The Big One

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him,'” (Matthew 2:1-2 NIV).

Matthew 2:1-12 tells us about the wise men that saw the star in the sky when Jesus was born and then went out looking for Him.

A while ago I read an article about that star in my kids’ Clubhouse Magazine from Focus on the Family.  It’s really interesting.  You see, back in that time Jupiter was called the “King Planet.”  In 3BC, Jupiter and the star known as Regulus, or “King,” were so close that they looked like they touched each other.  In fact, Jupiter actually circled, or “crowned,” Regulus.  This all took place in the constellation Leo, “The Lion.”  The wise men would have taken note of this occurrence in the sky and also recalled Genesis 49 where the tribe of Judah is said to be like a lion.  We know that Jesus is called the Lion of Judah.  This symbol in the sky meant to the wise men that a new king had been crowned in Israel.

The article goes on to say that nine months after this happened, Venus, known as the “Mother Planet,” and Jupiter, came so close together that they seemed to touch each other.  The light of the two planets combined would have been very bright.  This other symbol in the sky would have told the wise men that the new king had been born.

That is really interesting, but here’s what I think is really neat.

God created the stars and the planets before He created people.  God created man on day six.  The stars and planets stay right where God wants them to be.  In fact, we can count on the stars to stay in place so well that people used to use them to know the days and seasons.  And God set the planets on their paths that they still follow.  So God planned this announcement of Jesus from the very beginning.  Even before God created us.  And before we fell.

Now that’s a God who loves us and has everything in control!

When you think about that bright star this Christmas and look at the stars in the sky tonight, remember that God loves YOU.