After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 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

Many speculate that the star was a supernova, or an alignment of more than one planet, or Mars/Jupiter/Saturn on a close path with the earth. All of these are possible, but we must remember three things.

1. The magi were experts in stars. They knew an unexpected phenomenon. Why would they pack up all their stuff and travel so far away just because Mars was exceptionally bright? This had to be an unusual incident for a star gazer to take a road trip.

2. The timing of the event coincided with the birth of Jesus. Even if there was an explainable natural occurrence for the appearance of the star, God knew of the timing or caused the timing to occur at the right moment he needed it to happen. God needs to get the credit for the rotation of the stars and planning a birth nine months away to coincide with it.

3. The star show lasted for a long time. The magi were guided by the star in the east for a long period of time. This was not just a one time event, but one that God sustained for months, maybe a couple years.

God still either used natural occurrences to time with the event of Jesus’ birth or caused unnatural occurrences to light up the sky. Either way, it shows God’s power and knowledge of the universe.