The visit of the 3 kings of the orient to the baby Jesus is a vital part of our Christmas story. They are major players in this historical event. One of the aspects of Christianity that we need to be aware of is the disparity between Biblical truth and tradition. Such is the case with these Wise Men of the East.

What do we know about these visitors from afar? There were 3 travelers. Is this Biblical or tradition? Actually this is tradition. The Bible doesn’t give us an exact number of Wise Men. We associate and assume there were three because of the 3 gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. There may have been as many as 12 who caravanned to see “this thing which the Lord has done.”

We know their names: Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar. Again there is nothing in the Bible that specifically names these Christmas visitors. These specific names are brought to us by way of tradition.

We know these men as Kings and sing the famous Christmas carol, “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” However, they were not kings but more aptly described as wise men, or magi, who searched the stars for answers to life’s questions. Apparently they were a mixture of astrologers and astronomers. One thing is evident; they knew their stars and the nighttime sky. We do know that they were learned men and believe that they were honestly seeking wisdom and truth.

We also ‘know’ that these magi came to the stable along with the Bethlehem shepherds to worship this newborn king. We depict that scene in our traditional crèche or manger scene as evidenced on our altar. But as we carefully read the story we see that that the shepherds came to the stable when Jesus was born. Matthew 2:1 says clearly “After Jesus was born…magi came from the East to Jerusalem.” So it appears that the shepherds had come and gone before these Wisemen found Jesus. We also notice in verse 11, “on coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary….” Notice 2 things: house and child. It was not to a stable that they came, but to a house. Notice that Jesus is referred to not as a baby but as a child, which indicates an older age than a baby.

So where did much of this tradition come from? It came from St Francis of Assisi. During the Dark Ages, the vast majority of the common people could not read. In order to teach the people the story of Jesus birth, St. Francis designed the Nativity scene so that the people would have visual reminders of how Jesus was born in a stable, that shepherds came to worship Him and how the Wisemen came bearing gifts. So in our understanding of Christian truth we need to be aware of the role and place of tradition as opposed to what the Bible actually says. You can stand on God’s Word but standing on tradition can be as precarious as standing on quicksand.

Notwithstanding the traditions of the visit by the Magi, we can gain significant truths from Matthew’s account. Theirs is a story of searching and seeking and of finding. The whole Christmas event reminds us that our God has come to us in order to be accessible to us. The coming of Gods’ Son at Bethlehem reminds us that our God is no mysterious God who is trying to hide from us, playing a kind of hide and seek game, toying with us like a cat toys with a mouse.

Their story is our story. Their search is our search. These Wisemen knew what they were searching for—a newborn king, but they didn’t know where to search. All they had to go on was a strange star in the sky and they knew that something special was occurring. People today are searching—searching for purpose, truth, meaning, and significance. We don’t climb onto the backs of camels, but we do board jumbo jets. We don’t see a star, but some do use astrological signs and horoscopes in our search.

At creation, I believe, God has put into us a basic desire to search and seek for God. Being basic it is vague rather than specific. Most of the time we cannot articulate it. We cannot describe it and we certainly do not understand it. We don’t even understand that it is God that we need, but we know that there is something beyond ourselves that we don’t have.

Our searching and seeking takes on all forms, expresses itself in all kinds of manners, and takes us in all sorts of directions. There are those who search in socially acceptable ways and those who search leads them into anti-social behavior. The Wisemen were searching. What they were searching for was the true and living God but they didn’t know it. People today are searching, even church people, the answers to life’s dilemmas and often they don’t even know they are searching. The Wisemen were honestly, actively searching for ultimate Truth. The neat and great thing is that God will reveal Himself to people whom honestly and actively search and seek for Him. We see this promise in Deuteronomy 4:29, “But if you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you seek the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

In their search for this newborn king, the magi went to Jerusalem and began asking, “Where is He who is born king of the Jews?” Jerusalem was the hub of the ancient Israeli people. It is only natural in human wisdom to start there. Where to people go today to find purpose and meaning to life? Where are the hubs of American life and culture? I can think of 2 places: New York City and Hollywood. Word soon got to King Herod’s ears and he was greatly troubled. Rumor of a king being born was not a good thing for it threatened Herod’s power, authority, and future.

So King Herod sent for these seekers of the newborn king. One of our problems is that we seek for truth and meaning and purpose in life in all the wrong places, and from the wrong people. The good news is that they were seeking; the bad news is that they went to King Herod. Now remember God’s promise, “If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.” Our search takes us to all sorts of places and to all sorts of people, and God used even King Herod to help these magi pinpoint Jesus’ location.

Notice something here very important. We all know that it was the star that led these Wisemen in their search to Jesus. To me the star represents the natural order even when it is spectacular, unusual, and miraculous and even the obvious things of God’s created order.

But notice that when we can right down to it, it was God’s Word that led them specifically to Bethlehem. The star was the broad and general guide. The prophecy of God’s Word was the specific guide that led them to Jesus.

You can see God’s work in the heavens—the beauty of the stars, the thrilling burst of colors of sunrises and sunsets. You can find God in the loving and kind acts of people. You can see His beauty in the myriads of shapes, kinds and colors of flowers. You can see God in His people. You can see God in church. You can see God all around you. But if you want to find God for yourselves, you must come to Jesus. And it is God’s Word, the Bible that brings us specifically to Jesus.

There are ‘stars’ in our lives that lead us to begin the search, and it is God’s Word that brings us both to the cradle and to the cross, to the place of finding. The search is important because if we don’t seek, we will never find. But the searching in and of itself is not finding, and we must also ultimately search in the right places. The answers to our seeking are not hidden. They are not elusive. They really are not difficult. What is your ‘star?’ Where are your searching? What have you found?

The right place to search is as simple as a baby in a manger. The end of your search for meaning and purpose and truth, the answer to your life is Jesus.

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.