Visit of the Wise Men from the East
ANY theological writers have speculated and theorized, and profane ill historians have expended a wealth of erudition and investigation, ly in a vain effort to solve the riddle of” the wise men of the east.” 1 IvOng before the captivity of seventy years the Chaldean soothsayers were known as astrologers, who also laid claim to the possession of occult powers. In the days of Moses magicians were common in Egypt, and whether we go east or west over the course of centuries, we invariably find that every country and every people has some kind of foretellers of future events, or some dealers in magic influence, being known under a great number of appellations, such as seer, prophet, medicine man, sorcerer, wizard, geomancer, Sibyl, Python, Monitor, Pythia, Obeah-man, medium, etc. In all ages, too, the necromantic art is joined heart in hand with humbuggery to make victims of the credulous. But man is an imitator of God, so far as his abilities permit of imitation, and as God has chosen to give striking manifestation, in special instances, of His Power over natural laws, so men with unholy aspirations have attempted by delusions to give counterfeit exhibitions of almightiness, and though their deceits are often exposed there is still no lack of believers.
In the earlier years there were many wondrous evidences afforded of God’s immediate direction of His people; perhaps we have as many positive evidences of like watchful care and influence this day; but in the age preceding and contemporary with Christ there were occasional visibilities of God’s outward workings which brought man into a material relationship with Him. To promote this connection a school of prophets was founded, in which Samuel was the first regent. From the colleges at Ramah, Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho, nearly all the great prophets graduated and became mouth-pieces of Jehovah to declare His will to kings and to the people. When the Jews were taken captive by the Babylonians, about 580 B. C, they were immediately introduced to a new form of religion, based largely on occultism, and which was taught in schools established for the instruction and development of what was termed Magi, from whence is derived our word Magician. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon and it’s dependencies, was distinguished for his wisdom as a ruler, and he was -also a good judge of human nature. He early recognized the superior learning of his Jewish captives and made their talents serviceable to him in numerous ways. Many of the
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captives, most promising for the purpose, were accordingly put into the hands of Chaldean instructors for a course of schooling, among the number being Daniel, who, by God’s aid, became one of the four great prophets. Daniel first distinguished himself as an interpreter of the king’s dreams, by which he rose to the governorship of one or more of the Babylonish provinces.
The Chaldean Sages.
But the Chaldeans were soothsayers and astrologers, rather than prophets, who cast horoscopes by reading the stars, and laying claims to ability to foretell events, they received the designation of “Wise Men.” They are certainly entitled to the credit of having reduced astrology to the science of astronomy, but that they were frequently impostors is plainly evident. Among the Medes and Persians they were especially honored, and we have historical accounts of them appearing and practicing their arts in places remote from the country to which they belonged. Rabmag, or chief of the Magi, was sent to Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; and his followers, or believers in his art of divination, became so large as to constitute a religious caste. Six hundred years later, in the time of Christ or shortly after, the New Testament contains a brief record of the remarkable doings of Simon Magus and Bar-Jesus, who belonged to the Magian caste, and who came to the Holy Land to perform their peculiar feats of legerdemain.
Zoroastrianism was perhaps an outgrowth of Magianism, but it was like refined gold after the dross has been eliminated. Zoroaster may have lived looo B. C. or 500 B. C, or not at all, for history is too vague or confusing to admit of certainty on these points, but whether real or only a personification of the ideal in man according to our material and spiritual reasoning, his philosophy blends so agreeably with the teachings of Christ that he appears almost as a herald of the “Light of the World.” Fire was his visible symbol of God, because everything is purified that passes through that element, and Christ made use of the same symbol on several occasions when denouncing shams and enlightening the people in their duty to God.
“The Teachings of Zoroaster.
The purity of Zoroastrianism is not alone to be discovered in the profession of faith and the charity of its teachings, but a loftier conception of the attributes of Divinity is observed in the hope which it excited of the appearance of a Messiah who Would come, clothed with all power, to reform the world and establish a reign of universal peace. This tradition, possibly influenced by the Jews during the captivity, led the followers of Zoroaster to believe that this Messiah would be a” King of the Jews,” an inference made almost conclusive by the form of inquiry addressed by the” Wise Men” who came out of the East to worship the infant Jesus.
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As Christ was sent to redeem the world, so God prepared the world to receive Him. An expectation was therefore implanted in the minds of the worshipful people of the east, who had assimilated with the Jews brought among them as captives, and as God sent His messengers to apprise the shepherds on the hillsides about Bethlehem, so we must believe that He commissioned angels to bear the glad tidings of the Nativity to holy or” Wise Men” on the banks of the Tigris or Euphrates.
