Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Seeking The Wise”
Categories: NEW TESTAMENTWe read in a commentary, I can't remember if it was Dakes or Barkley, that there were four wise men. The fourth had gifts but kept running into needy people and ended up giving all the gifts away. When he got to the site, Joseph and Mary with Jesus had already left. Is there any truth to this? Thank you.Sincerely,
Four’s A Charm
Dear Four’s A Charm,
No, there is no truth in that. All the Scriptures ever tell us is that there were wise men... that’s plural (Matt 2:1). We don’t know whether there were two wise men or two hundred wise men. The fact that they brought three types of gifts (gold, myrrh, and frankincense – Matt 2:11) does not necessarily mean that there were three men.
In fact, the Scriptures seem to point toward the idea of a multitude of wise men that came from the East. When the wise men came to Jerusalem, they were a highly noticeable entourage – significant enough for Herod the king to notice them (Matt 2:1-3). Any commentary that tells you it knows the exact number is going beyond Scriptures and creating an imaginary detail that God never provided.
