"Adoration of the Magi", by Jean Fouquet. This illumination is from Heures d'Étienne Chevalier. France, 15th century. The Star of Bethlehem can be seen in the top right. The soldiers and castle in the background may represent the Battle of Castillon (1453).
The Star of Bethlehem and the “Lion of Judah.”- AN ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE and the Legacy of the Magi.
The Star of Bethlehem, also called the Christmas Star, is one of the most powerful, and enigmatic, symbols of Christianity. Second perhaps only to the Cross of the Crucifixion, the importance of its role in the story of the Nativity of the Christ child is almost on a par with the birth itself. However, the true origin of the Star of Bethlehem has baffled astronomers, historians, and theologians for the past two millennia.
At the time of Jesus' birth, very few people recognized its significance. The only time the Star is mentioned at all is in the Gospel of St.Matthew. It is not mentioned in any of the other Gospel accounts of the Nativity. Matthew, writing some time after Jesus was crucified, may have added the star to the account, because all great kings at that time had stars associated with their nativity. Jesus’ significance did not become apparent until after he began his ministry, at the approximate age of 30, the age at which Jews reach spiritual maturity.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, the magi were men "from the east" who were inspired by the appearance of the star to travel to Jerusalem. There they met King Herod of Judea, and asked where the king of the Jews had been born. Herod then asked his advisers where a messiah could be born. They replied Bethlehem, a nearby village, and quoted a prophecy by Micah. While the magi were on their way to Bethlehem, the star appeared again. Following the star, which stopped above the place where Jesus was born, the magi found Jesus with his mother, paid him homage, worshipped him and gave gifts. They then returned to their "own country".
Biblical narrative
The Gospel of Matthew states that Magi (usually translated as "wise men" but in this context probably meaning "astronomer" or "astrologer") arrived at the court of Herod in Jerusalem and told the king of a star which signified the birth of the King of the Jews:
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East [or at its rising and have come to worship Him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
Herod was "troubled", not because of the appearance of the star, but because the magi told him that a "king of the Jews" had been born, which he understood to refer to the Messiah, a leader of the Jewish people whose coming was foretold in Old Testament prophecy. So he asked his advisors where the Messiah would be born. They answered Bethlehem, birthplace of King David, and quoted the prophet Micah. The king passed this information along to the magi.
Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also. When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen 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 exceedingly great joy.
Matthew's account suggests that the magi knew from the star that the "king of the Jews" had already been born even before they arrived in Jerusalem. The magi presented Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In a dream, the magi were warned not to return to Jerusalem, so they "left for their own country by another road". When Herod realized that he had been tricked, he ordered the execution of all male children in Bethlehem age 2 and younger, based on the information the magi had given him concerning the time the star first appeared. Joseph, warned in a dream, took his family to Egypt for their safety. The Gospel links the escape to a verse from the Old Testament, interpreted as a prophecy: "Out of Egypt I called My Son." The Old Testament version refers to the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt under Moses, so the quote suggests that Matthew saw the life of Jesus as recapitulating the story of the Jewish people, with Judea representing Egypt and Herod standing in for pharaoh.[nb 4] After Herod died, God called Joseph and his family back from Egypt, and they settled in to Nazareth in Galilee.This is said to be a fulfillment of, "He will be called a Nazorean," (NRSV) a prophecy of unknown origin.
Fulfillment of prophecy
The ancients believed that astronomical phenomena were connected to terrestrial events. Miracles were routinely associated with the birth of important people, including the Hebrew patriarchs, as well as Greek and Roman heroes.
The Star of Bethlehem is traditionally linked to the Star Prophecy in the Book of Numbers:
I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult.
Although evidently intended to refer to the immediate future, since the kingdom of Moab had long ceased to exist, by the time the Gospels were being written it had become widely seen as a reference to the coming of a Messiah. It was, for example, cited by Josephus, who believed it referred to Emperor Vespasian. Origen, one of the most influential early Christian theologians, connected this prophecy with the Star of Bethlehem:
If, then, at the commencement of new dynasties, or on the occasion of other important events, there arises a comet so called, or any similar celestial body, why should it be matter of wonder that at the birth of Him who was to introduce a new doctrine to the human race, and to make known His teaching not only to Jews, but also to Greeks, and to many of the barbarous nations besides, a star should have arisen? Now I would say, that with respect to comets there is no prophecy in circulation to the effect that such and such a comet was to arise in connection with a particular kingdom or a particular time; but with respect to the appearance of a star at the birth of Jesus there is a prophecy of Balaam recorded by Moses to this effect: There shall arise a star out of Jacob, and a man shall rise up out of Israel.
According to Origen, the magi may have decided to travel to Jerusalem when they "conjectured that the man whose appearance had been foretold along with that of the star, had actually come into the world".
The magi are sometimes called "kings" because of the belief that they fulfill prophecies in Isaiah and Psalms concerning a journey to Jerusalem by gentile kings. Isaiah mentions gifts of gold and incense. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament probably used by Matthew, these gifts are given as gold and frankincense, similar to Matthew's "gold, frankincense, and myrrh." The gift of myrrh symbolizes mortality, according to Origen.
While Origen argued for a naturalistic explanation, John Chrysostom viewed the star as purely miraculous: "How then, tell me, did the star point out a spot so confined, just the space of a manger and shed, unless it left that height and came down, and stood over the very head of the young child? And at this the evangelist was hinting when he said, "Lo, the star went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was."
The “Lion of Judah”
The constellations are all part of what is called the signs of the Zodiac. The word “zodiac” comes from the Greek word “zodiakos,” meaning “circle.” However, its root meaning comes from the primitive root “zoad,” meaning “a path or way or going by steps.” In other words, the zodiac circle represents the path along which the sun travels through the stars during the twelve months of the year. This path encompasses twelve segments, or constellations, each with incredible Biblical significance. For example, the constellation Virgo, the virgin, represents the “Seed of the woman” prophesied in Genesis 3:15 and fulfilled in Luke 1:30-35. The constellation Leo, the lion, represents the Lion of Judah prophesied in Genesis 49:9 and fulfilled in Revelation 5:5. Each of the remaining constellations has its own place in the heavenly blueprint of the redemption plan. And all of this goes back to the significance of the Star of Bethlehem.
Around the time of Jesus’ birth, this star began to appear. But what has traditionally been called a “star” was an alignment of stars and planets within the constellation Leo, the Latin name for lion. This constellation includes the star Regulus whose name means “king.” Jupiter, the king planet, became aligned within Leo. Also, Mars, the “Warrior,” Mercury, the “Messenger,” and Venus, the “Morning Star,” all came together amidst the constellation Leo, the “Lion of Judah.”
It was this celestial phenomenon that announced the birth of the Son of God who was the Lion of Judah, the King of the nations, and God’s gift of love sent for the redemption of mankind. And it was this phenomenon that created the Star of Bethlehem, of which the Magi said, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:2)
