Don’t throw away your nativity scene just yet.
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is December 18, 2024 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called We Three Kings of Orient Aren’t. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
I just listened to the song “We Three Kings of Orient Are” and had a little bit of a chuckle about it. Even though that title is only six words long, almost none of it is accurate. The song is about the wise men. There is quite a lot of legend that has grown up around these guys, but very little to go on. They are mysterious figures who arrive suddenly, thwart an assassination, worship the Christ child with lavish gifts, and then hightail it home.
Let’s see what the Bible actually has to say about them. I’m going to read Matthew 2:1–12. Please follow along and see if you can separate fact from fiction!
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
Ok, did you spot the ways that your nativity scene has this wrong? We three kings of orient aren’t. Well, maybe.
- There is nothing here to say that there were three of them. They did bring three kinds of gifts but two people could bring three gifts. Ten people could bring three gifts. There’s a legend that their names were Balthasar, Caspar, and Melchior, but no one really knows where those names came from.
- It also doesn’t say that they are kings. The New Testament uses the Greek term magoi which is translated into Latin magi. We get our English terms magic and magician from these words but we should not try to work backwards from modern meanings to assume that the magi were some kind of conjurers, like the wise men who worked for Pharaoh in Exodus. What we can say is that they are clearly astronomers and astrologers—men who study and interpret the positions and movements of the stars.
- Third, the Bible doesn’t really say anything about where they came from, other than that they are from the east. That’s what the term Orient means, so that’s no help. If you have looked at a map—ever—you know that there is a lot of land east of Bethlehem. They could be from a lot of places. Tradition holds that these three guys came from Ethiopia, Persia, and Arabia, which is why more detailed nativity sets will sometimes depict all three wise men as being from different ethnicities. They could have come from different places and met up on the road. Or not.
- Bonus: I’m sure you noticed in verse 11 that by the time these guys arrived, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph finally scored some proper accommodations. They’ve made it to a house. So, that’s nice.
So, it’s easy to pick apart the traditions that have grown up around these magi. But we need to ask: What does the Scripture say? What are we supposed to learn from these guys?
I think there are several things we can learn. First, they are a foil—contrasting characters. This is where your nativity scene isn’t all wrong. It seems almost impossible that the shepherds and the wise men arrived the same night, but the fact that we picture both groups in the stable is a powerful portrayal of the gospel.
- The shepherds were poor, despised, and marginalized. The magi were rich, impressive, and welcomed into King Herod’s court. Jesus came to seek and save people from every strata of society.
- As far as we know the shepherds brought nothing with them other than one more interruption to a new mother who desperately needed rest. The magi on the other hand, brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It seems that both groups gave what they had: the shepherds gave their time and attention and affection when they were supposed to be tending sheep. The magi gave lavish gifts. Jesus came to seek and save people from every economic condition. And Jesus summons all kinds of people to serve him with all that they have, whether that is a little or a lot.
- Finally, it is extremely important that the magi were not Jewish. This good news is for people of every nation, every tribe, every language, every ethnicity. One thing the magi have in common with the shepherds is in verse 10: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” This verse is so strong: maybe you could translate it, “They went wild with joy.” Or, “their hearts could have burst for joy.” Or, “They were the happiest men on the planet.” However you would say it, they were thrilled!
Do you see where this gets us? In two different gospels—in Luke and in Matthew—we get pictures of two different groups—the shepherds and the magi—who are on extreme ends of the social spectrum and the economic spectrum. And this is a beautiful thing. In the gospel, God draws to himself people from many countries and ethnicities, people who speak lots of different languages, people who are rich and poor, old and young, educated and uneducated, men and women. Even though my background and your background may be very different from the disciples we read about in the Bible, we have been summoned to serve the Savior just like them. Every person in the world who follows Jesus and understands what they have been saved from will rejoice exceedingly with great joy! May you know this kind of joy at Christmas!
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This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!