CREEDE HINSHAW: Mystery surrounds biblical ‘wise men’

The Christmas story, according to Matthew (Matt 2: 1-12), is full of mystery. Who are the magi? Where did they come from? What was that star? How could Herod (who lived only 5 miles from Bethlehem) fail to have known about the birth of the Messiah? Do the gifts have meaning? We don’t even know, following the scripture, how many magi there were. (The early church supplied numbers of magi ranging from 2-12).

Matthew’s use of the Greek word magoi leaves it unclear who these fellows were. Translations range from “wise men” to “scholars who studied the stars,” while a few versions live with the mystery by calling them “magi.” The implication that they were kings is based on the early church linking Old Testament verses with this visit.

Two strands of early church thought were (1) the magoi were astrologers/magicians who gave up their dark arts and knelt at the feet of the world’s true light, or (2) the magoi were scholarly, learned men of scientific pedigree who came to Jesus to worship the world’s savior. Both possibilities have a nice ring to them but, along with the late scholar Raymond Brown (“Birth of the Messiah”), I prefer the second possibility. These explorers/searchers were likely men of learning who sought Jesus out of a heartfelt desire to know the best.

Where were these men from? Brown has three main theories: Persia, Babylon or Arabia, each region, inferring from the biblical text, being possible. One of the most intriguing stories is that when Persian armies came through Palestine in the 6th century they refrained from destroying a church in Bethlehem because on the wall of the church was a painting of the three wise men who were clearly Persian.

If you examine art on the adoration of the magi, you will discover that most paintings depict one of the wise men as having come from Africa. The other two will often look Arabic or of other Middle Eastern origin. Matthew simply says (KJV) that they came from “afar.” Eventually they were assigned names.

The various theories about the star and it’s “rising” would take another whole column. Conjecture (and that’s all it can be) falls into a comet, the conjunction of two or more planets or a supernova. There is no proof for any of these options. Pick the one you like the best or write it off as an unexplained miracle.

Here’s the main thing: Outsiders unexposed to the Jewish scriptures understood instinctively that a messiah/king was to be born somewhere in Israel. They journeyed long to find him, bringing gifts in anticipation of the discovery. When they arrived, they fell on their knees to worship him. People are still being attracted to this Savior in miraculous, inexplicable fashion. Too much explanation and analysis can ruin what is a beautiful account.

P.S. The arrival of the magoi is linked with Epiphany (Jan. 6) and not with Christmas, but that’s a column for another day. I’ll discuss Herod then, too.

Email Creede Hinshaw at [email protected].