After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

Matthew 2:9-10

This afternoon I spent a couple of minutes with a friend whose son played the character of Herod in a Christmas play at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown. While the wise men are present in most of our nativity scenes, their presence is on of tradition, not Scripture. Matthew records that they visited King Herod before finding the Christ child.

These men traveled a great distance from the East to locate the new King. They “were overjoyed” when they found Him as they bowed down before Him and worshipped as they presented the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Why would they travel so far? We can only speculate, but it appears they were exposed to the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures as the Jews were scattered among the nations which include prophetic messages like this –

“I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
    a scepter will rise out of Israel…”

Numbers 24:17

The star was clearly visible and it makes me wonder why the people of Israel missed the sign in the night sky. Somehow the people who longed for the Messiah, failed to notice the King’s arrival.

It’s a cliche you sometimes see on Christmas cards, but “wise men still seek Him.”