1125 touching th e newborn Saviour which glowed in th e h ea rts of these wise men. Prophecies of Daniel and influences of th e Jew ish teachings in general may also have floated down among these people from th e g reat Captivity tim es; but, a t th e best, it would still no t ac count for w hat -we see exhibited in these Magi. A special revelation to them alone, w ithou t any fu rth e r 1 record of it on earth , would be so unlike w hat we know of God’s methods and purposes in th e giving of H is revelations th a t it is unw arran ted to suppose it. How, then, did th e se Magi- come to know so much about Ghrist as an ador able King and Saviour? How came they to such full conviction th a t His b irth had occurred in Judea? The tru e answer is : By th e signs an d constella tion s of th e prim eval astronomy, and th e legends connected w ith them , in te r p reted according to. th e ir know ledge Of th e Old Testam ent Scriptures. I t is an astronom ic fact, independent of a ll—hypotheses, th a t a t th e precise hou r of m idnight, a t th e w inter solstice, in th e period in which Christ was born, the sign of Virgo, everywhere and al ways regarded as th e sign of th e virgin- m other from whom th e divine-human Redeemer-K ing was to be born, was ju st rising on th e eastern horizon. It is fu rth e r astronom ical fact, trrdu- 'pendent—of—aH-hypothesis, th a t a t th e spring equinox of th e same period, ju st nine months earlier, th is sign of the V irgin a t m idnight was on th e meridian, w ith th e line runn ing precisely across h er bosom. It is a fu rth e r m cfrepen deftlr astronom -' ical fact th a t a t th e same date, a t m id night, th e sta rs of th e little constella tion of Coma, th e special sign of th e in fan t Seed of th e woman, th e Desire of nations, was likewise, along w ith the Virgin, directly on th e m eridian. __ Now, if our in terp retation of these
T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S to were not close enough to create the appearance of a single star, and were not in any respect w hat could w ith propriety be called Christ’s Star. A dm itting all th a t Jewish rabbis as well as th e Gen tile astrologists and prognosticators have elaimed for such conjunctions, th ere still would be a g rea t lack to ac count adequately for th e very definite and powerful ' Convictions respecting C h rist’s b irth which thèse men showed, and for th e ir reference to an individual star, which they described as th e sta r of th e new-born P rince they were seek ing. T rue, Tacitus, Suetonius, Jose phus, and others testify th a t th e re was a t th a t tim e a w idespread expectation of some g re a t and trium ph ing P rince to arise in th e E ast; b u t said expectation was so indefinite, and was actually ap plied in directions so unaccordant w ith th e tru e Messiah and His predicted char acter, th a t it cannot be tak en as a t all up to w h at was in th e m ind of th e Magi and implied in th e ir inquiry. They ex pected to find a divine and worshipful being, by b irth a Jew ish Prince, and by ch aracter and rig h t en titled to th e hom age of a ll th e children of men. They had no question or doubt upon th e sub ject. They know th a t a g rea t and won derful personage was born. They knew and believed th a t He was w orthy of th e sacred worship of all men, and th a t it was th e ir holiest in terest and duty to come and greet H im w ith th e ir b est gifts, acknow ledgments, and adoration. This was more’ th a n th e prevailing ex pectations anywhere showed. Whence, then, came th is clear and definite knowledge on th e subject, ex ceeding even th a t of th e sacred scribes and priests of Ju d ea itself, w ith all the records and foreshowings of Moses and th e prophets before them ? The pro phecy of Balaam touching th e S tar th a t was to arise out of Jacob m ay have had some rem ote connection w ith it, b u t it will scarcely begin to account for the clear, undoubting, and .living faith
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs