Another Pre-Christmas Thought from a Random Mind

                  The following post is speculative in that there is no solid proof, only information based on traditions passed down thru the years. 

            The 3 Wise Men were an integral part of the Christmas Story. Who were they? Where were they from? What was the significance of their gifts? Were there 3 or were there more than 3? These are all questions that will be answered in this writing.

            One Christian tradition holds that these men were members of a priestly class from ancient Persia whose names were Balthazar, Gaspar, and Melchior. This is not known to be factual, only tradition passed down thru time. Another tradition was that Balthazar was from Arabia, Gaspar from India and Melchior of Persia. 

            They were not referred to in scripture as the “3” Wise Men, just “Wise Men”. The word “Men” implies more than 1. Since they travelled a great distance it’s stands to reason they would have had others with them, a caravan of sorts, as a security measure due to the dangers of travelling thru the desert, especially at night. The Bible simply says “some wise men from the eastern lands…”. (Matthew 2:1 NLT) No names, no description of their appearance, no verification as to their number … not much is known about them. They were referred to as Magi, Kings or Wise Men. Tradition tells us they were educated and that they were astronomers and astrologists. They studied the stars and that would be how they would know about the Star of Bethlehem. “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose in the east and we have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2 NLT)

            The gifts mentioned, gold, frankincense and myrrh symbolized a specific element of Christ’s life. Gold, for Jesus was royalty as the “King of the Jews”. Frankincense represented the child’s holy nature as the Son of God and myrrh, which pointed to Jesus’ mortality.

            Did they visit Jesus as an infant or as a small child? Scripture makes it sound like he was newly born although it didn’t seem as though the Wise Men were there at the time of his birth. 

            The questions seem to be endless. All these topics, while interesting, have zero effect on anything having to do with God’s eternal plan. Whether there were 3 or 30 Wise Men matters little. The plan had been set in motion. Christmas is about the Christ child who was born to die for us all. 

Richard L Keller

Bread of Life Ministries