Wise Men

We hear about the wise men who visited Jesus as a baby every Christmas. There is such a commercialized aura around these men, that it seems the same guys found in a nativity at Walmart are the same men who are taught about from the pulpit.

Were there really only three? Were they magicians or astrologers? Did they actually see a baby sleeping with animals? Is the Bible truly absent about their nationality or what they believed in?

Here is what we know about them:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him…. he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.” Matt 2:1-2, 8-12

Believe it or not, these verses are packed with clues about who the “magi” were.

Clue #1 – the east

The wise men were from east of Israel, and most likely east of the border of the Roman Empire which was just beyond Syria. Since spices don’t grow in the Arabian desert, this would put their home in the land of the Parthian Empire. Tracing the Parthian Empire territory backwards through time takes us to the Achaemenid Empire. Before that was Mede and Persian kingdoms that were preceded by Babylon which conquered Assyria.

Its important to remember that the northern tribes of Israel were taken captive by Assyria followed by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin being exiled to Babylon. This means that Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah, Haggai, Esther’s Mordecai, and others were uprooted from their homes to live in “the east.”

Clue #2 – the star

There are a few things to clear up about the star including where and when it was seen. It’s an assumption that the star was in the eastern part of the sky and guided the wise men from their country to Israel. Neither is true. If the star was literally in the eastern portion of the sky and guided the wise men, then they would’ve headed to China.

Another way to say, “We saw His star in the east” is to say, “We saw His star in our backyard.” The star did not guide them to Israel, but instead alerted them to the birth of a famous Jewish king. The reason they went to Jerusalem is because that’s where a Jewish king would be found – in the capital city of Israel.

How did they know about this star though? Maybe they read about it in their sacred Torah, “A star shall appear from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel” (Num 24:17). This star would be a descendant of Jacob, better known as Israel, and would be a king.

Notice that when the men headed to Bethlehem, just a few hours away on foot, the star that they saw at home reappeared. This is why they were so excited.

Many commentaries and study Bibles claim that these men were astrologers or astronomers. If they were there for a Jewish king, I guarantee that they were not astrologers who worship the stars. Where they scientists whose only job was to study and make new discoveries in the night sky? I think their knowledge of the stars and their gifts prove otherwise.

Clue #3 – like Daniel

I’m not going to get into what version of the Bible is the best, but I think the ones that use “wise men” instead of “magi” is more accurate. Here’s why – remember Daniel?

King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. The king answered Daniel and said, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.” Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Dan 2:46-48

Not only did Daniel interpret the king’s dream, but he told the king what his dream was about when no one else could (see Dan 2). As a result, Daniel was considered one of the wisest “wise men” of Babylon whose same authority transferred over to the Media empire, followed by the Persian/Achaemenid empire (see Dan 6).

Did you catch that the wise men knew the importance of dreams?

Clue #4 – the gifts

Maybe the star was of the same Spirit that had compelled a pagan king to allow the exiled prophets to make the same exact trek 559 years earlier. What did those ancient Jews bring with them when they returned to their barren land to rebuild the desecrated temple of the Lord?

Ezra states that the Achaemenid king, Cyrus the Great, gave them back all of the gold articles that were taken from Solomon’s temple. The exiles also returned with valuables that most certainly included the very costly spices that were required in the service of the temple for the grain offerings and incense (see Ex 30:22-38, Ezr 1:5-8). After stepping foot onto the grand temple rubble, they immediately built an altar and reinstituted the divine temple rituals. Therefore, it makes sense that they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh that were needed to perform those services.

Fast forward to the moment Jesus was born, and we know these articles were being used in the revived Jerusalem temple. So why bring them as gifts?

Both frankincense and myrrh were associated with the soon coming king (see Zech 9:9). The smell of fragrant myrrh fills the air around the Greatest Hebrew King (see Psa 45:6-8) and it was used to prepare a bride to be queen in marriage to that King (see Est 2:12). The greatest song about the Hebrew King and His bride mentions gold, frankincense, and myrrh many times (see Songs). So I imagine that these gifts made a loud proclamation to Mary that confirmed who her Son was.

One final hint – Zerubbabel

Zerubbabel was appointed by Cyrus the Great as governor to lead the exiles back to Israel (see Ezr 1:2, 2:2). Why him? It is the same reason is why his name is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (see Mt 1:12). Had Judean kingdom not been taken captive, Zerubbabel would have been a future king of Israel.

Did you catch the context of the first chapter of Matthew? “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah” (see Mt 1:1).

Solving the Mystery

Have you figured out who these wise men are yet?

Let’s put it all together: they were men like Daniel who knew to watch for a star that announced the great king of the Jews, they knew what the appropriate gifts were for a Jewish king, and they were from the land that Jews were exiled to. Most importantly, in order to be warned by God and obey Him, they must have believed in Him.

Jesus was a direct descendant of Zerubbabel. I wonder if any of Zerubbabel’s family decide to stay in “the east” – probably since only a small fraction of the exiles returned to Israel 559 years before.

I think its safe to conclude that wise men were most likely Jewish, descendants of the exiles, and possibly even related to Jesus.