"Who were the wise men that visited Baby Jesus? Where did they originate? What does their visit mean?"
* * *
The traditional story bursts with details: three kings, with names hard to pronounce, begin from different countries to follow a moving star. They ride on their camels until the star guides them to Bethlehem, where they find the newborn Jesus lying in a wood manger surrounded by shepherds. There they present him with expensive gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
That scenario shares but one detail with the biblical account, and that is the gifts. Matthew does not count the Magi (or Wise Men), or tell their social standing, names, nationalities or mode of transportation. The star does not move in the biblical account, except perhaps the few miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem (Matt. 2:9). The Magi do not find Jesus in a stable or in a wood manger, but in a house (Matt. 2:10). Jesus is not a newborn, but perhaps up to two years old (Matt. 2:16). There are no shepherds anywhere in sight.
From where came these mysterious visitors? "From the East," reports Matthew, which encompasses considerable territory (Matt. 2:1). In the second-century, Clement of Alexandria thought the Wise Men came from Persia. Some have suggested that they were Zoroastrian priests. Other early interpreters favored Babylon -- the land of Judah's captivity. The Hebrew prophets Ezekiel and Daniel lived in Babylon, and a large community of Jews remained there after the Exile. Justin Martyr and Clement of Rome, second-century fathers, thought the Magi came from Arabia. Where they came from is not as important as what they mean -- in light of ancient prophecies from the Jewish Bible itself.
"Who were the wise men that visited Baby Jesus? Where did they originate? What does their visit mean?"
* * *
The Magi seem to have been familiar with astrology but not with the Hebrew Scriptures, suggesting that they probably were not Jews (Matthew 2:2). Their heavenly sign reminds us of the oracle of Balaam the soothsayer, who lived in the days of Moses: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel (Num.24:17).
The story of the Magi also brings to mind the prophecy of Isaiah, who revealed with greatest clarity the salvation of the nations through the anticipated Jewish Messiah. "Nations will come to your light; and kings to the brightness of your rising," Isaiah had prophesied, seven centuries before Jesus. "The wealth of the nations will come to you. . . . All those from Sheba will come; they will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news of the praises of the LORD" (Isaiah 60:3-6).
The baby born to the Virgin Mary was the descendant of Jacob, born to reign as king. He was the Light of the World, who enlightens Jew and Gentile alike. He is worthy of our gifts, regardless of our national or ethnic origin. Like the Magi of old, wise men and women still are privileged to bow before this Jesus in adoration and in awe.
For more on Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus to the Wise Men, click here.