WHO WERE THE WISE MEN WHO FOLLOWED THE STAR FROM THE EAST?
A. There is a two-fold error surrounding the story of the three wise men visiting the baby Jesus at the manger in the stable. It is normally assumed there were three men because the BIBLE refers to three gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh). But it was more likely a large caravan of men that came into town, because all Jerusalem was ‘buzzing’ over their arrival (Matthew 2:1-3). They had journeyed a long way (most likely from Persia or the Orient) following a star. Christ was no longer a babe, but a young child, and the wise men came to the house of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, not the stable (Matthew 2:11). It is assumed from the BIBLE that Jesus was a toddler of one to two years of age, since Herod sought to kill those age two and younger in an attempt to destroy the child Jesus. Perhaps he settled on eliminating that age group after consulting with the wise men on when the star had appeared (Matthew 2:7,16).
