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The Wisemen Beyond the Formidable Peaks
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All that is known of the Wise Men is found in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. It is not known how many there were or where they came from, and most of the details in the story told each Christmas are based on tradition. What if that isn’t how the story unfolded? What if it was something different—something like this fictional account?
On the eve of Passover, a new star appeared in the land of Arsareth, brighter than any star in the heavens. Melech, the son of Isariah of the Tribe of Ephraim and Captain of the Guard for the Union of the Ten Tribes of Israel, and everyone else in Arsareth knew what it meant: the Messiah, the King of Israel, had been born in far-away Judea. Before their conquest by Assyria, Isaiah and the prophets had long foretold the coming of the Son of God. Melech led eleven other men—wise men of sound understanding, strong men capable of defending themselves on such an arduous undertaking, and above all, men of faith having the spirit of prophecy and revelation—on a dangerous journey through inhospitable and potentially hostile terrain back to the land their ancestors had inhabited before being conquered by Assyria more than seven hundred years earlier. Their mission: to go to Jerusalem to pay homage to their newborn King, and to determine if the political climate in their homeland was favorable for their long-prophesied return. This is the story of the Wise Men like it has never been told. |