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 when it rose and have come to worship him.” – Matthew 2: 1–2 (NIV)
The three magi, (wise men) are almost always included in the story of Jesus’s birth and in our manger scenes, but they’re not often featured as main characters because we don’t know much about them. The Bible doesn’t name them, but in Christian tradition dating back to the 8th century, they are Gasper (or Casper), Baltazar, and Melchior. The film, Chasing the Star, offers a depiction of what they might have been like and experienced on their journey, following the star to the long-awaited Messiah.
PRAYING THROUGH THE OBSTACLES
Each of them had to make sacrifices to go on this journey. In the film, Gaspar leaves the woman he loves behind, Balthazar deals with guilt for leaving his parents and the legacy they wanted for him, and Melchior continues to isolate himself away from people in the name of his devotion to God, failing to live in community.
As the magi journey together, Satan tries to sabotage their arrival at their destination to see the Messiah, using their own insecurities, storms, and King Herod, who only lets the magi cross his land because he intends to use them to find the Messiah, this “King of the Jews” and kill him.
FOLLOWING OUR OWN STARS
When their guide abandons them, the magi are alone in the desert with only the star to lead them. Fearing for their lives, they pray to God and confess their struggles to each other, and begin to see how, in a way, they had been following their own stars. Although they had been chasing good things, like love, family, and devotion, they hadn’t let God lead them to where he was calling each of them. They had become their own main characters. Realizing this, they rededicate themselves to God and are allowed to continue following the Star of Bethlehem to greet the Messiah.
Like the magi, we’ve all followed our own stars at times. Although the paths we choose may be well-intentioned, they don’t always lead to God’s planned destination. I encourage you to keep looking and following the Star that points to Jesus. That star might lead us to attend church more often, have quiet time with journaling and prayer, or serve in a godly community. God is still pointing us to a brighter future, lighting the way for us to find Jesus.
Reflect: In the sky, there are millions of stars every night. What “stars might be leading you away from Jesus?
