How The Wise Men Saw The Star of Bethlehem (Part 1)

Have you ever been to a Christmas play or a Christmas pageant at a place of worship? Some performances are inspiring, some are funny, (especially the children's plays), some pageants are just kind of strange. But they all have a great story to tell and the meaning of these plays is very important to all of mankind. As I have sat and watched these plays through my life I have always wondered about the Star of Bethlehem. The star was always a mystery to me and it left me with many unanswered questions.

As I would sit through many of these Christmas performances, The Star of Bethlehem would always have some form of representation. In children's plays it would usually be a huge cut out that looked more like our sun than a bright star in the sky. In other performances the star would be something like a bright light hanging over the stage, (I have even seen a disco ball represent The Star of Bethlehem). Whatever the case, in all of these plays the star could be easily identified by all of the actors and the whole audience. But let me ask you, is this really how the Bible portrays this event? Let us take a deeper look into this question.

Our search will begin with the Three Wise Men who are also known as The Three Magi. Nobody really knows for sure if there were three wise men, it is just a best guess by biblical scholars. There were three gifts presented to Christ by these magi, so an assumption has been made that there were three wise men that sought out Christ. These magi arrive at Herod's palace in Jerusalem circa 2 BC. These magi must have been pretty impressive because they were able to meet with Herod very quickly. Matthew chapter 2 verses 1 through 3 says this, 'Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.' The magi had seen the star from Babylon, which is now Iraq, and they followed the star west to Jerusalem.

Herod wasn't even aware of a new king being born until the magi brought the news to him. We know this because Herod had to go ask his chief priests and scribes where this 'King of the Jews' would be born. Herod's advisers told him that this event was prophesied and that it was to occur in Bethlehem. Herod now had the answer for the wise men and he brought them back in to his court. Matthew chapter 2 verse 7 reads, 'Then Herod, when he had privily (secretly) called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.'

Did you get that? Herod, had to ask at what time did the star appear. This is significant because here we have Herod asking about when something happened in his kingdom. I would boldly suggest to you that if some major event was happening in his land he would be keenly aware of it. Also, in those days almost everyone was familiar with the night skies. You see, most people spent their evening hours during the summertime on the roof tops. It was a place of safety, relaxation and many people even slept on their roofs. The sky was much easier to view back then as well because there wasn't any light pollution or air pollution.

So, let me ask you, so far does this sound like any of the stars that you have seen in your church's Christmas pageants? It seems a little funny that this incredibly bright star announcing the Messiah's birth wasn't even noticed by Judea's King Herod or the land's inhabitants. But this leaves us with the question, why didn't the people of Judea see this Star of Bethlehem? But also, why did the magi come from the east, from a foreign land to worship a newborn Jewish king? Who were the Magi and why would they be interested in this baby?

The answer is that these magi were Jewish themselves. They were the descendants of the Jews that Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon. If you read the book of Daniel you will read that he never returned to Jerusalem and that he stayed in Babylon. There were probably many other Jews just like Daniel, including the ancestors of these magi. This would explain why these magi were looking for Jewish signs in the skies. It further explains why they were willing to travel seven hundred miles to Jerusalem and also that when the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, they wanted to worship this newborn baby.

Philo, who is a Jewish historian, who lived in Alexandria Egypt describes a particular school of magi from the east. In his writings he holds these magi in high regard. Philo, tells us that these magi understood the natural order and that they were more like the scientists and astronomers of their time. It is also very interesting that Matthew wants us to know that these magi came from the east. Philo and Matthew probably write about the same group of magi who were very impressive men for their time.

So what did the magi observe in the night sky that King Herod and everyone else failed to see? The Bible gives us about nine clues relating to the Star of Bethlehem, and here they are taken from the second chapter of Matthew:

1. The magi saw the star rise in the east (Matthew 2:2)
2. The star suggested to the magi, the birth of a newborn child (Matthew 2:2)
3. The star suggested to the magi, the Jewish nation (Matthew 2:2)
4. The star suggested a Jewish King to the magi (Matthew 2:2)
5. The star was subtle, Herod had to ask when the star appeared (Matthew 2:7)
6. The star has an exact timing (Matthew 2:7)
7. The star went ahead of them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, a distance of five miles (Matthew 2:9)
8. The star had to endure over time in it's orbit for the magi to travel and to reach their final destination
9. The star stood over where the young child was (Matthew 2:9)

Wow! Somehow, these descriptions just don't fit my church pageant's symbolic representation of The Star of Bethlehem. It seems that when the star appeared nobody but these three wise men saw the star. How can this be true? Yet this is what the Bible tells us. Please check out Part 2 of this article, it will explain in detail what the magi actually saw. It is most likely something that you've never read or heard before. To be continued...