The accounts of Jesus’s birth speak of him coming to save the whole world, but are deeply within the Jewish tradition in terms of his background, the prophesies foretelling the birth, and the accounts of his birth and earliest childhood. With Matthew’s account of a visit by wise men from the east, the significance of the birth beyond the Jewish faith and people becomes more obvious. (See Matthew 2:1-12).

Most of what we think of about the visit is not, in fact, in scripture. Some of the embellishments to the story have ancient roots; others didn’t appear until centuries later.

Depending on the translation, the Bible refers to the visitors as “wise men” or “Magi.” Magi has more of a suggestion of being part of the priestly class in an eastern religion, but in either case the implication is that they are educated men who search for wisdom and truth, but are not part of the Jewish faith. The Bible does not call them kings.

It also does not say how many there are. Western Christianity has typically thought of there being three, based on the number of gifts. Eastern Christianity has often put the number at 12. Details like names, ages and nationalities are pure speculation. Also, their visit came some time after the birth, so portraying them as present at the manger isn’t accurate. (See Wikipedia article about the Magi).

This Sunday we will observe Epiphany, the celebration of the revelation to the world that Jesus is the Messiah. For us, in the western church, the focus is on the arrival of the magi. In the east, the focus is on the baptism of Jesus (which we’ll look at in a few weeks). Sometimes the wedding at Cana where Jesus began his public ministry is also considered part of Epiphany.

Historically Epiphany was celebrated Jan. 6, which is 12 days after Christmas – the end of the 12 days of Christmas and also known as Twelfth Night. Today most U.S. churches observe it on the first Sunday after Jan. 1. (See Wikipedia article about Epiphany)