When They Saw the Star, How Big Did It Appear?

On Christmas cards, some artists enlarge the star the wise men saw. If it had been that large, wouldn’t King Herod have seen it?

“Just what was this star, and how could it possibly lead them [the wise men] . . . to just the right location, especially since every one else in the city of the promised Messiah seemed unaware of it?” asks Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

The Bible says, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea 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” (Matthew 2:1-2).

The wise men traveled to Jerusalem, located 5.52 miles from Bethlehem. They almost found Jesus on their first try.

The “wise men” were scholars called “the Magi” (from which our word “magic” comes). They hailed from countries such as Iran (part of ancient Persia, that extended from Egypt to India). The Magi studied stars (astronomy) and our physical universe. The wise men who looked for Jesus probably researched the Old Testament and found prophecies about the Messiah.

“There is even an ancient tradition that Balaam, the notorious prophet from Mesopotamia, was an early member of the Magi, perhaps even their founder,” Dr. Morris says. “If so, this fact would at least partially explain why the Magi at the time of Christ were aware that a special star would be used by God to announce the Savior's birth to this world. It was Balaam's prophecy, of course, as recorded in the Bible, that spoke of this future star. Here is his prophecy, actually constrained by God to be uttered against the prophet's own will”:

“I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth, and Edom shall be a possession. Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city” (Numbers 24:17-19).

The Bible does not say there were three wise men or that they were kings.

“Some assume they were three kings because of the number and types of gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh – brought to Jesus,” Dr. Morris says. “The gifts reflected aspects of Christ's nature: gold to a king; myrrh to one who will die; and incense, as homage to God.”

King Herod (who had been appointed “King of the Jews”) consulted scholars and sent the magi to Bethlehem.

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

“Then, as they headed toward Bethlehem, they suddenly saw the Star again,” Dr. Morris says. “Though they had not been able to see it while traveling to Jerusalem, it had been going before them and now appeared once again, probably in the early morning sky.”

“ … the star … went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. … they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him” (Matt. 2:7-11).

“Some scholars say the magi found Jesus just after his birth or within 40 days of it, Dr Morris says. “Others say they found Jesus two or three years later. Some say Jesus was living in a house in Bethlehem, as a young child, when magi brought gifts. Some believe Jesus was born in the autumn, during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. The Bible certainly records this fact: the magi found Jesus!”

Dr. Morris seems to believe that the star the wise men followed was a nova or supernova, “a sudden, rare, entirely unpredictable explosion” of an existing star. “Somehow what seems to be an ordinary star suddenly increases tremendously in brilliance, continuing so for several months until it finally fades away.”

“The Biblical account does not say that the star stood above the actual house, of course, but it would be easy enough to find out from the townspeople where the babe was, for the town was not large,” Dr. Morris says.

The Star didn’t appear in the sky as large as artists draw it on Christmas cards, but it appeared large enough for wise men to find Jesus.

Bread for Christmas . . . and Always

Do you like bread? Most of us do — wheat bread, oat bread, cornbread, rye bread, biscuit, yeast bread, sourdough, flatbread, soda bread, Panera Bread. Oops! Panera Bread is a restaurant. 
 
Panera is a Spanish word meaning granary or breadbasket.
 
“Bread is prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients,” according to Wikipedia.
 
Bread doughs are usually baked and may be leavened or unleavened. The Passover meal features unleavened bread. Leaven is a substance — such as yeast —  that makes bread rise when cooked. (Baking soda is a chemical leavening.)
 
Bread is often called the Staff of Life. It’s a basic food and has come to indicate food in general. We say we’re breaking bread together to mean we’re sharing a meal.
 
“Whether made from wheat, rye, barley, millet, rice or even potato flour, it [bread] has been the basic diet of common people,” says Don Mears. “Bread has been synonymous with food for ordinary working people of many cultures. As the common food of the average Israelite, it featured frequently in the spiritual consciousness and the ceremonial and sacrificial worship of ancient Israel.”
 
Bethlehem, a small town in Israel, became Jesus’ birthplace. In the Hebrew language, Bethlehem means house of bread.
 
Micah said prophetically, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among thousands in Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).
God caused Joseph and Mary to journey to Bethlehem. 
 
We read in Luke 2:1-7: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
 
“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.”
 
The couple traveled 90 miles to the city of Joseph’s ancestors. The journey might have taken seven days — going south and then west over hills around Jerusalem and on into Bethlehem.
 
While they stayed in Bethlehem in a stable, because there was no room for them in an inn, Mary’s baby was delivered.

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.”
 
The Bread of Life was born in a stable in a small town whose name means house of bread.
 
Jesus later fed a large crowd with five loaves and two fish (John 6). Many from that crowd found him the next day, and he told them that they were seeking him because they ate the loaves “and were filled.” He said they weren’t looking for him because of the miracles he had done.
 
“They saw this miracle and they fixated on the product of the miracle, not the person of the miracle,” says John Piper, a Bible scholar. “Jesus did not come into the world mainly to give bread, but to be bread.” 
 
They replied that they wanted a sign from Jesus in order to believe in him. They said their ancestors ate manna (bread from heaven) given by God to them in the desert as they fled Egypt.
 
Jesus told them that his Father was giving them true bread from heaven — bread that gives life to the world. He said that their fathers ate manna but are dead. “Whoever eats this bread will live forever,” Jesus said. 
 
That group of Jews desired earthly provisions, but Jesus wanted to give them bread from heaven. He tried to move their thinking away from physical things and focus their minds on the spiritual realm.
 
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life: he who comes to me shall never hunger; and he who believes on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
 
At The Last Supper, Jesus handed bread to his disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
 
Today, Jesus wants us to know that he is the spiritual bread that brings eternal life.