Following the Wrong Star TO BABY JESUS

 [ Matthew 2 ]

Since most Christians rely on God’s professional middle management to explain the Bible, many are left to assume that the Four Gospels are a chronological narrative describing Jesus’s life. But no such account exists anywhere in the Bible. Instead, the first four books of the New Testament are comprised of a series of vignettes woven together to create the familiar chain of Christmas events we grew up with. 

If we focus specifically on the Christmas story – the biggest money maker for churches and retailers alike – we discover a seamless romantic tale that includes evil King Herod,* a daring flight to Egypt, heavenly choirs of angels, shepherds, additional livestock, and even a little drummer boy. 

But perhaps the most iconic visual element is the Three Wise Men, traveling on camels bearing incense and topical pain relievers for the newborn. In 1857, this ancient dromedary convoy was given a boost by the compelling popular hymn “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”

Fun Bible Stories now takes a closer look at those Three Wise Men: the Magi of the East.

As we know it, the mainstream Nativity Story (or Infancy Narrative) is cobbled together from two separate books of the New Testament: the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke**. The Christmas story itself does not appear at all in the other two gospels. 

Drilling down, we further discover that the key Three Wise Men interlude occurs only in the "Matthew" version of the Christmas tale.*** 

The King James Version provides the following description of the event:

"In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem." - Matthew 2:1.

Who were these guys? The term Magi from the original Greek text refers to an astrologer, priest or interpreter of dreams and omens – the origin of the term magician in fact. They were extensively employed in royal courts throughout the ancient world. Although in this case the language is not specific, historians and other interpreters concur that intended reference is to Persian Zorastrian priests. There is no reason to believe they are “kings” and the scriptural account doesn’t say they are kings.  Furthermore, the six hundred mile journey to see an infant is not typical king behavior.

There are other fundamental problems with the Three Kings tales.

NO CAMELS, NO NAMES

As Americans know them, the Three Wise Men are always mounted on camels. This motif lends itself to compelling Holiday graphics with limitless potential for ornaments, giftwrapping paper, lawn inflatables and other Christmas merch from Buddhist nations.  But these images are based on fantasy and marketing, not the Good Book. 

Because if this expedition had been a historical event, the Magi would not have been mounted on camels.  Those particular beasts saw only limited use in the Near East as pack animals. On the contrary, the Magi would have been wealthy aristocratic members of a royal court, riding regally astride magnificent Arabian horses as befitted their station. 

We don’t know HOW MANY Magi the author envisioned  because the number is not given. It could be a couple of kings or even a dozen, like a posse in a Western. 

We don’t know their names because they are not named in the New Testament. Extra-biblical tradition has at some point designated the travelers as Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar to flesh out the tale. Admittedly, those are credible handles for Magi, but they are not in the Bible.

FOLLOWING A STAR THE WRONG WAY
And finally, there is the undeniable problem with the famous Star in the East, These Magi were from Persia or Arabia, directly east of Judea. If the star had stationed itself over the stable, it would have been west of the astrologers in Arabia and south when they left Jerusalem. 

If they had been west of Bethlehem, they would have been swimming to see the baby Messiah.

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NOTES

* Historically, Herod was quite deceased well before the timeline in which this event is set.

** None of the authors of the "gospels" were members of the twelve disciples, nor did they live during Joshua ben Joseph’s lifetime. Matthew was written in the first century CE

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***The Gospel of Luke includes no flight to Egypt, no paranoid King Herod, no murder of children and no Wise Men visiting baby Jesus. Instead it includes shepherds.