But if there were base pretenders — ready to profit by the credulity of ignorant people — among the Magi, it is but one of the world’s examples, for among the wisest and the holiest there have ever been base counterfeits, hypocrites and deceivers, just as weeds will seek companionship with the best fruits of the ground. It is a fact, however, that the Magi, or Chaldean astrologists, were the wisest men of the age; they were not only astrologists but also naturalists, scientists, and through their experiments in pursuit of the unattainable — in the transmutation of metals — they actually transmuted alchemy into chemistry. And in their study of the occult art of astrology they became astronomers. More than two thousand years before Christ these Magi knew the precession of the equinoxes, and they had also correctly measured the distance of the sun from the earth.
The Book of Job gives us to know that there were men of that ancient time
who knew the earth was globular. These” Wise Men” were acquainted with
the arts of the Egyptians, and understood how to embalm bodies as we cannot
understand to-day. The lost arts are as great as the living arts; what we invent
now is generally only a rediscovery. Thus, then, we know that the Magi were
indeed “Wise Men,” and the three, representing youth, middle age and the
wisdom of fourscore years, were perhaps the most distinguished of Magian
teachers, and for their learning were selected by God to bear witness of the Lord
to Gentile nations.
Adoration of the Three Kings.
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east and are come to worship Him,”
Three kings, as tradition tells us, named respectively Gaspar, Melchior and Belthazar, had been startled by the sudden blazing out against the sky of a star, a comet, or a pillar of fire. Perhaps they were astronomers taking an observation with instruments the invention of which was lost until Galileo rediscovered the magnifying power of lenses. Or, they may have been priests perfonning rites in a fire temple when they suddenly beheld rising above the flame they tended a brighter light hanging low in the heavens and surrounded by angels. If Constantine saw a sign in the sky in the form of letters of light rainbowing a shadowy
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cross; if Paul was stricken blind by a flash and heard a voice of complaint coming
out of a cloud; if John on lonely Patmos beheld so many strange visions, and
Peter was rescued by an angel, then we cannot affect surprise at the suggestion
that the” three wise men” received a communication from God which made the
star of their vision a guide to lead them to the “Young Chii,d.” Or, perceiving
a wondrous light in the sky, they may have been forcibly reminded of Balaam’s
prophecy when he declared that one day a star would come out of Jacob and a
sceptre rise out of Israel (Numb. xxiv. 17). In any aspect that we permit our
imaginations to view the surroundings and influences which brought the” wise
men” to do homage to the infant Christ, we cannot fail to see the workings of
God to the fulfillment of prophecy. To the “wise men” was sent a guiding star
that after seeing and worshiping the babe Messiah they might return to their
own country and bear testimony to that light which should lighten the Gentiles,
as Simeon had declared; and that they might also be witnesses to a verification
of Balaam’s prediction in the birth of a Prince whose sceptre, rising out of Israel,
should rule the world.
Following the Star.
With gladsome steps, and exhilaration of spirits in glorious expectation, the three so-called kings started towards Jerusalem, bearing with them rich presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and other costly gifts intended as the first offerings of the Gentile world to the infant Christ. Like the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites, went the star before these men until they had followed it to the Holy City, Jerusalem. Here it seems to have vanished for a while, for on reaching the city they stopped to inquire,” Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” Whether or not they repaired directly to Herod and asked this question we are not informed, but the inquiry was of such a startling nature that Herod was soon apprised of the purpose of the “wise men’s” visit. With a fear that might well excite that cruel, crafty and insidious ruler, on whose hands was the blood of brothers, sons, wife and thousands of subjects, and in whose palace were intrigue, plot, sedition and assassination, he hastily summoned the members of the Sanhedrim and asked them for an interpretation of the prophecies respecting the birth of the King. In a few hours all Jerusalem was in a tumult of excitement. The Jews were on tip-toe of joyous expectation, for the first news aroused in them a belief that He who had long been promised to overthrow their oppressors and bring back the ancient glory of Israel, had indeed appeared; while Herod, jealous, madly ambitious, and fearful of his tottering throne, was mad with evil foreboding and saw in this new King the destruction of his power and a possible punishment for his horrible crimes. After learning from the Sanhedrim that the time of the promised birth was at hand, and that the place of the nativity was Bethlehem, with much craftiness as a vail to hide his intentions, Herod held an interview with the “Wise Men,” at which, with professions of loyalty to his successor, he asked them to proceed at once to Bethlehem and after finding the Child to send him word that he might also come and pay homage to the royal infant. And the “Wise Men” went out of Jerusalem, when lo, the star again appeared to them, which they followed until it stood over the house in which Mary and Joseph and the Christ-babe were sheltered. I can imagine that their
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joy was so great they did not stop to knock on the door, bu*; shouted their salutations even before they had reached the outer gate. They may have expected to see the Babe housed in a magnificent palace, but it is most probable that they had been forewarned, as were the shepherds, and came directly upon the house which had been prefigured to them in a vision, for God was in their hearts.
