Montrose, Colorado

Rev. Willis A. (Bert) Jones, a country preacher

January 6, 2015

January 6 is the traditional visit of the wise men or magi to the young Jesus in Bethlehem, Judea. So I am writing about these wise-men. They are called "wise" because they were very well educated in their science of the day. The tip was in 2 BE. Read the story in Matthew 2.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." -- Matthew 2:1-2 (NIV)

The Medes mentioned in the Bible are now called Kurdish. They are the same people, the same language; with a history going back over 3000 years. We first see them in the Old Testament in the time of Daniel. When Daniel was thrown in the Lion's den to be eaten alive by order of the King, God closed the mouths of the lions. Daniel came out of the lion's den alive. The King was impressed that Daniel's God was the powerful of all gods. Therefore he ordered all the people of his kingdom to worship Daniel's God. Thus the Medes became acquainted with the Jewish God and the prophecy that a Messiah was to be born and His sign would be in the sky.

Daniel taught the wise men of his day that a messiah would come. About 536 years later wise-men traveled from present day Kurdistan to Bethlehem, a distance of over 350 miles. They followed a "star" made up of the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter joined with Regulus. They came from today's Kurdistan (see map), a trip of about 350-500 miles. Their starting point was likely in the area of the near Bablyon the present day map below. They traveled through Jerusalem thinking that the King of Israel would be born there. In Jerusalem they learned from the Jewish Rabies that it was in Bethlehem that the new King was to be born. He was born in about 3 BCE.

Magi bringing their three gifts, visited the young Jesus in Bethlehem. They gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is for His Kingship. The gold may have been used by Joseph and Mary, the mother of Jesus for the soon trip to Egypt (about 1 BCE-1 CE). The "star" that the Wise-men followed also represented Israel and a new king and a savior. Frankincense which is made from the sap of a certain tree is a perfume. This was used in worship of the Messiah-Priest-King Jesus. Myrrh, an ointment made from a myrrh plant and used as a medicine. All of the above are of high value and could be sold for Jesus' family's sojourn in Egypt. The Medes (Kurdi) are in end-times prophecy. For more information see past essay (#18) entitled "Amos" on these web pages.

alt="

Near East, with the route of Magi to visit Jesus in Bethlehem and a quick trip back to Babylon.