With Christmas decorating often comes setting up a nativity scene, including a Baby Jesus, manger, Mary, Joseph, animals, shepherds, and wise men, which many people don’t know much about.   Who were they and were they really wise?  Let’s take a deeper look at not only who the wise men were and where they came from, but how they knew about the star and what it meant (hint: It’s not astrology- it’s PROPHECY!)

Matthew Sets the Scene

Matthew 2:1-12 chronicles the events that occurred when the star appeared at Jesus’ birth.

Who were the wise men?

The Bible says the wise men were “from the east.”  While we often think there were 3 based on the gifts they brought, the Bible doesn’t give us a number. We only know there were more than one, because Matthew doesn’t use the term “wise man.”  The Greek word used is magoy, or Magi, which specifically means astrologers.  “In the east” always refers to Mesopotamia, or Babylon.

Wait, wait, wait…

To read more about the wise men, click here to visit Karri’s blog.