Following the Star of Salvation

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Matthew 2:1-2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose^[b] and have come to worship him.”

(ESV)

On the first day of creation God declared “let there be light” (Genesis 1:3-5) and light appeared separating night from day.  However, it was not until the forth day of creation that God created the sun, moon, and stars (Genesis 1:14-19) leading to the question, what light lit the world on the first day of creation?  In John 8:12, Jesus declared himself to be the light of the world.  Revelation 21:9-27 describes the New Jerusalem that will come after the thousand-year millennial rein of Jesus and in verse 23 tells us that this city will need no sun or moon for the glory of the Lord will provide light.  We can therefore conclude that it is the light of the glory of God through Jesus Christ the Son of God that lit the earth for the first three days of creation and will provide light for the earth after God establishes heaven on earth in the New Jerusalem. 

 Light is the main object of the celebrations of both the holidays of Chanukah and Christmas.  Chanukah commemorates the relighting of the ner tamid (eternal light) after the Jews reclaimed the Temple.  There was only one jar of oil, enough for 1 day, to keep the eternal light lit.  They sent a messenger to get more oil, but this would take eight days.  Miraculously, however, the one jar of oil was able to keep the light lit until the messenger returned with more oil.  (1)

Jesus, the eternal light of the Gospel (John 8:12) came with the purpose of lighting the eternal flame in our souls and through his death on Calvary and resurrection three days later miraculously keeping that flame lit.  The star seen by the wise men represents a beacon directing them to the one who would light the fire of their souls (Matthew 3:11).  However, we must ask the question, what was so unusual about this star that grabbed the wise men’s attention and how did they come to believe this star symbolized the birth of the King of the Jews or Messiah. 

The term translated wise men in Matthew 2:2 is the Greek word Magi.  These Magi were astrologers and interpreters of omens and as such would have regularly looked at the stars.  What they saw coming from Bethlehem on the first Christmas night must have been highly unusual for it to capture the attention of these professional stargazers.  (2)

As far as how these wise men came to believe this heavenly anomaly indicated the birth of the Jewish Messiah we must go back to the time of the Jewish exile in Babylon.  After besieging Jerusalem King Nebuchadnezzar ordered some of the people of Israel brought to Babylon, both of the royal family and of nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance, and skillful in all wisdom (Daniel 1:1-4).  Among these youths was Daniel who after a time of testing by the King proved to be ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom (Daniel 1:8-21). 

After interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the king promotes Daniel, making him part of the king’s magi (Daniel 2).  It is possible that the wise men gazing at the star of Bethlehem were exposed to the teachings of Daniel about the coming Jewish Messiah and recalling these teachings, surmised that the unusual astrological event was a sign of the birth of the Messiah.  They also understood that this Messiah would bring salvation to the world and therefore they knew they needed to make a journey to Bethlehem and pay Him homage. 

Jesus is indeed the light of the world and His birth is a unique and unusual event in human history.  This is because we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and deserve the penalty of death for our sins (Romans 6:23).  Fortunately, however, God chooses not to carry out the death penalty and instead chooses to provide a path of salvation with the promise of Genesis 3:15.  Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise, the star of salvation that shone over the town of Bethlehem on the first Christmas night. 

Like the wise men in the Bible, all humanity has a choice.  Do we ignore the unique star of salvation, the Gospel, or do as the wise men did and come to pay homage to the Messiah by accepting his gift of forgiveness for our sins?  I encourage everyone reading this to follow the example of the wise men and come to the Messiah by praying with me now,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, know that if you just prayed with me, you have received the most valuable gift anyone can receive, the gift of eternal life (John 3:16).  Regifting of this gift is okay and actually encouraged (Mark 16:15), for when we re-gift this gift, we do not lose it ourselves, but it multiplies as it we share it with others.  So, I encourage sharing of this gift, so others can experience the power of the star of salvation, the Gospel in their lives. 

1. ReformJudaism.org. History: The Hanukkah Story. reformjudaism.org. [Online] ReformJudaism.org. [Cited: December 22, 2017.] https://reformjudaism.org/hanukkah-history.

2. Ashby, Chad. Magi, Wise Men, or Kings? It’s Complicated. www.christianitytoday.com. [Online] Christianity Today. [Cited: December 22, 2017.] http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/holidays/christmas/magi-wise-men-or-kings-its-complicated.html.