the number of gifts presented to the Christ child, tradition has established the number of wise men who came seeking the newborn king to be three. Now there were many more than three wise men in the ancient world. Something as prominent as a new bright star in the heavens could not be hidden. Other wise men of that time who customarily studied the heavens also, undoubtedly, saw this star. The star which the wise men saw in the East may have even been visible to those who lived in Palest(eye)ne.
I don't know how Palestinian wise men missed it, unless they had simply failed to look up. Maybe there were so busy contending with things around them that they forgot to look up.
Maybe they were so busy complaining to Caesar, watching their backs for the next trick from Herod, plotting against Pilate, or working on each other, that they failed to look up and see the same star in the same heavens that the wise men saw in the East.
No matter what happens around us or to us, it pays to look up sometimes. I read about a fellow who saw an old hog standing under an oak tree gobbling up acorns
that had fallen to the ground. He said, "While the hog was eating acorns, others occasionally fell out of the tree and several even fell on him, but the hog never stopped his activity. Because the hog had his head down and wasn't watching where he was going, he bumped into the tree several times, but he never stopped eating. With all of that moving around and eating, not once did the hog lift his head and look up to see where the acorns were coming from."
I hope that you don't think that I am making reference to the seasonal practice of eating until we are in a fudge enduced stupor.
But, you know, every now and then it pays to pause from that which occupies our constant attention and look up. When we don't look up, we fail to see where our blessings are coming from. When we don't look up, we fail to see where our strength is coming from. That's why David said, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth" (Psalm 121:1-2, KJV).
When we don't look up, we fail to see the warnings, comfort, and deliverance that God is sending to us. When we don't look up, we fail to receive the word about a Savior who has come to give us even more of the blessings of life.
I don't know why professional scribes and priestly Levites of Palest(eye)ne did not see the star. I don't know why other wise men of the East, who also studied the skies and had access to the same scriptures, did not come with those who journeyed to Palestine. Maybe the others were too busy to take the time to go on such a long journey. Maybe some did not feel like going on such a long journey.
Maybe others didn't attach as much significance or the same interpretation as those who came to Jerusalem.
All we know is that among those who either did see or could have seen the star announcing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, only three wise men came from the East saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."
They Were Wise Because They Followed Their Star
These wise men were wise enough to follow the star. God had sent a message from heaven and they were wise enough to take it seriously and to pack their necessary traveling gear, and go forth on a long journey to follow the star.
Wise people always follow where God leads them.
Sometimes they don't know exactly where the journey will take them or how far it will take them from the hearths of home and the warm embraces of family and friends who love them and whom they love. All they know is that they've seen a star in the heavens, they hear God calling them, they feel Christ beckoning them, and the Spirit pulling them. They can't be at peace until they follow their star. They don't know how long it will take them to reach the goal of their quest or just what they will find at its end, but they know they have received a message from heaven and they must follow their star.
Like the Israelites who left Egypt in search of Canaan and were guided by God's pillar of clouds by day and protected by God's pillar of fire by night, like the wise men who left the East to journey West following a star, so others have left home trusting God to lead them in the paths of righteousness. For some that has led them to foreign fields and desolate places in following God's call to missions. For others it has led them far from home to locations that are so extremely different from what they were used to that even though they are still in America, they feel they are on foreign soil. Others have left amid the ridicule of unbelieving parents and family members, serving without the support of family or friends.
Thank God for the stars which are sent to guide those of us who follow where we are led. Sometimes we receive discouragement form those from whom we expect encouragement.
Sometimes people don't see what we saw and because they didn't see or didn't understand what we saw, they try to discourage us. Sometimes others are afraid for us or hurt because they feel we don't appreciate the sacrifices they have made as they tried, as best they could, to provide for us. Some laugh at us and tell us we are going to fail. Some, with whom we have planned to make the journey, change their minds or won't make the sacrifice that comes every time God calls us to a task, and we have to go on by ourselves.
It isn't easy saying good-bye but when we see our star we have to follow it.
