Three Wise Men 

The universe was astir learning that the Son of God chose earth to incarnate as a man. An angel managed to relay a message to a group of Chaldean priests whose leader was Ardnon. These men had also been told by a strange religious teacher in their country who had experienced a remarkable dream that "the light of life" was about to appear on earth, as a baby, and among the Jews.

These three wise men with spiritual insight, hearing the news, ventured out to visit Jesus in the manger, seeking this "light of life." After many weeks, and no one knowing of any special happening, they were ready to return to Ur. Zacharias then met them and shared his belief they were looking for Jesus. He sent them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, where they found the baby and left their gifts with Mary. Jesus was almost three weeks old.

The visit of the three wise men is called Epiphany in Western Christianity, derived from a Greek word that means "manifestation of a deity to a worshiper."

The spies of Herod the Great reported this visit of the priests to a newborn baby. Herod summoned the three Chaldean priests to appear before him so he could learn more about the new "king of the Jews." The priests understood that this was a special child, so they simply stated that they saw a couple that had come for the census enrollment with a baby.

Herod, unsatisfied with this answer, sent them with a purse to find the child so he could worship him since they had said his kingdom would be spiritual, not temporal. When the wise men didn't return, Herod became suspicious.

During the presentation of Jesus in the temple, the poetess Anna had written a hymn, to be sung by Simeon at a prearranged signal coordinated by the priest Zacharias when it was Jesus’ turn. The Jews longed for the coming of the Messiah, and Anna expressed this as, "For you shall go before the face of the Lord to establish his kingdom."

When Herod's informers returned, they gave him a detailed account of the recent events in the temple, including a copy of parts of the Simeon song that had been sung. But they had failed to follow Joseph and Mary, and Herod was furious when they couldn't tell him where the couple had taken the baby. He then dispatched searchers to find Joseph and Mary. Zacharias and Elizabeth avoided Bethlehem because they knew Herod was pursuing the Nazareth family. The boy baby was hidden among Joseph's relatives.

After more than a year of searching, Herod's spies failed to find Jesus, so he ordered a systematic search of every house in Bethlehem and the killing of all boy babies under two.

The three wise men understood the danger Herod intended when he inquired about the child. Had they gone and found Joseph and Mary and reported back to Herod, Jesus would have been murdered. In this way, they were truly wise men.