Three Wisemen, Dia de Los Reyes, Epiphany Prayer for Perseverance in Finding God

Epiphany or Dia de Los Reyes celebrates the visit of the Three Wisemen to worship baby Jesus. Epiphany is a good time to pray for vision, direction and perseverance as we journey toward God. Epiphany is based on Matthew 2:1-12 in the Bible and is celebrated by Christian churches on Jan. 6 or on the Sunday closest to Jan. 6.

Three Wisemen, Dia de Los Reyes, Epiphany Prayer for Perseverance in Finding God.

Dear God,

Give me the strong character of the Wisemen who saw the star and followed it to Bethlehem to worship Jesus.

Open my eyes and heart to see and understand your direction for my life just like the Wisemen set out to follow the star.

Strengthen my belief that you will provide me with guidance, determination, patience and perseverance no matter how long my journey might be.

Help me not be distracted by my own ideas of where I think I might find You. Although the Wisemen at first assumed you’d be found in a prominent family in Jerusalem, when they didn’t find you there, they kept going until they found you in a humble home.

Sharpen my spiritual instincts so I won’t be deceived. May I be ready to counteract evil and lies like the Wisemen who, when they were warned about King Herod in a dream, went home a different way to avoid telling Herod where to find Jesus.

May I enter whatever place I find you with great joy and gladness. May I offer you the treasures of my heart. May I bow down with humility and worship you for guiding me to your glorious presence.

I offer all I have – my physical energy to the journey, my mind in the seeking and finding your way, my spirit in my desire to find you and my soul in worship and praise.

May I continuously have Epiphany in my heart. Like the Wisemen, I don’t yet know all about you. Help me to be wise enough to keep going until you reveal more to me. And may my journey to find you inspire those in this dark world looking for the light of your star.

Amen.

The Intriguing Biblical Account of the Three Wisemen, Día de Los Reyes, Three Kings Day and Epiphany.

The story of the Magi, kings or Wisemen visiting Jesus is recorded in Matthew chapter 2:1-12. The Bible doesn’t tell us how many Magi there were. They are traditionally called the three wisemen because of the 3 gifts they brought to Jesus – gold, incense and myrrh.

Who the Wisemen Were

The Bible says the Wisemen were from the east. They may have come from Persia which today is Iran. They are sometimes referred to as Magi, which in Latin is the plural of Magus. It refers to magicians and astrologers or priests. It’s possible they functioned as scholars, historians, astrologers and advisors who could interpret dreams.

The Wisemen May Have Known the Ancient Prophecy from Daniel of a Coming Anointed Ruler

The Wisemen’s possible interest in current history in Israel and the coming of a newborn Jewish King could have come from their studies of ancient writings of the Persian Empire from 600 BC. In 600 BC, Babylon had conquered Israel and carried Jewish exiles into captivity in Babylon. One of those exiles was a gifted, god-fearing young man named Daniel.

Daniel became part of ancient Persian history by interpreting the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar. Later he was thrown into the lion’s den for praying to God against a local edict. And he miraculously survived the night without a scratch because of God’s miraculous intervention.

Daniel became well known in the Persian empire and went on to write prophecies about the time to come. One of his prophecies foretold a time when Jerusalem would be restored and rebuilt and The Anointed Ruler would come. (see Daniel 9:24,25)

Part of Daniel’s prophecy came true in 538 BC when King Cyruss allowed exiles to return and rebuild Jerusalem. A second Temple was built in 516 BC to replace the one previously destroyed by Babylon. At the time the Wisemen discovered a new and usual stary, the Jews had been awaiting the coming of the Anointed Ruler for hundreds of years.

The Wisemen Interpreted the Star as a Sign and Went to Jerusalem to Find the Anointed Ruler

Although the Wisemen were not Jewish, they were keenly interested in the prophecy about a Jewish Messiah. They interpreted a new star in the sky as both a sign of his birth and also a guidepost that would lead them to him. Their belief was so strong that they gathered gifts and set out on an arduous journey of possibly 800 miles.

