This Monday marks the Feast of the Epiphany, so it seems timely to look at the Gospel narrative for that day as we lead up to it.
We’ve all heard the story about the three kings arriving in Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus in a stable, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. There’s even a hymn commemorating the event titled, We Three Kings of Orient Are. It’s a great hymn except for the fact that they weren’t kings, they weren’t from the orient, and we don’t know many they were.
An epiphany is a moment of sudden realization of something usually involving God. I like to call them “A-ha!” moments with God. So for the real epiphany, let’s look at Matthew’s Gospel.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men 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 and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star hat they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. — Matt 2:1–12 (ESV)
Now that we’re read it, let’s look a little closer. Verse 1 tells us that “wise men (magi) from the east came to Jerusalem.” Matthew doesn’t say how many wise men. He mentions three gifts later in the text, but he never numbers the wise men. Our image of three old men riding camels stocked with gold and other gifts across the desert by themselves doesn’t seem very wise. It was more likely a caravan of astrologers (magi) and their servants.
Matthew says they came from the east, but how far east?
Commentators have long thought that the “east” from which they came was Persia. It definitely was not the orient as we picture it (e.g., Japan, Korea, China). Some considered Persia as the Orient, depending on their perspective. Based on the gifts being offered, however, it seems Persia is much further east than Matthew meant.
From the middle of Persia to Bethlehem is about 1,640 miles. At a camel’s basic travel rate of 25-30 miles per day, they would be traveling more than two months through the desert. Camels can go without water that long, but people can’t. So, they would have had to detour from city to city for new supplies, adding weeks to their journey. On that basis alone, the likelihood of them journeying from Persia seems slim.
In New York City (where I grew up), we split Manhattan into East and West based on which side of Central Park something was. Even the few square blocks of Greenwich Village in the southernmost area of New York have an East Village and a West Village.
In Israel, the “east” is whatever is on the other side of the Jordan river, just as it was in Jesus’ day. Arabia is on the eastern side of what is now Jordan, and west of Iran (the present name for the region that was once Persia).
Let’s look at those gifts again from verse 11:
“they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
Gold was mined in Arabia. Granted, rich Persians would have had gold even if they had to import it from the west. But it’s the two other gifts that lean toward Arabia as the origin for the wise men from the east. Frankincense and myrrh come from trees that grow only in southern Arabia.
I have Frankincense essential oil, and the high price is due to the unavailability of any genuine supply outside that region. Wealthy people in that region would have had a good supply of all three items, and Matthew would have known this.
If someone in New York mentioned a friend from the south had visited with some barbecue, you’d probably think of Georgia or North Carolina, and not Argentina. I’m sure people barbecue in Argentina, but that’s not what we think of when we hear “barbecue.” By listing the gifts brought by the magi, Matthew is also identifying their origin for his audience. We don’t make the immediate connection, but his audience surely did.
What is most convincing though is a conversation written by the first known Christian apologist, Justin Martyr, around AD 160. He was a Palestinian Christian, living in Caesarea, a city south of Samaria.
In his book, Dialogue with Trypho, the Jew, Justin wrote, “The wise men from Arabia came to Bethlehem and worshiped the child and offered to him gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
He mentions Arabia five times as the origin of their journey, and the Early Church Fathers, Clement of Rome and Tertullian, likewise described the wise men coming from Arabia.
The wise men were wealthy experts in their field, but not royalty. Magi are defined as people noted for unusual capacity of understanding based upon astrology (Louw-Nida). They would have had a large group with them as they traveled, a caravan crossing the landscape east of the Jordan River to worship the newborn king.
A major epiphany for me was recognizing that God’s salvation for us is not contingent on us getting everything right theologically or understanding everything the biblical authors intended.
Instead, our salvation is contingent upon us accepting the offer from God that Jesus provides us through his ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.
It is through accepting that sacrifice that his Holy Spirit fills us with his grace and a desire to know more about him and serve him. Having an accurate understanding of Holy Scripture is important, but it results from a faith that is fed by grace.
I pray that we may be as determined and diligent as the wise men from the east, seeking our Lord wherever and whenever he calls us. We can start this new year by reading our Bibles cover-to-cover. There are many “One-Year Bibles” available in print and online.
If you go to https://bibleinayearonline.com/ you will have daily readings available in every major translation and language. There is also a phone app designed by Nikki Gumbel (who created the Alpha Course): https://bible.alpha.org/en/. Those are just two of many websites and apps available to make the daily readings more accessible. If you are willing to devote 10-15 minutes each day to reading the Bible, you will read it cover-to-cover in one year.
I have downloaded the app to my phone and plan to use it this year for my daily Bible readings. I hope you’ll embark on this journey with me.
The wise still seek him.
Blessings,
Fr. Austin