In 1857 the Reverend John Henry Hopkins Jr — the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport Pennsylvania wrote the now famous Christmas carol, We Three Kings of Orient Are. The problem is, practically everything in the Christmas carol is based on legends about the Magi and not the gospel of Matthew.
The magi did not come from a far away Eastern country like India, Persia or China. Saint Matthew never says there were three of them and he doesn’t say they were kings. The idea that their gifts were symbols of Jesus’ status as King, God and Suffering Savior were preaching points added later. These and many other traditions like their names and their long trek following a magical star were legends that grew up around the mystical Magi story. As Galadriel in Lord of the Rings says, “History became legend and legend became myth.”
While doing the research for my book The Mystery of the Magi-The Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men I discovered why the story of the Magi, more than any other Biblical tale, was so encrusted with layers of legend and myth. Most Christians are unaware that in the early church there were many writings about the life of Christ. These apocryphal gospels and epistles were eventually weeded out as the canon of the New Testament was established.
Despite their being officially excluded from the Scriptures, they had powerful impact on the developing Christian faith. Many of the apocryphal writings dealt with the birth and boyhood of Jesus.
The Making of a Myth
The earliest apocryphal version of Jesus’ birth is a document called The Gospel of James or The Protoevangelium of James. The Protoevangelium tells the story of Mary’s birth and childhood, her betrothal to Joseph and the birth of Jesus. The account of Jesus’ birth follows Matthew and Luke’s account, but there are some extra details: Mary rides a donkey to Bethlehem, there is no mention of an inn as such, and the stable where Jesus is born is in a cave.
There is a midwife named Salome present, and as Jesus is born, a wonderful, mysterious light appears. In the Protoevangelium there are no shepherds, but the story of the Wise Men is told — obviously quoting from Matthew. Adding to Matthew, the wise men in the Protoevangelium say the star was so bright on…