Rob Witham

Christmas season is upon us. As nativity sets go up and Christmas carols are sung popular Christmas misconceptions abound. Perhaps it should not be surprising that a society that prefers the pagan aspects of Christmas over the spiritual aspects would not bother to correct errors in the story. But I would think that the Christian community could get it right after 2,000 years!

I will highlight several common Christmas misconceptions about the wise men in this article. The list is by no means exhaustive but perhaps will remind us to read the Scriptures and not rely on culturally accepted traditions.

• Misconception #1 - The star that the wise men saw hovered brightly over the stable where he was born. Many nativity scenes feature a low, bright star over the stable. This picture does little to match the Scriptural account of the star. The wise men were “from the East” and originally saw the star while in their home country. Most likely these astrologers were from Persia or Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), some 500 miles to the east. If the star were low and over the stable the wise men would not have been able to see the star from 500 miles away. The fact that no one else noticed the star suggests that the star was in the heavens and only noticed by these astrologers. Were the star to have been a low, bright star hovering over a stable everyone around would have been aware of it and gathered to discover its significance. Remember that even Herod had to inquire as to when the star had appeared.
• Misconception #2 - The wise men journeyed from the East and arrived at the stable shortly after the shepherds on the night Jesus was born. The wise men did not have a private jet. They did not travel 500 or more miles in a matter of several hours. The wise men were not at the stable at all. The Scriptures tell us that after inquiring of Herod where the child might be the wise men followed his star until they came to the house where the child was staying. Mary and Joseph had returned home when the wise men arrived and Jesus is referred to as a young child. Given the travel the wise men undertook, Jesus being referred to as a young child, and Herod ordering the execution of all children under the age of two after learning when the star appeared we can reasonably conclude that Jesus was at least one month old but perhaps as much as one year old when the wise men arrived at his house.
• Misconception #3 - Three wise men came to worship Jesus. We do not know that there were three wise men. The Scriptures do not tell us how many wise men came to see Jesus. We actually have no idea how many came. There could have been two or one hundred. We only know that they did come and that they brought three types of gifts for the new King. They offered gold, frankincense and myrrh. The three types of gifts may be where the idea of three wise men originates.

There are other misconceptions that continue around the Christmas holiday (the December date, for instance). Remember to let Scripture speak for itself. Be careful about embracing any cultural ideas or values without first comparing them with the Scriptures.