Advent 2025: The Magi
During Advent we remember those who waited for the Messiah long ago. And we remember we are still waiting for Jesus’ return. This year we’re looking at a set of minor characters called the Magi (aka wisemen), who predicted Jesus’ birth by studying the stars. Following the knowledge of the stars, they travelled far to worship and offer gifts symbolic of royalty, divinity, and death. The magi are most famously remembered in the 19th century Pennsylvanian hymn “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” But the Bible doesn’t tell us the number of magi, nor does it call them kings. Rather they were Persian astrologers who served as priests in an Eastern religion—likely Zoroastrianism. Their interactions with Herod show how different King Jesus was from King Herod.
