ββ¦There came wise men from the eastβ¦ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrhβ (Matthew 2:1,11).
When we see the Nativity Scene, we observe three wise men assembled around Baby Jesusβ manger. Actually, the Bible never indicates how many wise men there were, and the Bible never says they visited Christ as a baby.
According to the Bible, an indeterminate number of wise men from the east (Gentiles) saw the star of Christ in the east, so they travel to Jerusalem, inquiring where to find Christ, the King of Jews (verses 1,2). King Herod and Jerusalem are troubled, and Herod summons Israelβs religious leaders to tell him where the Messiah will be born. They tell him, according to Micah 5:2, βBethlehem of Judaeaβ (verses 3-6). Herod then sends the wise men to seek Jesus, hoping to find and destroy Him (lest He become king and end Herodβs reign).
The star leads the wise men to Nazareth, where Joseph and Mary live in a βhouseββnotice this is not the manger scene. Also, note that Jesus is not a baby here, but a βyoung childβ (verses 9,11). In fact, he is as much as two years old (verse 16). By the way, according to Numbers 24:17, that starβan angel (cf. Job 38:7)βthat the wise men saw signified the Messiah-King of Israelβ¦ they were wise in that they recognized and followed it!
Interestingly, the wise men worship Jesus, not Mary and/or the angel, and they bring Him gifts of βgold, frankincense, and myrrhβ (todayβs Scripture)βfrankincense and myrrh are aromatic gum resins burned as incense. Gold is for a King, frankincense is for a Priest, and myrrh is for a ProphetβJesus is all three (Isaiah 9:6,7; Zechariah 6:13; Deuteronomy 18:15,18). Amazingly, Isaiah 60:6, written some 700 years beforehand, even prophesied Gentiles would bring God gifts of gold and frankincense. The Bible is an amazing Book!
Sadly, these Gentiles had more respect for Israelβs King than Israel. These wise men recognized fulfilled prophecyβ¦ they were wise men indeed! source