Wise people always follow their stars. Wise people always heed the messages God sends and follow where God leads. That's why I always tell people that if God has shown you a star, if God has given you a vision, if God has sent you a dream, then no matter who doesn't understand, follow your star. Even if you have to travel alone, follow your star. For wise people always follow their stars.
It isn't the light that we see but the light that we follow which makes us wise.
They Were Wise Because They Followed The Star That Led To Jesus
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, there came wise men from the East saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him."
Among the many stars that have shined in the heavens, there was only one that led to Jesus. The wise men were not simply wise because they saw the stars
but because they followed the star that led to Jesus.
Wise people always follow the star that leads to Jesus.
If there is one question that some of us need to ask ourselves, it is,
"Where is the star leading us?"
If it is leading us away from God,
then we are following the wrong star.
If it is leading us away from church,
then we are following the wrong star.
No matter how much money or prestige or power is at the end of our search, if the process that we use to reach it and the road that we take to get there leads us away from Jesus, then we are following the wrong star.
If the star we are following leads us to say things we shouldn't or do things we know are wrong, that if we were discovered we would be disgraced and ashamed, then we are following the wrong star. If the star we are following causes us to forget the training received from praying mothers, believing fathers, and others who truly love us, then we are following the wrong star. If all there is at the end of our search is a cold grave and no hope of an eternal life in an eternal day, then we are following the wrong star.
But if the star that we are following leads to the One who is the Bright and Morning Star, if the days of our travel lead to One who is the Ancient of Days, then we are following the right star.
There is only one star that leads to Jesus.
There is only one way ...
the way of prayer and confession ...
the way of surrender ...
the way of repentance ...
the new birth ...
the way of the cross that leads to the victory of the empty tomb.
And wise people always follow the star that leads to Jesus.
They Were Wise Because They Were Prepared To Meet Jesus
When the wise men found Jesus, they presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Where did the wise men get these gifts? I doubt if the Jerusalem shopping mall would have been open for them to pick up something on their way to Bethlehem. They had to have brought their gifts from home, which meant that they were prepared to meet the newborn King. They didn't know how long or how far they would travel, or when or where the star would finally come to rest. Therefore, they were prepared to meet Jesus, the newborn King, whenever, wherever, and however they found Him. The wise men were wise not only because they followed the star that led to Jesus, but they were wise because they were prepared to meet Jesus when they found Him. Wise people always make preparations to meet Jesus.
It makes no sense to come all the way to the end of the journey without having made preparations to meet Jesus.
What kind of preparations are we making to meet Jesus? What are we carrying along with us on our journey? Is what we are carrying in our hearts suitable to be laid before the King of kings?
Why follow the star that leads to the King, travel the King's highway and then come before the King unprepared? As your journey to the King nears its end, don't count on being able to run into some church to pick up some suitable gifts and graces for the King. Whatever has been in our hearts and whatever our lives have been all along on our journey is what we are going to have to give Him.
If we've been carrying excuses, that's all we can give. If we've been gossips, that's all we can give. If we've been carrying pettiness, that's all we can give.
Like the wise men, I want to be able to give suitable gifts to the King of my life. I hope to be able to give Him the gold of a life that has been tested by the fires of trial so that the best has come forth. I want to give to Him the kind of gold that Job spoke of when he said, "[My God] knows the way I take, and when He shall have tried me, I shall come forth like gold" (Job 23:10).
I want to be able to give the frankincense of a life of service ... I mean the kind of service that Isaiah committed himself to in the temple when he heard a voice say, "Who will go for us? Whom shall we send?" Isaiah answered, "Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6:8). I want to be able to present Him with the myrrh of a life of sacrifice; one that has died to an old life and been raised to anew one. I'm talking about the kind of death and resurrection that Paul spoke of when he said, "Whatever gain I had I counted it but loss for Christ's sake ... that I might know him and the power of his resurrection" (Philippians 3:7, 10).
The wise men were wise because they followed their star.
They were wise because they followed the star that led to Jesus.
They were wise because they were prepared to meet Jesus.
How wise are we?
How wise are you?
Remember, they were wise men, not wise guys.