Offerings of Rich Gifts.
Reaching at last the room to which they had been miraculously directed, the three kings, or “Wise Men” who might be set high above kings, saw the Holy Mother cradling the infant Messiah in her arms, and with worshipful hearts they fell down before the Babe in adoration while emptying out their treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold, representing the wealth of the East; frankincense, a vegetable resin for sacrificial fumigation, a symbol of purification; and myrrh, an ingredient of the “oil of holy ointment,” and which was to be offered to Christ on the cross, mingled with wine, to drown His sufferings. So was it a perfume, to stand as a symbol of His death, by which a world of sin was redeemed through the gift of life eternal.
When the” Wise Men” had made their offerings, instead of returning to Herod, as requested, they were warned by the good angel that had attended them to depart at once for their own country, which they did, having no doubt been divinely informed of Herod’s infamous designs.
Traditions of the Three Kings.
The wisdom, charity and worshipful acknowledgment of the Magi have been made the basis of many legends, one of the most beautiful being thus related by Geikie:
” In farthest East lived a people who had a book which bore the name Seth, and in this was written the appearance of the star of the Messiah, and the offerings of gifts to Him. This book was handed down from father to son, generation after generation. Twelve men were chosen who should watch for the star, and when one died another was chosen in his place. These men, in the speech of the land, were called Magi. They went, each year, after the wheat-harvest, to the top of a mountain, which was called the Mountain of Victory. It had a cave in it, and was pleasant by its springs and trees. At last the star appeared, and in it the form of a little Child, and over Him the sign of the cross; and the star itself spoke to them, and told them to go to Judea. For two years, which was the time of their journey, the star moved before them, and they wanted neither food nor drink. Gregory of Tours adds that the star sank, at last, into a spring at Bethlehem, where he himself had seen it, and where it still may be seen, but only by pure maidens.”
Tradition or legend does not halt at one or two efforts, but seems to gather fresh impulse at each relation, so that the super-pious who thirst for material evidences are afibrded satisfaction by the story that the bodies of the three “Wise Men” were discovered somewhere in the East directly after Helena, while on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was miraculously shown the true cross on which Christ suffered. The bodies are said to have been taken to Constantinople, where
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they remained for several years and then were transferred to Milan, This latter place was permitted to be the repository of the saintly bones for about three centuries, or until the year 1162, when they were again removed, this time to a cathedral in Cologne, and placed in a magnificent receptacle called” The Shrine of the Three Kings,” where they are still on exhibition to all who visit that splendid temple of worship.
Murder of the Innocent Children.
When Herod was informed that the” Wise Men” had departed without observing his request, and had already gone so far on their way towards the East as to be beyond his jurisdiction, he was insanely revengeful, and resolved upon a most desperate measure to destroy the Babe, who it was now currently declared should become the King of Israel. Herod knew himself to be a usurper, raised to the throne chiefly through the influence of Mark Antony, while the priests summoned to interpret the prophecies respecting a Messiah had plainly told him that the Babe was now born who was of the lineage of David, a rightful heir to the throne, and who had come to judge Israel. Having committed so many revolting crimes to retain his crown, Herod was quick to conceive another to rid himself of this new and lawful aspirant. In an earlier chapter I have given a brief account of Herod the Great and of the malady which afilicted his latter years, tormenting him even more than the remorse he suffered for the murder of his beautiful and innocent queen Mariamne. We may therefore consider him now as a tottering old man, seventy- one years of age, whose life was a whited sepulchre, by reason of the plots against him, his bloodthirstiness, his physical infirmities and his threatened dethronement. Although a naturally bad man at heart, and an incarnation of iniquity by practice, he thought to oppose the will of God by issuing an order for the destruction of every male under two years of age that could be found in” Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof.” And the order was most cruelly executed according to the letter, none being spared, thus again fulfilling a prophecy spoken by Jeremiah.” In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping, and great mourning: Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”
Though popular tradition places the number of children slain by Herod’s order at thousands, yet considering the sparse population in the immediate district of Bethlehem, it is altogether improbable that more than a score of innocents were slaughtered, and it is still more consistent with the facts and conditions to believe that the number did not exceed a dozen.
