The Wise Men Visit Jesus

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem. They asked where the one born King of the Jews was, because they had seen his star and had come to worship him.

Herod was troubled when he heard this, and all Jerusalem was troubled too. He gathered the chief priests and scribes and asked where the Christ would be born. They answered from the prophet that it would be Bethlehem in Judea.

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and told them to search carefully for the child and report back to him, saying that he also wanted to worship him.

The wise men went on their way. The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with very great joy.

They went into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother. The wise men fell down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

They were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their own country by another way. What do these travellers show us by the way they searched for Jesus and honoured him when they found him?