Wise men, not kings

CEBU, Philippines - “After Jesus was born, Wise Men came to look for Him, probably from an area which is now in either Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia or the Yemen,” this according to whychristmas.com.

Pieces of information read that “although, they are often called the Three Kings, the Bible does not say how many there were, or that they were kings.”

A theory pointed out that they might have been Kings of Yemen, as during that time the Kings of Yemen were Jews. Three is only a guess because they brought with them three gifts – frankincense, gold and myrrh. However, theory posed that there were many of them, and probably they would have had many more servants with them.

One thing is clear though — “they were certainly men of great learning.”

The word Magi comes from the Greek word “magos” (where the English word “magic” comes from). “Magos” itself comes from the old Persian word “Magupati.” This was the title said to be given to priests in a sect of the ancient Persian religions such as Zoroastrianism.

Today, we call them “astrologers.”

This information also pointed out that “back then, astronomy and astrology were part of the same overall studies (“science”) and went hand in hand with each other. The magi would have followed the patterns of the stars religiously. They would have also probably been very rich and held in high esteem in their own society and by people who weren’t from their country or religion.

Further, it was learned that the Wise Men had seen an unusual new star in the sky, and knew that it told of the birth of a special king. “No one really knows what the new star in the sky was,” the site read, “and there are many theories including comets, supernovas, a conjunction of planets or something supernatural!”

Legends are told about the Wise Men and they have been given names. This is how they are often described:

• Gaspar or Caspar. He has brown hair and brown beard (or no beard!) and wears a green cloak and a gold crown with green jewels on it. He represents the Kingdom of Sheba. He offered frankincense to Jesus. Frankincense is associated with church services by priests and represented Jesus as High Priest.

• Melchior or Melchor. He has long white hair and a white beard and wears a gold cloak. He represents the Kingdom of Arabia. He offered Gold to Jesus. Gold is associated with kings, and that Christians believe Jesus as the King of Kings.

• Balthazar or Baltazar. He has black skin and a black beard (or no beard!) and wears a purple cloak. He represents the Kingdom of Tarse and Egypt. He offered the gift of myrrh to Jesus. Myrrh is a perfume that is put on dead bodies to make them smell nice. This showed that Jesus would suffer and die.