The Star of Bethlehem

Introduction:

On nights like tonight with all the candles and the Christmas lights, I can’t help but think about the star of Bethlehem. Recently the star of Bethlehem has made headline news as the Star is supposed to appear in the night sky tomorrow for the first time in 800 years. When you read news articles you can’t help but wonder who said that was the star of Bethlehem. So I started looking into the star of Bethlehem in the bible. The passage that mentions it is Matthew 2:1-12. Key verse

Matthew 2:9–10 KJV 1900

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

I. The Prophecy

As I thought about the wise men and the star, I asked myself how did they know to follow a star to Bethlehem. The closest we come to a prophecy about a star in relation to the birth of Jesus is a statement by Balaam in Num 24:17 which talks about a star and a sceptre rising out of Judah. However, there is no passage saying the star would rest over the place where Jesus Lay. It seems to be more that the wise men knew when Messiah would be born as found in

Daniel 9:24–27 KJV 1900

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

In this prophecy, the first 69 weeks are thought to show the exact date of Christ’s birth. For a more detailed explanation I recommend reading Halley’s bible handbook. But there is the potential that they might have known that prophecy. When they arrived in Jerusalem where they must have assumed everyone would have known about the birth of Christ, they began walking everyone they could find. The present tense participle for saying indicates that they kept on asking this question over and over. They finally got an answer from

Micah 5:2 KJV 1900

But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

II. The Wise Men

The wise men were what we call Magi. It is most likely that they came from Babylon or Persia. The Magi were a tribe of monotheistic political-priests from the Parthian district of Medo-Persia. Under the leadership of Darius the Great, Persia and the Magi converted to Zoroastrianism. Throughout the book of Daniel, we see references to men who would have been Magi or magicians. The Magi were skilled in astronomy and astrology by which they would have known something significant was happening because of the stars. In

Daniel 2:24 KJV 1900

Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

Daniel was made the head over all of the magicians in Babylon. It is interesting to note that when the leaders of the Persian empire conspired against Daniel and had him thrown in the Lion’s den, the magi are not mentioned as conspiring against him. Daniel’s influence was most likely very great among them.

III. The Star

There has been a lot of debate about what the star was. Among those theories are the following:

A comet- a comet with a tail was recorded by Chinese and Korean stargazers in 5 BC.

Jupiter and Saturn- this is the current star of Bethlehem that is being talked about in the news. It was revived by professor David Hughes from Sheffield university, but initially proposed by Johannes Kepler.

An angel- the word for star is often used as representing angels but context makes this clear that it was not an angel.

Super Nova

Something Supernatural unknown to science- While I personally believe it was a comet, there are supernatural elements that cannot be explained so easily. First, the comet moved from Jerusalem south to Bethlehem while most celestial bodies move from East to West. Second, it stopped overhead of where Jesus was nearly two years after the birth of Jesus. There is a scientific phenomenon called retrograde movement that could describe this but usually only lasts for up to 100 days.

Conclusion:

The real question is what was the purpose of the star? It seems to be that this star was specifically designed to be a sign of the coming of the saviours birth and to lead men to Him. I wanted to draw this devotion to a close with an application to our lives from the star of Bethlehem. The star was a light that led men to Jesus. Our lives as believers are designed to do the same thing.

Matthew 5:14–16 KJV 1900

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

So the reminder tonight as we look at the Star of Bethlehem this week is that we should be the light and lead men to Jesus. Does you life shine forth? Can people look at you from a distance and see that light to the point that they would want to follow it? As Christians, sometimes we give off the wrong vibes to people. Vibes that we are better than everyone else. Vibes that we don’t care about other people. So I challenge you tonight to be the Star of Bethlehem.