What star leads the three wise men?

Answer 1

Scholars have attempted to establish what star could have led the wise men (or 'kings') to Jesus, for centuries now. At the time of Jesus, various scribes in Palestine, Egypt, Greece, Persia and as far away as China, recorded every unusual celestial they saw, but never one that could have been the "Star of Bethlehem". Ian Wilson (Jesus: The Evidence) says the hard reality is that Matthew offers insufficient historicity (and the story of the wise men and the star appears only in Matthew) for anyone to be confident that there was a star at all.

Some scholars believe that the star which appeared that appeared in 66 CE, and was described by Josephus in The Jewish War(6.5.3 289), could have inspired the author of Matthew in his account. Both talk of a star that 'stood' over a place (Jerusalem for Josephus; Bethlehem for Matthew) and both read the stars as telling of the coming of the Messiah (in Josephus' case, he told the victorious general, Vespasian, that he was the Messiah the Jews had waited for).

AnswerThe "Star of Bethlehem". But nobody know what star in the current sky it was. Some say it was a comet, some say it was a planet, or several planets in conjunction.

Answer 2

A:Alone among the gospels, Matthew says that magi followed a star from the east, to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem, where the star identified the exact house in which the baby Jesus lay. However there is no known star or comet that could have led the magi to Bethlehem, and certainly not to the very house in which the baby Jesus lay.

John Shelby Spong (Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus) says that among people he knows in New Testament circles, the universal assumption is that the magi were not actual people. Matthew was clearly writing Christian midrash.

Furthermore, the scribes who recorded every strange celestial event in Palestine and elsewhere throughout the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire never mentioned any strange star during the reign of King Herod. There was no star that could have guided the magi to the home of Jesus.

However, there is a sound explanation for the Star of Jesus. Matthew's Gospel is believed to have been written during the 80s of the first century. A star did appear shortly beforehand, in the 60s, and caused widespread religious speculation at the time. The author of Matthew was almost certainly inspired by that star. The third century Church Father Origen (Contra Celsum) tells us why Christianity simply had to have a star, and why such great importance was placed on it:

"It has been observed that at great events and the most far-reaching changes of history stars of this kind appear which are significant of changes of dynasties or wars, or whatever may happen among men which has the effect of shaking earthly affairs. We read in the book on comets by Chaeremon the Stoic how comets even appeared when good events were about to happen, and he gives an account of these. If then a comet, as it is called, or some similar star appears at new dynasties or other great events on earth, why is it amazing that a star should have appeared at the birth of a man who was to introduce new ideas among the human race and to bring a doctrine not only to Jews but also to Greeks, and to many barbarian nations as well?"

Answer 3

They could have been astronomers.

Answer

First, nowhere in The Bible does it say they were kings - nor that there were three of them! They were a number (2,3,4,10??) of wise men from the east, and they brought three gifts - that's all the Bible says. The idea of 'three kings' and their names of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazzar, are all later medieval inventions. They were probably rich (as they could afford three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh - highly prized items), but they were not 'kings' in the sense that they ruled over countries.

As the above answer says, they were studiers of the stars. Arabs have been excellent astronomers for thousands of years - even the stars' names (like Sirius, Albebaran, vega etc) were all named by Arabs, hence their Arabic names.

It seems likely that the 'star' was actually a conjunction of three planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter) in the sky (a conjunction where the three planets appear in the same place in the sky) so that they appeared as a very bright star. This is a very rare occurrence and would have been highly significant to the wise men. With modern computer simulations we can reconstruct the sky (using programs like Starry Night Pro) as it was in those days. From the east in the sky in the Iraqi area in 2BC (around 2 years after Jesus is thought to have been born) the conjunction occurred which appeared to move across the sky each night because of the curvature of the earth. The conjunction set not quite due west but in the direction of Jerusalem/Bethlehem. Knowing this new 'star' to be significant of a special occurrence, the wise men followed its direction until they ended up in Jerusalem where they discovered, after visiting Herod, that the messiah was to be born in nearby Bethlehem.

This occurred up to two years after Jesus was born - that is why Herod killed all the baby boys 2 and under to try to rid himself of this new 'king' born in the area. Also, the Wise Men did not visit Jesus in the stable (as nativity scenes show) as the Bible tells us that by then Mary and Joseph were living in a house in Bethlehem and it was at their house where they saw Jesus for the first time.

Finally the gifts were highly significant. Gold represented Jesus' kingship - gold was a gift fit for a king. Frankincense (or Incense) is an expensive solidified tree resin that, when burned, produces smoke with a pleasant smell. This frankincense was used in worship in the Temple as a gift to God and so their gift of frankincense symbolised that Jesus was divine. Thirdly, myrrh was used as an antiseptic and as an embalming fluid for the dead. this gift symbolised and prophesised that although Jesus would be a king and divine - he would also suffer and die for us. The wise men were, indeed, wise as they knew not just who Jesus was but his mission to save the whole of humanity too!

Answer 4

Another answer from our community:

As we can see, the Star led the astrologers first to someone who wanted Jesus dead, then to Jesus. If this was a good Star, why would it have led the astrologers to King Herod? By this reasoning, we can be sure that the Star was manipulated by either a demon, or by Satan himself; we can never know for sure who it was. What we do know, however, was that the Star was not a real star and that it had hostile intentions towards Jesus.

Answer 5

North star

ANS2:At least one opinion is that it was the conjugation of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Venus and the star Regulus. This quote comes from the attached link:

The show started on the morning of June 12 in 3 B.C., when Venus could be sighted very close to Saturn in the eastern sky. Then there was a spectacular pairing of Venus and Jupiter on Aug. 12 in the constellation Leo, which ancient astrologers associated with the destiny of the Jews.

Between September of 3 B.C. and June of 2 B.C., Jupiter passed by the star Regulus in Leo, reversed itself and passed it again, then turned back and passed the star a third time. This was another remarkable event, since astrologers considered Jupiter the kingly planet and regarded Regulus as the "king star."

Answer 6

In Matthew's Gospel, a star first led the magi westward to Jerusalem so that they could meet King Herod, then turned around and led them south-east to Bethlehem, and finally stood over the very house in which baby Jesus lay. No star can do this, nor does it make sense that the star would put Jesus' life in danger by leading the wise men to Herod, except to create dramatic suspense in the story.

Answer 7

Historians have noted that there was no new star or unusual celestial event that appeared in the sky around the time that Jesus would have been born. Scholars also note that any star or other heavenly body could not behave the way that Matthewdescribes this star as behaving - guiding the wise men to Jerusalem, then to Bethlehem and the very house in which Jesus was to be found.

However, there was a star that appeared in the mid-60s of the first century CE, which caused widespread interest in the Roman Empire and was seen as a sign from the gods. Since Matthew's Gospel was written within twenty years of this event, it is considered possible that its author was inspired by that star and the stories that grew up around it. In the Bible, the star is not named.
However, when you look at the events the Star caused to happen, we can see who is behind the Star. First, the Star led the astrologers to King Herod, who wanted Jesus dead when he heard that Jesus was to be "King of the Jews." Then, the Star led the astrologers to Jesus. At this time, Jesus was no longer an infant; he was, in fact, a little boy by this time, and Mary and Joseph had found a place for them to stay. Then, in a dream, God told the astrologers not to go to King Herod and tell him the location of the child.

Answer 8

The bible says that the bright star lead the wise men to Jesus.

Answer 9

it is the north star

Answer 10

the star of David it was the star of Jesus Christ he was the descendant of King David