The Christmas Star

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Around Christmastime it is common to hear some authority trying to explain the star that the wise men followed to find the infant Jesus. It is commonly explained as a comet, or the conjunction of two or more planets or stars. The question is, are these and similar theories possible?

About all you need to evaluate these theories are a Bible and a map of the Holy Land. Matthew 2:1 tells us that the wise men came from east of the Holy Land. Verses 2 and 9 further tell us that these men had seen the star indicating His birth in the eastern sky. They had not followed the star to Jerusalem, as often depicted in Christmas cards. When they arrived in Jerusalem we learn from Matthew 2:9 that the star they had seen in the eastern sky moved to lead them to the Christ Child.

By this time Mary, Joseph, and the Child may already have returned to Nazareth, or they may still have been in Bethlehem. No matter which was the case, the movement of the star was now from the eastern sky to either the northern or the southern sky. That is very un-starlike. In fact, the movement of the star was even more un-starlike in that it directed them to a specific house! No comet, conjunction or other natural object of the night sky will do that.

These wise men from the East were accustomed to the sights of the night sky. They could easily identify the unusual. This star was clearly created by God to announce the birth of the Savior to the world He came to save!