Three wise men and star of Bethlehem

By: Masood Ashraf

In the Gospel of Mathews there is a story that talks about three wise men from the East coming to Bethlehem who were led by what they thought was a bright star in the sky towards baby Jesus (as) in search of a newborn king. These men were also commonly known as Magi which mean wise men. Word Magi could include everyone expert in their field such as Magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers. By the Middle Ages, most believed that three Magi visited the Christ child and that they were kings who symbolized the three ages of man. In keeping with Matthew’s account that the Magi journeyed from the East, writers first suggested that the kings were Persian. Later commentators proposed that they represented the three known continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. From a wide assortment of names suggested for the Magi, those that eventually prevailed were Gaspar (or Caspar), Melchior, and Balthasar. But the names, like the lands of origin, were never consistently assigned to a particular king. But a question arises, is it possible to have a bright star in the sky that leads someone directly to a place? It is quite impossible. It is like chasing the moon as a kid and just when you think you have got it, it is not reachable.  However, there is a lot of truth to the story but not as modern-day Christians portray it. It is important to understand that it was the combination of their wisdom, intelligence, and foresight of time and events related to the Holy Scriptures and many time line prophecies that led them to seek Jesus (as).

Past civilizations bear witness that an extraordinary revolution occurs upon the earth and in the skies when God Almighty sends His prophets to reform mankind. A great number of signs including celestial signs and out-of-the-ordinary universal phenomena are witnessed before and after the appearance of these messengers Professor Gary Durham writes in his article “First, they would have followed the insights given them in the prophecies of Daniel concerning the timing of the Messiah’s birth and death.  The most important of these is the ninth (9th) chapter of Daniel where the Angel Gabriel gives Daniel a cryptic calendar organized according to the sacred system of Heptads (seven-year cycles) and patterned forward on the structure of the Exile which the Jews were about to complete, and which Daniel had read in the Prophet Jeremiah, would be 70-years long and was about to be completed in Daniel’s old age.  Therefore, this is the reason Daniel falls down and prays for the restoration of Jerusalem in the first part of chapter nine. Then he writes “In Luke 21-25 we are told that the heavens will be used to communicate once again at the second coming of the Messiah.  “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring of the seas.   Pharaoh Ramses of Egypt’s 19th dynasty had decreed that all baby boys were to be slaughtered or thrown into the Nile River to eradicate all potential threats against him. Further evidence from analyzing suggests that there is a deeper meaning behind the events that took place during that time period. Comparatively, it is recorded in the Bible that King Herod of Judea initiated a similar plan to murder all the male infants in Bethlehem when He learned that the wise men left without telling him where the Christ child was born. The internal fear of a possible threat propelled these individuals to meticulously plan a scheme that would guarantee their success and eliminate all possible hindrances. But we do have to give them credit for recognizing the time of the advent of a Prophet. So logical conclusion we can draw from the story is that they did see bright star appeared in sky and they knew it that it was time for Prophet to appear but star did not lead them but star did affirm their inkling and they were looking for any sign that would lead them to that great Prophet and upon learning that there was a birth without the father in Bethlehem they decided to make long journey to investigate it. Three wise men did not get to see baby Jesus’ contrary to popular nativity scene till he was two years old. Because the Bible tells us after three wise men refused to reveal where that great king was born to king Herod, the king decided to kill all babies under two years old. Also, upon arrival, the individuals also left gifts with religious significance to bless the baby including frankincense, gold and Myrrh. These gifts were meant to signify that he will face inevitable hardship and persecution as evidence by events previous Prophets had gone through and also individuals prayed for Jesus’ peace on him also and they left knowing that they were old and would not see Jesus’ peace be on him grow up as adult and claim Prophethood.

Another Question arises here because we are told in Luke “that heavens will be used to communicate once again at the second coming of the Messiah. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring of the seas. Is there an anguish in the world now or world is at peace at large ? If not than we should look harder if second coming of the Messiah has happened and has heavens and earth bore any testimony to this ?