"Nowwhen Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying: 'Where is he who hasbeen born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and havecome to worship him.'"
These words begin a story that will be familiar to many, whetherfrom images on Christmas cards or school nativity plays, or more directly fromChristian teaching. As often with images associated with Christmas, they havethe power to evoke all kinds of feelings, from joy and hope to sorrow anddoubt. But what do wereally know of the birth of Jesus, and who were the mysterious wise men thatare reported to have visited him?
In thisfreshly collated anthology of Rudolf Steiner's lectures, complemented withilluminating commentary by editor Margaret Jonas, we are offered solutions tothe riddles surrounding Jesus's birth and the seemingly conflicting accountswithin Christian scripture. Could there have been two different births--inother words, two infants, both named Jesus, born to two sets of parents?
Fromthe mystery of the birth, we are led to a study of the three wise men - who arementioned in only one of the four Gospel accounts. Who were they, what wastheir teaching, and what was the meaning of the star they followed? And, whydid they offer gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus? TheThree Wise Men offers solutions to the enigma of the identity and spiritualbackgrounds of these magisterial figures and also provides suggestions as totheir possible future roles in the drama of human development.
Featuringcolor images, this original, thought-provoking book is a wonderful gift foranyone seeking to understand the birth of Jesus and the wise men from the East.
