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The third stanza of The First Noel goes something like this:
And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from the country far;
To seek for a King was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/christmas_carols/#share
Pop Quiz:
1) How many wise men were there?
2) What do the wise men have to do with the whole story of Matthew?
Advent season is upon us, I wish to write about Christmas and its many myths associated with the church. Because of its familiarity, Christmas has often turned into a mixture of myths rather than history about Jesus’ birth. The most familiar is often the most alien. I start with Matthew in this installment.
The first myth is the “three wise men.” My more learned readers will say, “I already know that there aren’t three wise men, but three different gifts.” Please stay patient. The three wise men is a myth created in endless Christmas plays. Maybe there were three wiremen, or six or half a dozen. Who knows? As for the three gifts, Matthew seems to have named three different things but were they separated as three gifts or were there also other gifts? Who knows? The origin of the three wise men might have been adopted by the western tradition (the Roman Catholic Church) quite possibly from Gnostic sources. The real importance about the wise men is not the number but the direction from where they moved. While most of us know the fact about the mythical number of wise men, we neglect to understand its meaning.
Geographically speaking, the East was where Israel was exiled (this includes both the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles). The place represented a not-so-nice time of Israel’s history. When Matthew wrote about the magi from the East, he was portraying a God who used the Christmas event to draw people, not just from among Israel but also among gentiles. Traditionally, Matthew’s audience was Jewish, but this audience identification does not tell us more about the message of Matthew. If we look at Jesus’ final command in Matt. 28.18-20, Jesus told the followers to make disciples of “all nations.” The magi story foreshadows the discipleship of all nations, the universal scope of Jesus’ reach. While Matthew was preaching a Jewish gospel to the Jewish audience, his exhortation was for a universal mission.
Christmas is not just about some wise men coming to see baby Jesus. Christmas is about a God who attracts the impossible with impossible means. The church’s mission should learn from this. The universal message of Christmas shows God to reach beyond traditional boundaries so that all nations can hear the great news.
An Advent prayer (borrowed from our candle lighting this morning): Gracious Lord, as we begin our Advent journey, help us to know the abiding hope that comes from knowing you. Amen
PS. perhaps the picture above depicts Jesus scoring a touchdown despite persecution from three guys, but these were certainly not the three magi. They could be three thugs though. I’m joking.
The number isn’t important.
I think you’re right, the fact they are Gentiles from the east is important as well as this question, why would eastern magi have been looking for a “star” like this one so they could locate & worship a human Jewish King in Israel?
The Jews in Babylon and Persia had to have passed this along it seems to me.
Indeed, you’re right. No one can be too sure how they saw “his” star. I’m not even sure how Matthew got this information.
Not all Jews who were exiled to Babylon And Assyria returned to Israel. Perhaps the Magi were fellow Jews? Or a mixture of Jews and Gentiles?
i think your observation is very good. I think that route is well-known to travelers dating from before the Jews were exiled to Assyria. There was even evidence of trading with Greeks back during David’s time, I believe. If not, the east was actively trading with the west by Israel’s monarchy. The middlemen were the Phoenicians. So, I think these magi did not come back with the Jews at all. They were gentiles who knew the routes. They literally traveled from outside Israel into the area. I do not think they’re Jews at all. The gentiles had extensive contacts with Jewish believers such as Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and so forth. I’m not surprised they came. I’m a little surprised that these magi did use pagan means somehow to figure out where to “his star” whatever that means. As a sidebar, I do enjoy your website, Laura. Keep up the good work and fascination with contextualization of the past.