Christmas Story: We Three Kings

Perhaps one of the more familiar lines in Christmas hymnary is that of "We three kings of orient are..."

What does the Bible say about these men? It's a somewhat mysterious passage in Scripture; mysterious because not much is actually said about these men. We know they were "magi from the east" and they had "come to worship Him."

But beyond that, few details about them are given. We know they honored God and obeyed Him (cf. vss. 2 and 12). Based on their gifts (vs. 11) we know that they knew this was no mere child.

But who were they? Well, they weren't actually kings, at least, that's not what Scripture reveals to us. There could be, in fact, many potential candidates for whom the Magi were.

Several theories abound, but I feel that the only things we can safely say for sure (according to my pea brain at least) is that they had some access to the Scriptures, for otherwise how would they even know there would be a king born to the Jews of such significance? They likely had knowledge of astronomy to notice this special star. And they were from the east; which could be anything from the nearby Nabataean kingdom (think ancient Petra), to ancient China.

A note of application, though not explicit in the text, is that these men were obviously of some repute. They seemed to have no problem gaining access to Herod (though their message undoubtedly helped). And regardless of how you cut it, Magi would have been influencers. And yet despite their rank, we still know so little of them, and their mission wasn't to boast of themselves or even their home kingdom; it was to worship the King of Kings.

The reality is, if they had access to the ancient Scriptures, they would likely have a full understanding of the coming Messiah. The entirety of the O.T. points to this. Could they perhaps have read Numbers 24:17 and interpreted this star that they saw as fulfillment?

"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth"

But why these gifts?

"After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

While they almost certainly had a practical element (though I'm not sure such gifts are 'practical' for any toddler), these gifts likely held highly symbolic imagery.

Gold pointed to Jesus' kingship, frankincense to His priestly role and Divine nature, and myrrh to His sacrificial work.

So, these gifts certainly could fund the families frequent necessary travels, they meant more than just that.

In short, these wise men apparently knew, somehow, that this Messiah was not just a normal child, but the God-Man, the King of the world, and that His life would be a sacrifice for many.

What application then is there for us today? As has already been said, perhaps we ought to realize that no matter who we are, poor or rich, the focus isn't on us but on Christ. He is worthy of all praise. As these men sacrificed their time, traveling far from home, as well as using their wealth to present these offerings to God in the flesh, so we too need to present our time and abilities and resources for His honor and kingdom.

We can also see in this passage that God is a keeper of His promises. It's a consistent theme throughout the birth of Christ, that God was keeping His promise of the coming Messiah. And so we can know that He will keep His promises towards us.

For the sake of this post I'll finish with the very simple application that Jesus is who He said He was. He didn't stay just a cute baby in a manger, but grew to be the atoning sacrifice on behalf of sinners. Having been raised from the dead He is the mediator between God and men, our great High Priest. He is God, the second Person of the Trinity. And He is King.

"so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:10-11

To close, the final verse from that famous Christmas hymn:

"Glorious now behold him arise;

King and God and sacrifice:

Alleluia, Alleluia,

sounds through the earth and skies."

From the hymn, We Three Kings (1857)