Wise men Discover the Star 

Astronomers in a distant land
Saw Jesus’ star so bright.
They knew it was a sign from God.
The Messiah was born that night.
They planned their trip and traveled far
To Judea and Jerusalem
‘Twas there they learned the prophets said
The Christ would be born in Bethlehem

Read this account for yourself in Matthew 2:1-8

Christmas was more than a week ago. Why am I posting about the wise men now? Because the wise men didn’t come to the manger the night of Jesus’ birth. That’s when they saw the star from a distant country in the east. They had many miles to travel to see the baby king.

The wise men expected to find the Christ child in Jerusalem, but when they inquired about where they might find the young king, they upset many people who were unaware that the Messiah had been born. After the chief priests searched the scriptures they determined that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. King Herod was disturbed to learn of a new king who might become a threat to his throne. He secretly sought a visit with the wise men to learn when the star appeared and asked the wise men to return to him and let him know where the child was “so he could come and worship him.” But his intentions were far removed from worship.

Who were the wise men? The New International Version called them magi. Christmas carols call them kings. We know that they studied the stars or the new star wouldn’t have captured their attention. And we believe that they had some knowledge of the Israelites’ expectation of a coming Messiah. Some Bible scholars speculate that these men were influenced by Daniel’s writings and teachings from the time when he was among the captives in Babylon.

These wise men were not Israelites, yet God spoke to and through them to confirm Jesus as the Messiah. They also had the desire in their hearts to search for Jesus and to worship him – a searching that far surpasses the way the typical Christian searches for Jesus today. Would that we were so determined and diligent to seek Jesus.

This devotional message corresponds to the twelfth mini-story in The First Christmas by Janice D. Green. The First Christmas is available here.