The Acorn Tree at Christmas
"We three Kings of Orient are bearing gifts,
we traverse afar....."
The story of the "Three Kings" or the "Three Wise Men" is one of the most intriguing and gratifying aspects of the Christmas story. Here's how it goes:
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem,... behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him."
Now when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.........
Then Herod secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the time the star appeared....
And having heard the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly. And they came into the house and saw the child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way.
...Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and massacred all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under."
- From the Bible, Matthew 2
Who were the Three Kings or Magi (pronounced may-ji)? Do we know their names? Were they really kings? Why did they come to worship someone they apparently knew nothing about? Why did they bring gifts? Did they really have a dream warning them to go home a different way?
We do know a little about the three wise men. It is unlikely that they were kings as such. That is certainly not mentioned in the Bible and is only a tradition. However, it is known that there was a religious sect called the Zoroastrians, originating apparently in Persia. This belief specialised in astrology, medicine and natural science. They believed in one God, Ahura Mazda.
So God showed the importance of Jesus' birth to a people in a different land, with a different belief. In fact, the Magi were three of the very privileged few to know about Jesus. Impressive, isn't it? Food for thought.
Can you give the traditional names of the
Three Kings of the Orient?
Click here to find out if you're right!
The Star!
Some people think that the star which the wise men (i.e. the "Kings") saw, must have been either a comet or a new star becoming visible in the night sky, OR (this is really stretching it), they were just so dumb that they mistook Venus for a big star which happened to, er, zoom in from the sky and hang over the place where Jesus was lying. Well, there is no way the wise men could have found Jesus without being led directly to Him. It is possible that a new star pointed in the direction of Israel, leading the Kings to seek Jesus in Jerusalem, the capital city of the Jewish Kings. But after that, they were on their own. Imagine how they felt as they left Herod. They only had the Star to guide them to where Jesus lay. A BIG ASK!
The Gifts
Gold: This signified that Jesus was indeed a King. (I'm sure that Mary and Joseph found this gold very handy when they had to escape from Herod into Egypt! Herod had secret police, very much like the Nazi regime.)
Frankincense: This signified that He was also a Priest.
Myrrh: This signified that He was born to Die for the world.
Having presented their gifts (they must have chosen them with such care!), the Magi went home by a different route. The Bible says that they were warned by God in a dream not to go back to Herod. Cruel Herod, furious that the Magi didn't come and tell him where Jesus was, massacred the infants in the district to ensure that he wiped out any challenge to his throne. What a fool the man was. As Jesus said, "My kingdom is NOT of THIS world."
So that is the story of the Three Wise Men and their MIRACLE!
If you want the words to the famous carol go here!
Have a VERY HAPPY AND MIRACULOUS CHRISTMAS!!!
TO THE HOME ACORN TREE
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"Christmas is Coming!!!"
Sign The Acorn Tree
