Many Nativity scenes show a tableau of the Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the Magi otherwise known as the Three Wisemen. Everything looks serene with the cattle standing patiently on the sidelines and camels sitting on their folded legs on the outside of a rustic stable.
The problem with this scene is that the Magi didn’t actually arrive until Mary and Joseph were living in a house somewhere in Bethlehem.1 I wonder did the little family get stranded in Bethlehem after paying their taxes during the census? After all Joseph was not a wealthy man. We know this because of the offering taken to the temple as a fulfillment of the law eight days after Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph could only bring a pair of doves or two young pigeons. A well to do couple would have brought a lamb for the purification rites.2 After paying his taxes Joseph may have needed to work to make enough money to go back to their former home.
The surprise visit of the Magi and their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh came just in time for the impoverished family. They would need it for the next part of their journey their harrowing escape to Egypt from the murderous rampage of King Herod. More than the timing of their visit and gifts I am fascinated by the very little knowledge that prompted the Magi to undertake their arduous journey.
There is a disagreement from scholars and historians as to the length of the Magi’s journey. Estimates range three from months to two years. In other words it took effort and patience to make such a long trip.
I wonder did they know of the of a prophecy given, by the ertswhile prophet Balaam centuries before the day the star actually appeared? Balaam actually had a vision of a Star rising in the East signifying a royal birth that would happen in the Jewish Nation of Israel.3 The Magi were the learned men astronomers and astrologers most likely from Persia.(Present day Iran) They belonged to the ancient Persian Zoroastrian religion. It is possible this prophecy made its way into their ancient writings. If so, this was a slim piece of evidence for a royal birth to take hundreds of years after it was first given.
In 2026 we have so much more information about Jesus' birth than the Magi. There are scientists like Joseph Kepler who assumed that the star of the three wise men at the time of Jesus Christ’s birth coincided with the great conjunction of the bright planets. We have the Word of God that show the fulfillment of the Scripture. There are so many data points that Jesus met that substantiated his birth. If the Magi had only a slim piece of information to get them to make a difficult journey, it's not a cliche to say that Wise People still seek Him. Personally I've looked at the evidence and I am convinced, like the Magi, that Jesus, Emmanuel is the Messiah for which people were waiting since the Book of Genesis. Have you started on your journey to investigate and to meet this Jesus, the Promised One? If not, why not begin today? I suggest you start with reading the Book of John in the New Testament of the Bible.
In 2026 wise men and women still seek Him.
1. Matthew 2:7-11
2. Leviticus 12:6-8
3. Numbers 24:17
( For clarification: Yes, there may have been more than three royal visitors or wisemen who visited the young Jesus in Bethlehem. We usually say three because of the three named gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, that are mentioned in the Bible.)
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