The King of All Kings
Of all the events recorded surrounding the birth and early life of Jesus, the story of the Magi is the most exotic! Out of nowhere they come--strange personages from the East, like something walking out of myth and legend, following a magical star to find a child king. Gandalf-like figures of great importance following a star. There is much surrounding this that suggests mystery, and because of that, we have legend upon legend that has been written about these wise men from the East, and so it is hard to separate fact from fiction. For instance, we assume that there are three wise men, but the text never says that; it merely says that there are three gifts. And that's not all. Over time, people even named the wise men--Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar! So what is God up to in this strange narrative? Why is this in the Bible?