Поклонение восточных мудрецов родившемуся Господу

In the Jewish country, few still knew about the birth of the Lord the Savior, and yet the wise men were already coming from the east to worship Him. These were learned people, engaged in particular in the observation of stars. For about two years now they had been observing an extraordinary star in the sky, and since everywhere at that time they were expecting the appearance of a great king, and specifically from Judea, they wondered if this great king had been born. Supported in this thought by a special insight from above, they, with rich gifts, went to the country of Judea, came to Jerusalem and asked: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” At this time, Herod ruled in Judea: he acquired the royal crown not through legal inheritance, not through glorious deeds, but through cunning and cunning. Therefore, he was very afraid when he heard the news from the wise men that the king of Judah had been born, and all Jerusalem began to move. Herod immediately gathers the high priests and scribes and asks them: “Where should Christ be born?” They answer directly: “in Bethlehem of Judea, because it was foretold by the prophet.” Herod, releasing the wise men to Bethlehem, pretended to say: “Go and carefully investigate the Child, so that I too can go to worship Him,” and meanwhile, with a sly intention, he found out from them at what time they began to notice the star. When the wise men were walking towards Bethlehem, suddenly a familiar star appeared to them, went in front of them and stopped over the very house where the Lord was. Entering the house, the wise men bowed to the Lord with deep reverence and brought Him gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. These gifts have a deep meaning: gold signifies the royal power of the Infant God, incense indicates His divine greatness, and myrrh meant that He would suffer and die for the sins of people. It is clear that the Magi brought these gifts by inspiration from above. The Lord admonished them not to return to Herod, and they went to their own country another way. Worship of the Eastern sages to the born Lord. Painting by Prof. Vasily Petrovich Vereshchagin (1835–1909), teacher of the history class at the Academy of Arts. You might be interested in: