Wise Men

The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. Psalm 72:10

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." . . . After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Matthew 2:1-2, 9-12

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Very little is really known about these men. Most of what we profess to know about them comes through tradition, not the Bible.

We don’t know that there were three of them – only that they brought three gifts. Tradition tells us that there were three and their names were Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar.

They were also called Magi. This word has the same root as the word "magic." They may have been astrologers or magicians, or their great wisdom about scientific matters may have led others to believe they were magic.

They didn’t visit the baby Jesus on the night He was born. It may have been months or even years later, as they came from afar.

These men must have known something of the prophecy of the Messiah. Somehow they knew that this was an extremely important event, worth a very lengthy and costly trip.

Why would wealthy men, of such high standing that they could stop and ask the king for directions, pay such a visit to a poor, unknown family from Nazareth? It hardly seems logical, but then, there isn’t much about the story of Jesus’ birth that is logical. They came on faith, the same way we must come to Jesus. Won’t you come to worship Him too?