The Guiding Star

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea 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."—Matthew 2:1, 2

David Rice

The visit of the wise men to the baby Jesus is recorded only by Matthew, just as the visit of the shepherds is recorded only by Luke. The two episodes were on two distinct occasions, the wise men viewing our Savior some days or weeks after his birth rather than the evening of his birth, as with the shepherds. As our Lord was born in the fall of 2 B.C., and Herod died in the first month or two of 1 B.C., the entire episode recorded in Matthew 2:1-18 must have taken place in this interval.

The familiar Christmas carol which opens "We three kings of Orient are . . ." is based on this passage. Matthew does not affirm that these wise men were actually kings, nor that they were three in number. But probably they were men of rank and nobility, as their costly gifts and their reception in Jerusalem imply, and their number may have been three if each bore one of the gifts mentioned in verse 11.

The term "wise men" is from the Greek magoi, plural form of magos (Strong’s number 3097), and includes those studied in the Eastern sciences, a blend of astronomy and astrology. Daniel and his friends were counted among the "wise men" of Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar’s day (Dan. 2:13), and in fact they were "in all matters of wisdom and understanding . . . ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers" of Babylon (Dan. 1:20).

The Star of Bethlehem

As far back as the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24:17-19, the appearance of Israel’s King was associated with the symbol of a "star." That prophecy had a remarkably precise fulfillment with the advent of Israel’s king David, but he was typical of the eternal king of Israel, Jesus. Clearly it pleased God to mark the advent of his son, "born King of the Jews" (Matt. 2:2), with a heavenly portent, a "star" which these wise men, trained in the symbolic meanings of their day, associated with a royal birth in Israel.

What was that luminary which guided the wise men? If it were a miraculous, super-bright star or a natural super nova, or even a bright comet, probably Herod would not have asked the wise men about it. It would have been in the discussions of all the people and common knowledge. The suggestion which most appeals to us is that this "star" was the planet Jupiter, whose transit through the heavens in the two years preceding the visit of the wise men (Matt. 2:16) involved a number of remarkable incidents.

The list below and this view, appear in an article by Ernest Martin, "The Celestial Pageantry Dating Christ’s Birth" Christianity Today, [December 2, 1976, pp. 16-22.] Noting that the planet Jupiter was often associated with the birth of kings, Martin gives detailed suggestions on the probable meanings the other heavenly bodies Jupiter joined with would have had to the wise men of the East. Then he adds: "When [the wise men] reached Jerusalem, the Magi were told to look toward Bethlehem for the newborn king. This happened at a time when the New Testament says the star came to a definite halt in the heavens—it ‘stood over where the young child was’ (Matt. 2:9). And indeed, the planet Jupiter [the other planets as well] does become stationary in its motion through the fixed stars. This happens at its times of retrogression and progression. It could well be that Matthew was referring to such a thing .. . [in late December] . . . at the ordinary time of the Magi’s predawn observations, Jupiter would have been seen in meridian position (directly over Bethlehem) sixty-five degrees above the southern horizon . . . Jupiter was then situated in the constellation of Virgo the Virgin."

The Three Gifts

As the wise men approached Bethlehem and located the proper house, they "opened their treasures, [and] presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh" (Matthew 2:11). All of these are precious gifts of costly value. Perhaps it was by the subsequent disposition of these gifts that this poor family was able to meet its expenses in their flight to Egypt soon to follow. But for the moment, they must have been amazed at the generous tokens these strangers laid at the feet of their little child.

Each of these gifts had a meaning. The gold identified his royalty, frankincense his priestly service, and myrrh, the costly but bitter herb, portended a life of suffering for him who would be "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isa. 53:3).

The Flight to Egypt

Herod had asked the wise men to return word to him on the location of the child, with the secret intent of killing him. But they were warned by God in a dream and returned home another way. Then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream instructing him to take the child to Egypt for safety. This he did immediately. "When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt." This subsequently served to fulfill the prediction of Hosea 11:1, "Out of Egypt have I called my son" (Matt. 2:15).

When Herod realized his plan had been thwarted, he was "exceeding wroth" and issued his infamous decree for the death of all the babes in and around Bethlehem two years old and under. It reminds us of a similar decree by Pharaoh which threatened the life of baby Moses and forms a parallel between Moses and the "prophet like unto me," the Messiah that Moses predicted God would send someday (Deut. 18:15, 18).

Herod’s devilish scheme was overruled for a testimony on behalf of Jesus in yet another way. When the dispute was raised years later over the authenticity of Jesus as the Christ, one of the points of contention was that "Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem" (John 7:42), whereas to all appearances, Jesus had come from Galilee. For those few who in the intensity of debate thought to humbly investigate the facts, the uniqueness of Jesus must have shone starkly. How many others of his age and up to two years older, could claim Bethlehem as their birthplace?

Return to Nazareth

Though not apparent from Matthew, Luke (2:4) affirms that Nazareth was the point of departure of Joseph and Mary before coming to Jerusalem for the enrollment. When Herod was dead, an angel appeared again to Joseph in a dream advising him to return to Israel, but when Joseph heard Herod’s son Archelaus reigned in Judaea, he made his way back north, directed by yet another dream (his fourth such experience), "and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth" (Matt. 2:23).

Archelaus was one of three sons of Herod the Great to whom was divided Herod’s domain, Antipas and Phillip being the other two. Archelaus seems to have inherited his father’s demeanor. Josephus says that he put to death 3000 Jews in and around the temple not long after his ascension (Ant. xvii, 9, 3). Nazareth, in Galilee, was "in the domain of his gentler brother Antipas" (Smith’s Bible Dictionary, "Archelaus").

Matthew next adds a statement which has puzzled many, ". . . that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene" (Matt. 2:23). No direct prophecy mentioned this city, so some have supposed Matthew meant simply that he would be of humble home and upbringing. Others point to a more precise fulfillment. "The best explanation of the origin of this name [Nazareth, or Nazarene] appears to be that which traces it to the word netzer in Isaiah 11:1, the small twig, sprout, or sucker, which the prophet there says shall come forth from the stem (or rather, stump) of Jesse" (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary on Matthew 2:23).

Modern Wise Men

Noting that the second advent of Christ parallels the first advent of Christ, and that the wise men looked for Jesus thirty years before he became the Messiah at Jordan, we observe a parallel to our day. As the Lord’s people in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries took heed to the pages of prophecy "as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19), they began to see in the light of Daniel’s prophecies that the King’s advent was near.

Prominent among these was William Miller, whose deductions from prophecy were accepted by many. They realized the 1260 years of Papal dominion had closed about 1798 when the Pope was taken prisoner from Rome, but assumed the 1290 years of Daniel terminated at the same location. For this reason they began the 1290 years thirty years earlier than the 1260, and the 1335 years at the same point as the 1290. As a result, they understood the 1335 years of Daniel 12:12 would terminate about the year 1843, and subsequently adjusted their estimate by one year to 1844.

Thus it is that thirty years before our Lord returned to become the new King of earth, "the wise" who were examining the prophecies discerned his approach through the star of prophecy. They did not understand all the issues clearly, just as the wise men in Jesus’ day did not see clearly all the issues regarding the royal child. But they were being led in the right direction. Already the prediction was coming true, "the wise shall understand" (Dan. 12:10). And clearer light was on the way. "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the 1335 days" (Daniel 12:12), "Blessed are those servants whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching" (Luke 12:37). That blessed time has come. And soon earth’s new King, already invisibly present, shall make his authority evident to all humanity.