When they at last reached Jerusalem, they naturally went to King Herod to find the child because they assumed that the birth of the Anointed Ruler was by now well known to the Jewish people. Just like the Jewish scholars, the Magi had no way of knowing that Jesus was the king of a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly one. They hadn’t imagined that the Anointed Ruler would be born to an ordinary girl from a remote village who had no wealth or power.

King Herod Was Greatly Disturbed by the Wisemen’s Inquiry

King Herod was greatly disturbed by the Magi’s inquiry because a newborn king would threaten his throne. He sent for the Jewish priests and teachers who told them that it was prophesied the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, a small village a few miles from Jerusalem. (Micha 5:2)

Herod asked the Wisemen when the star had appeared so he could secretly calculate how old the baby might be. He told the Wisemen about the prophecy of Bethlehem as the birthplace of the messiah. Herod told them when they found the baby to come back and tell him so he could go and worship him when his actual intentions were to murder the child.

The Star Showed the Wisemen the Exact Place to Find Jesus

The Wisemen followed the star with much joy until it stopped over the house where Mary and Joseph were staying. There’s conjecture among scholars that the use of the word “house” instead of “stable” shows that time has passed since the birth of Christ. As you recall, when the shepherds came the night of the birth of Jesus, the angels specifically directed them to find a baby sleeping in a manger because Mary was forced to give birth in a stable since there was no room in the inn.

The Wisemen entered the house and upon finding Jesus with his mother Mary, they bowed down and worship him. Such unprecedented behavior showed an astonishing certainty that they had found the Anointed Ruler. They presented their gifts fitting for a king – precious gold, incense and myrrh.

The Wisemen’s final gift to Jesus was confidentiality. The Bible says that they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and tell him where they had found Jesus. Instead, the Magi traveled home on a different route that take them back through Jerusalem.

Herod indeed couldn’t be trusted. Next an angel warned Joseph in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to safe haven in Egypt because Harod was going to search for Jesus so he could kill him. They were able to make their escape before Herod realized the Wisemen had outwitted him. Herod was so furious that he ordered the murder of all male children in and around Bethlehem under the age of 2.

Why The Visit of the Wisemen Was Extremely Significant in God’s Salvation Plan

Theologians call the visit of the Magi to Jesus the Epiphany. This comes from a Greek word that means manifestation or to appear, specifically as a deity would appear to worshippers.

Epiphany is celebrated not just as another proof that Jesus was the Messiah and worthy of worship. More importantly, it is seen as the first of many proofs that Jesus is the savior of all people, not just the nation of Israel. The Wisemen were foreigners or Gentiles, which was the term used for all those not of Jewish birth. Jewish teachers believed in a Messiah who would come exclusively to save the Jewish nation.

If we can’t trace our personal family tree back to someone of Jewish blood, then we are considered Gentiles. The Wisemen were outsiders and Gentiles like many of us. Yet God chose them to be among the earliest witnesses and worshippers to whom God revealed his Son.

The visit of the Wisemen hows that Christ came to save all of humanity, not just Israel. And for this the world is eternally grateful.

How Christians Celebrate Epiphany, Dia de Los Reyes, Three Kings Day

Epiphany is celebrated by the Christian church to remember the visit of the Wisemen to worship Christ. On Epiphany, some Christian denominations also celebrate other events from the life of Christ such as the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River when he began his ministry. Theologians link these two events because each is a revelation where Christ was announced as God’s son to mankind.

Epiphany is a part of the 12 days of Christmas, which begins on Christmas Eve. In some locales, Epiphany is the time to traditionally take down Christmas decorations. Epiphany celebrations include singing, church services and the blessing of homes by priests.

Another tradition is the Three Kings Cake which is made of yeast and shaped in a circular fashion to represent a crown. A small dry bean or a plastic baby Jesus is baked into the cake and brings good fortune to the person who receives the special slice of cake. (Note: The Three Kings Cake wasn’t associated with Mardi Gras until more modern times.)

In Spanish speaking cultures, Dia de Los Reyes is celebrated with religious services and parades commemorating the traveling of the Wisemen from the East to Bethlehem to find Jesus. It is also a day for gift giving similar to Christmas. Children set out their shoes and the shoes are filled with gifts and sweets left by the Three Wise Men.