Did heart of suffering woman ever break for a greater crime? O Cruelty! thy name is Herod! But the festering and putrid wretch could do no more to innocent childhood. His blood now ran to ichor; his body broke out into a leprosy of pollution, his eyes were red-shotted, palsy was in his hands, paralysis in his feet, distemper in his foul brain. All Israel was rejoicing at his suffering, and Jerusalem was preparing a festival day against his death. Would no one mourn? No, not one for him; but with the last words of his kingly power he thought to provide mourners by ordering that all the most distinguished heads of the Jewish families of Judea be brought together in the Hippodrome, where exciting games of cruel sport had often entertained him, and on the instant of his death they should be massacred, that Jerusalem might not have a gala day. Happily, when his soul left its foul tenement, his edicts were revocable by the will of the people, and this infamous order was therefore disobeyed.
The Escape into Egypt.
Though many, possibly a score of innocent babes were slaughtered by the cruel order of Herod, the one whose life he specially sought was spared through a providential escape. For Joseph had been warned by God in a dream of the purpose of Herod and commanded to rise immediately and fly with Mary and the Babe to Egypt, where he was to remain until such a time as the danger would be passed.
From the statement of Luke it appears that directly after the three” Wise Men” had poured out their libation of rich presents, and fallen down in adoration of the infant Christ, that as they took their departure for the East, Mary and Joseph set out for Nazareth, which it is made to appear they reached before the warning to flee into Egypt came to Joseph. For Luke says:
” And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.”
But Matthew, who alone records the visit of the Magi and the massacre of the innocents, says:
“And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, and take the Young Child and his mother and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the Young Child to destroy Him,” ’
There is however a reconcilement found in the readily understood fact that Matthew tells the entire story, while Luke’s account is fragmentary’, skipping as he does that portion describing the events which befell Christ from the time of the birth until Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth after ending their sojourn in Egypt.
On rising from his dream, Joseph must have been filled with fear for the safety of his precious charge, even though his confidence in the protecting care of God was very great. He did not delay following the admonition; certainly he had no need, for poverty may carry its home everywhere the body goes. There were no lands to sell, no cattle to dispose of, no trunks to pack. Only a donkey to girth up, and a staff to seize. So they set out for a strange country a hundred miles away, probably through Hebron to say good-bye to Zacharias, Elizabeth and the little boy John, down through Beersheba, and across the desert, making straight for the nearest point in Egypt. Tradition says they stopped in or near Heliopolis, “the city of the sun,” and a great sycamore tree on the site of the old city is shown at this late day, which it is declared gave shelter to the Holy Family. Others maintain that they took up their abode in Memphis, which was also on the Nile, twenty miles above Heliopolis, but which was destroyed by the Caliph conquerors and the sculptured stone of its magnificent buildings taken to build up Cairo, nearly six hundred and fifty years after Christ.
But while tradition gives us an ample record of the incidents connected with the flight into Egypt, made up chiefly of miraculous occurrences, there is very little reliable information accessible relating either to the flight or the sojourn. Joseph, no doubt, adapted himself to his new situation and took employment among some of the many Jews living in Egypt, following his trade of carpenter, wheelwright, furniture maker, or other kinds of wood- work, for under the designation of” carpenter,” all these trades were known.
The Return to Nazareth.
The stay in Egypt could hardly have been pleasant to Joseph and Mary,, because of the idolatrous practices of the Egyptians, and because there was a hostile feeling against Jews by the Greeks, large numbers of whom had settled in the Nile region. But it is not probable that they had to remain long in this place of refuge, as it appears, from such history as has been preserved relating to the times, that Herod the Great died within three or four months after ordering a massacre of the infants in and about Bethlehem, and soon thereafter Joseph, by angelic injunction, returned to his own country. His intentions, no doubt, were to settle in Bethlehem, but these were altered by another dream- vision which instructed Him to pass by Jerusalem and proceed to Nazareth.
Upon the death of Herod the Great, his wicked son Archelaus ascended the throne and celebrated his accession by executing three thousand of his subjects in Jerusalem. He was quite as bloody-minded as his father, and equally jealous of his crown, so that he would have gladly destroyed the Infant Christ had it been in his power so to do. It was to avert this possibility that the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream for the third time, and admonished him to avoid the vicinity of Jerusalem and go on to Nazareth and there make his home. Thus, while preserving the Saviour, the prophecy was fulfilled,” He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Nothing more is related by the Apostles of the young Ijfe of our Lord, until He was twelve years of age, except that” the Child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.”