Greetings, I am your virtual host, Jasper.
Our journey begins in a familiar passage of Scripture in the gospel of Matthew:
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." (Matthew 2:1-2, New American Standard Bible 2020).
This evening, we will be embarking on a fascinating journey of exploration regarding the Magi who came to Jesus to worship Him.
Who were the Magi? By the 6th century, the consensus among Christian historians is they were three kings: Caspar (or Jaspar) of India, Melchior of Persia, and Balthazar of Arabia. However, this conclusion of the identity of the Magi are presumed and cannot be proven. Moreover, the number of Magi is assumed as three only because of the number of gifts and cannot be proven either.
Therefore, we are going to take a journey on a road less traveled through biblical texts, ancient writings, and archeological findings in order to develop a probable theory. Though antiquity is not certain about the details of who these men were, there are distinct clues with significant evidence.
Prepare for an intriguing expedition of discovery of the biblical Magi, where and how they lived, as well as how they knew to look for and recognized the time Christ was to be born.