Matthew Chapter 2: Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterwards, some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem. (Some Bible translations calls them Magi - It means wise men; that's where we get the word magic.)
So Herod called the visitors from the East to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
They went into the house, and when they saw the child with His mother
Mary, they knelt down and worshipped Him. They brought out their gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to Him.
NOTES: The baby Jesus was born in a cave/barn where animals were kept. The
first people to be told of the birth were shepherds. In those days
shepherds were considered the lowest of the low and despised by society
for their ignorance, poverty and unkempt appearance. Yet they were the
first the Angel Gabriel announced the birth to; not to high society and
kings.
The wise men arrived from "the East" some time later. At
least two years later. Hence Herod ordering the slaughter of all males
aged two and under.
The Bible does not say there were three wise
men. We have assumed this because the Bible mentions three gifts which
they brought. The wise men are only mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew
and no names are given. The names Gaspard, Melchior and Balthazar were
invented later. I believe the names first appeared in a theatre musical
and got associated with the story of the Nativity.
The arrival of the wise men is significant. At the time, the Jews believed that Jesus would come to save their nation and their people; the chosen people of God. But the wise men were not Jews. This signifies that Jesus came for all of us - including you and me.
