Perhaps no other part of the Christmas story has prompted more discussion and arguments than the Christmas Star.
Speculation has continued for centuries as to what it could have been. To say that it was a natural phenomenon can in no way take away the spiritual significance. The Bible is full of instances where God used the forces of nature to get His point across.
Was it a comet? Records indicate one was spotted in the region of Christ’s birth in 17 B.C., but this would have been too early. Another comet was seen in 66 A.D., this one was too late.
Some of the most precise observers of astronomy of that time were the Chinese, who kept detailed records. They recorded a comet that was visible over a period of seventy days in 5 B.C.
Historians think we may be at least five years off on the recorded date of Christ’s birth.)
Other astronomers think that it was a conjunction of our brightest planets, a theory brought about by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler. In 1603, he watched the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces, the Fish. This called to memory something that ancient astronomers had written, that this near meeting of the planets signified the night – even the hour – when the Messiah would be born, because Pisces was considered the sign of Christ, the planet Jupiter represented royalty and Saturn the protector of Israel.
Using calculations, Kepler concluded that this rare and strange conjunction occurred in 6 or 7 B.C.
For years this theory was discredited, but in 1925, ancient papers were found in the School of Astrology in Babylon.
On the papers was clearly marked a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces that was observed for five months in the year 7 B.C. Babylon is thought to possibly be the area the Wise Men came from.
One thing is certain, the Christmas Star had to be something out of the ordinary and it had to be exceedingly brilliant for the Wise Men to notice it, as they would have been viewing the heavens with their naked eyes.
For sure, the birth of no ordinary child would not have prompted them to undertake such a journey – nor would they have worshipped a child – had they not known he was Christ.
Why is it that the Wise Men saw the Star, knew the significance of it and traveled a great distance to worship the Messiah, while those in Jerusalem and even Bethlehem did not seem to even notice it, let alone understand it? Perhaps it was intended for those who would believe to see it and those who would later reject the Messiah to be left out.
Do you believe in the one who is truly the “Star” of Christmas?
Marshall McClung is a columnist for The Graham Star.