Three wise men??? where does it say three wise men in Scripture... where these men friends or foes of Jesus...

Question

Why were they sent to find the baby Jesus..( which even the enemies knew was to become the Messiah!) Get ready for the on slaught of tradition in the fairy tale season comming up where Santa get the praise and money and Jesus gets nothing but a passing glance... what say YE???

Answer 1

There is no mention of number in Bible, and they were "foes" of Jesus, but they did not know this.

Nativity scenes usually depict three robed men with their camels, arriving at a stable where the babe Jesus is lying in a manger. The splendidly dressed visitors are commonly called the three wise men. What does the Bible have to say about them?

According to the Bible, the so-called wise men were “from eastern parts,” and it was there that they had learned about Jesus’ birth. It must have taken a long time for these men to travel to Judea. When they eventually found Jesus, he was no longer a newly born babe in a stable. Instead, the men found Mary and “the young child” living in a house. Matthew 2:11.

The Bible calls these men magi, or “astrologers,” and it does not say how many there were. The Oxford Companion to the Bible explains: “The connection between magic and astrology is reflected in the visitors’ fascination with the star that had led them to Bethlehem.” The Bible clearly condemns all forms of magic and the Babylonian practice of trying to get information from the stars.

The information conveyed to these men did not lead to any good. It aroused wicked King Herod’s jealous anger. This, in turn, resulted in the flight of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to Egypt and the murder of all male children in Bethlehem “from two years of age and under.” Herod had carefully ascertained the time of Jesus’ birth from what he learned from the astrologers. (Matthew 2:16) In view of all the troubles caused by their visit, it is reasonable to conclude that the star that they saw and the message about “the one born king of the Jews” came from God’s enemy, Satan the Devil, who wanted to do away with Jesus. Matthew 2:1, 2.

The star these men followed led them, not directly to Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem, but to Jerusalem, where King Herod ruled.

Matthew is the only Gospel that refers to these visitors. (2:1-12) But does Matthew mention that there were three and that they were kings, and does he record their names? The Catholic newspaper Kirchenzeitung für das Bistum Aachen admits: “The Three Holy Kings are not referred to as such in the Bible. Starting in the sixth century, the wise men were understood to have been, three kings, As to the number of astrologers, Matthew gives no details, In the ninth century they first appeared under the names Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar.” Furthermore, the Catholic reference work Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche notes that the Greek word ma'goi does not mean kings but, rather, “ones having secret knowledge of astrology.” Justin Martyr, Origen, and Tertullian each understood the word to mean “astrologer.” Modern Bible translations also use “astrologers” at Matthew 2:1, 7. The Living Bible; An American Translation.

So no one actually knows how many men came to see Jesus.

Answer 2

There are a lot of differences between what the scriptures actually say and what is traditional and folklore. We do not know exactly how many "wisemen" there were. It was assumed three because of the three gifts that were given to Jesus. The babylonian historical writings contained some of the Jewish prophecies about the new star appearing at the birth of the Jewish Messiah. These men were possibly astrologers from that area, but we don't know that either. The Catholic traditions have a lot of extra-biblical ideas, including the immaculate conception, the idea that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no more children, and the assumption of Mary. Many other extrabiblical ideas came out of the old traditions from a time when nobody but priests could read or had access to the scriptures. These old traditions strengthened the faith of many devout people, and confused others and brought about, eventually, the Reformation.

Answer 3

we only assume that there were three wise men because of the three gifts that were given: gold, incense, and myrrh. however, the bible does not say there were three wise men. there could have been many more. tradition does seem to say that there were three wise men. there is a legend that their names were gaspar, melchior, and balthasar – but since the bible does not say, we have no way of knowing whether the tradition is accurate

it is a common misconception that the wise men came and visited Jesus shortly after his birth. in fact, the wise men came months [or possibly as much as two years] later, when joseph and mary had already settled in nazareth. that is why matthew 2:11 says the wise men visited and worshipped Jesus in a house. Jesus was born in bethlehem, and the wise men likely witnessed the "star of bethlehem" at the time Jesus was born

the wise men did not arrive in israel for a significant amount of time after Jesus was born. during that time, joseph and mary had returned to live in nazareth. that is also why herod ordered all the boys in bethlehem under two years of age to be killed. herod did not know that Jesus was no longer in bethlehem, and did not know that the star had reappeared to the wise men and redirected them to nazareth.

Answer 4

I'm not sure what your question is, but the bible does not specify that there were 3 wise men, or "magi." It simply uses the plural, which means there was more than one of them; might have been 2, 3 or 23. No one knows. Three gifts are specified: gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but, again, maybe one magi brought more than one gift, or maybe several of them brought gold, several more frankincense, and several more myrrh.

They were sent (in my interpretation) to show that the child was to bring salvation not just to the Jewish people but to gentiles as well. They don't seem to have been foes of Jesus, since they protected Jesus and his family by not informing Herod of the exact whereabouts of the child.

And we also don't know where they came from, except that it was from the east. I live in Arkansas; when I say east, I might mean Mississippi, I might mean Alabama, or I might mean China.

I figure if all those little details like how many and where they were from were important, they would have been included. Since they weren't included, why waste a lot of time worrying about them?

Answer 5

The idea of 3 wise men comes from the verse that lists three areas that they came from and from the three gifts.

The number of people is left out.

Another common misconception is that they came from the East, when in the Bible it is clear they followed a star in the Eastern sky meaning they came from the West.

Even better one is the timeline. Nativity scenes always show a tiny baby Jesus, but more than likely he would have been about 2 at this point.

Answer 6

The Bible version La Nueva Biblia Latinoamérica (1989 Edition) states in a footnote: “The Magi were not kings, but fortune-tellers and priests of a pagan religion.” They came in line with their knowledge of the stars to which they were devoted. Had God wanted to guide them to the young child, they would have been led to the exact place without needing to go first to Jerusalem and to Herod’s palace. Later on, God did intervene to alter their course to protect the child.

Answer 7

Whenever I hear the term, I just think of the Far Side cartoon where they're standing in a bar and a big tough guy is confronting them with the line "Three wise men? More like the three wise guys to me."

Sorry, what was your question?

Answer 8

They were actually magi, and studied and knew the stars and the predictions held within them at the time.

They were sent to honor the king that the jews would soon reject.

By the way, christ-mass is not Christian, but a Roman Catholic holy-day where they say their incantations for the dead. That is actually what a mass is. They do not honor Christ as risen, but keep him on the cross to be resacrificed at evey one of their magi (magic) services. Guess that's why the 'wise men' hold such honor with them. By God's grace it will never be celebrated in my home again.

Answer 9

It doesn't say "three" in the Bible, but it implies it by the number of gifts.

However, the story is rooted in astrological symbolism, where the 3 wise men is the name of what we call the belt of Orion. It contains 3 stars.

Answer 10

I always thought the story would be better if the three wise men were Larry, Curly and Mo.