At a time when most of the world was under Roman occupation and travel was dangerous, forbidden, or impossible, the Gospel writer Matthew told of the long and determine journey in the early first century of the “wise men” or Magi who “came from the East” and whose mission and delight it was to worship the Christ child in Bethlehem of Judea.
When the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, they faced a threatening inquisition from Herod who demanded that they return to him with the exact location of the new babe, one who was predicted to rule over Israel. They followed a star. They found the baby. They were over come with joy. They presented their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were warned in a dream to not return to Herod. They each returned to their country by a different path.
The star became known as the Star of Bethlehem.
The season of Epiphany in the Christian tradition is celebrated in the Western church on January 6, approximately two weeks after the birth of Christ. Epiphany commemorates the Magi’s visit and the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentile world. In many countries Epiphany is a celebration of festivals, reenactments of the journey to Bethlehem, pageants and feasts, with gifts, costumes and King cakes.
Merriam-Webster describes “epiphany” as a sudden manifestation, an appearance, an illuminating discovery, a revealing scene or moment or an intuitive grasp of reality in a strikingly new way.
We don’t know enough. There is only one Biblical account of the visit – Matthew 2: 1-12 – although there are references to wise men or Kings coming from the East in the books of Isaiah and Psalms in the Old Testament.
There is no mention of the number, but the conjecture is three because of the three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The Bible specifies no definite time between Christ’s birth and the Magi’s visit, but tradition places it in the same winter as the birth.
In art, The Adoration of the Magi appears earlier and more frequently than any scene of Jesus’ birth and infancy. Only after Mary is more venerated, particularly after the Council of Ephesus in 341, does the portrayal of the Nativity become more popular.
Why is this story so fascinating?
It holds our attention. It fires our imagination. It is exotic – travels in a foreign and unknown land, to the city of Jerusalem and farther, by following a star?
It was challenging, courageous and impressive. It is believable. They believed. We believe.
These were men of wealth and position based on the gifts that they carried.
Their names were later recorded as Casper, Melchoir. and Balthazar.
One of the earliest and most beautiful representations of the Magi is “Magi Presenting Their Gifts”, a mosaic, by the Master of Sant’Apollinare at the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Ravenna, Italy, after 526.
It was Saint Apollinaris, a Christian bishop from Syria (Antioch) and possibly one of the 72 apostles of Christ, who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ravenna where he served as Bishop for 26 years. He was eventually persecuted under Vespasian.
This mosaic, on the left apse wall, was made of tiny tesserae, colorful and shinny stones and ceramic shards and possible jewels, in the Byzantine style. The Magi are wearing elaborately detailed Persian dress (trousers with capes) and Phrygian caps, referencing their Eastern homeland.
This is the earliest example of the recording of the names of the three Magi in art. Balthazar, the youngest, was from Yemen, sometimes Ethopia, usually shown with dark skin and a beard, and brings myrrh; Melchoir, King of Arabia, is middle aged and brings frankincense; and Caspar, bearing gold, the oldest, was King of Tarsus on the Mediterranean coast, although some say from India.
Here they follow the star, in a rush, capes flapping, on foot, practically levitating, and not riding camels.
Excited.
Looking closely, the Magi are in a lush garden of palms, lilies, pomegranates, and grass.
So the journey took longer? Into spring or summer?
The Byzantine world of early Christianity, especially in Ravenna, celebrated the glory of God and the coming of Christ in rich and expensively decorated churches sparkling with stone and gold mosaics and full of windows to illuminate them and overwhelm the worshiper.
So who are the Magi?
The “wise men” (King James version) as described in Matthew, are elevated to kings in Isaiah 60:3. Psalm 72:11 sings ”May all kings fall down before him.” Yet the source of the word “magi”, Latin plural for “magus”, “magos” in the original Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew, refers to a priestly cast who paid particular attention to the stars, astrology and the occult. (This leads to the English word, magic, but this caste of priests opposed magic).
As art styles became less decorative and more realistic and readable, artists portrayed Biblical scenes in a more narrative and historical context. By the 17th century, the Catholic Reformation was in full mode. Biblical paintings were commissioned not only to teach but to inspire, enlighten and convert.
Adoration of the Kings: Hendrik ter Brugghen (1588-1629), 1619, oil on canvas, 52×63, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Hendrik ter Brugghen enhances the written account.
The three Magi are much more distinct. We know clearly who they are. We are told in The Golden Legend, written and circulated in the Medieval period, that it is Caspar, the older, who kneels first. Balthazar is clearly dark skinned, African perhaps. Melchoir, a turbaned Arabian, is standing in a red robe. Balthazar and Melchoir carry vessels of frankincense and myrrh. We also know by this period that the Magi traveled in groups, with servants, and in this scene, by camel.
Mary, after the 11th century, was usually clothed in a red dress and blue shawl and seen as affectionate and loving. Joseph was portrayed as a older and bearded man, always in the background.
Hendrik ter Brugghen was a Dutch (Utrecht) contemporary of Caravaggio and had studied in Italy. He was praised by Rubens as the only artist of quality in Utrecht, an art hub in the Baroque period.
Hendrik has described a scene of richness, wealth, reverence, and certainly adoration. Baby Jesus seems to understand as he engages with Caspar, receiving the gold.
Notice the young boy, behind Caspar. He carries, on a pillow, a crown for the new King.
This painting adopts the tenets of the Caravaggio school – the dramatic color and intense darks and lights of tenebrism, a tight composition and a frontal plane.
The luscious golds and reds are triumphant and bring our focus to the Christ child.
The nakedness of Jesus is a reminder not only of his nativity but also his vulnerability and possibly his crucifixion.
The Journey of the Magi: Jacques Joseph (James) Tissot (1837-1902), 27×40, 1894, oil on canvas, Minneapolis Institute of Art
And finally, the Magi travel in caravan, over the grandeur of the highland country near Jerusalem, the Kedron Valley. Tissot made three trips to the Holy Land between 1886 and 1896 and brought sketches of the geography and the light of the region back to France.
The Magi are in exotic Arabic dress, turbaned, with heavy woolen saffron robes, on camel back, with an entourage of other worshipers, attendants and servants.
Tissot’s early career was spent painting the Parisian world of cafes, operas, and society’s portrait. Only in his late career did he turn to religious paintings almost exclusively although he was not a worshiper.
His style is somewhat illustrative but we feel the arid surroundings, the isolation, the challenges of the travel, and the magnificent spiritual power and determination to reach the destination and to greet the Christ child. It is likely that the road they traveled was the trade route between India, the Orient and Palestine – the Silk Road.
Gold was an offering of wealth; frankincense was a perfume, and myrrh was an anointing oil. These gifts were not only fit for a King but for a God.
What happened to the Magi afterwards?
Tradition says that one was baptized by St. Thomas on his way to India, although all three converted to Christianity and were martyred. St. Helena found their remains and brought them to Constantinople for veneration. They were transferred to Milan in 344. Later Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, transferred the remains of the three Magi to Germany in 1164 and they are in the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral.
Various rulers in later times claim to be descendants of the Magi.
This journey is one of great spiritual power and faith.