The Three Seekers Series

The important fact for us to know about these Christmas Characters is that they were highly influential men who served as advisors to the king. While they were not kings themselves, it would not be far from the truth to call them kingmakers.

What possibly could have motivated them to make a treacherous 1,000-mile journey across the desert? There’s only one answer to that question -- they have come to see a baby King. This is fascinating. They knew a baby had been born but they didn’t know where. They knew he was a King but didn’t know His name. So they come to Jerusalem--the capital city--seeking help. It actually makes sense that they went to Jerusalem because they wanted to welcome the “King of the Jews.” They guessed that this newborn king was the son of Herod the Great. They assume that everyone must know about this baby. But a great surprise awaits them.

Star of Wonder

Verse 2 adds a detail that has baffled and intrigued Bible scholars and astronomers for 2,000 years: “We have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”

What was “this star in the east?” There are many theories ­ in fact two new ones appear in this week’s issue of US News and World Report (12/20/99).

One astronomer from Rutgers University argues that it was an alignment of stars and planets that ancient astrologers would have recognized as significant. Jupiter was considered the planet of kings, and a lunar eclipse of Jupiter in the constellation which was an ancient symbol of Judea, would have excited expectations of a divine birth in the Jerusalem area. According to sophisticated calculations, this would have appeared in the year of Christ’s birth.

In this same article, a British astrophysicist argues that the Bethlehem star was indeed a real star that can still be seen by telescope today. Back when Jesus was born, it was a bright nova. In fact ancient Chinese astronomers report that an unusually bright star appeared in the exact year that Jesus was born. Like the astronomer from Rutgers, this guy argues that ancient astrologers would have found the nova significant because of where and when it appeared ­ during a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. According to this researcher, the conjunctions would have told the Magi “to await news from Judea and, possibly, to expect the imminent birth of the Messiah.”

I love how US News concludes the article, “…we now have two fresh theories providing new scientific support for the biblical story…which makes the ‘star of wonder’ a little less of a mystery.” Once again, we see that the Bible stands up to scientific inquiry. Friends, these events actually happened!

Whatever the bright star was, it certainly got the attention of the Wise Men. It helps to remember that the Wise Men were students of the sky. That means they would not be frightened or put off by anything unusual that suddenly appeared to them. It also helps to know that in those days it was not uncommon to associate the birth of a great ruler with unusual heavenly phenomena. The sudden appearance of a bright star would make perfect sense to them and would in fact fit what they already believed. Without question, this bright light was the supernatural work of God. You might say that if God wanted to get a message to these guys, He picked the perfect way.