There is much confusion and error relative to the men who came from afar to give gifts to Jesus. They have been depicted as Kings who came to the manger. This is totally false. Let us take note of what Matthew described happened so long ago.
These were men who came from the far east which could mean Iran, Iraq, or even India today. There is no indication in the Bible that they were kings. In fact, there were only called wisemen. Apparently, these were educated men who as part of their livelihood observed the stars. We could call them today astronomers. There is no indication in the Bible that they rode camels, even though they would’ve had to have had camels for supplies. It was common to travel by camel in those days.
Modern scientists believe that the star was a conjunction of several planets. However, it could’ve been a supernova or certainly a miraculous event. There is no indication that the wisemen began their travels immediately upon seeing the star. They would’ve had to research their own material, gather supplies, decide on a route, and determine the best time to leave. During their journey it was possible they could’ve faced extremes of weather ranging from rain to snow to dust storms. The journey would’ve been very difficult, but their determination carried them forward.
They had to negotiate desert and mountains. Facing them was political boundaries and even the possibility of criminals. They had rivers to cross. Even with the start reading them, they could’ve gotten lost temporarily. Keep in mind they would need to stop each night for rest and food. On some occasions they may have stopped for multiple days or weeks. It says in Matthew that they came to worship Jesus. However long the trip, they did not arrive to see Jesus until he was two years old and living in a house.
It is a marvelous foresight of God Almighty to inspire these men to take gifts to Jesus. Shortly after their departure, Herod issued a decree that all of the children should be murdered, two years and younger. To protect Jesus an angel appeared to Joseph instructing him to take the family to Egypt. Isn’t it wonderful how God provided the necessary funds for them to make that trip by way of the visit of the wisemen!
Having come from the East, the wisemen were not Jews. More than likely they were members of a common religion in those days called Zoroastrianism. The common people worshiped daevas which was associated with the sun, moon, stars, earth, fire, water, and winds. As the founder of the religion he reported a severe temptation to renounce the religion, but he refused. His teachings were monotheistic, meaning that humans had to display righteousness. It is interesting to me that one of the gods was named Mazda who was the supreme God. Mazda expressed his will through a Holy Spirit. The opposing evil spirit was Satan. He taught that each man’s soul was the location of a war between good and evil even though they are not clearly defined. They had no animal sacrifices. He taught that a sacred fire was a gift from Mazda that was a special symbol According to Zoroaster there would be a general resurrection at the end of the world including an eternal state of the soul. He taught that the soul must travel across a Bridge of the Separator where at the end the record of the soul was red pronouncing merits and demerits. Commands fixed his destiny. There was no savior or messiah. Even though the righteous at the other end of the bridge would find paradise. It is possible that when the Magi returned to their homeland they had further influence on the practice of Zoroastrianism. It is interesting that in some parts of the world Zoroastrianism still exists.
Christian Writer 