Faith, Risk, and the Wise Men’s Journey

We love when our authors share the fascinating research and inspiration behind their stories. Today we’re delighted to feature award-winning biblical fiction author Lana Christian, whose Magi Encounters series brings fresh perspective to one of the most well-known stories in Scripture—the journey of the Wise Men. In this post, Lana takes us beyond the manger scene into the peril, faith, and determination that shaped their extraordinary trek.

A great story grabs you from the start and never lets go. But true stories heighten that excitement because they connect you with real people and their challenges. If they can overcome insurmountable obstacles, maybe you can too.

Most of what we know about the Wise Men is based on tradition rather than truth. Yet they were real people—not cardboard cutouts or stained-glass figures. And boy, did they face challenges!

Those foreigners had far more to lose than gain by trying to find Yeshua, the eternal child-king.

Twelve verses in the Gospel of Matthew capture the essence of the Wise Men’s story. Our Christmas-based view of them belies what they faced. Their prestigious careers and the power of their empire’s official religion underscore how counterintuitive and countercultural their actions were.

John Anderson, editor-in-chief of Literary Titan, put it this way: “I felt like I had stepped into a world I thought I already understood, only to discover how much more there was beneath the surface.”

New Star tells the Wise Men’s backstory—what motivated them to study an elusive star, how they linked it to Jewish prophecies of an eternal child-king, and their struggle to reconcile their service as Magi priest-scholars with a completely new religious concept we know as biblical truth.

Amazingly, they did that with fragmented, incomplete information. They clearly weren’t aware of Micah’s prophecy that pinpointed the location of Yeshua’s birth. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have needed to stop in Jerusalem for directions. Or get entangled with Herod.

Herod commanded the Wise Men to “search carefully,” then bring him word of the child’s whereabouts. “Carefully” (Greek akribós) is a superlative adverb meaning “with the highest degree of accuracy down to the finest detail.” Herod’s missive was, “Leave no stone unturned. Bring me exact information about this child.”

The Wise Men had been searching carefully for Yeshua because we know the sum of their research and their journey to Bethlehem took at least one-and-a-half years. When they found Yeshua, He was a toddler.

The Wise Men defied Herod, which sets the stage for Survival Secrets (Book 2 in my series). Matthew 2:12 summarizes the angel’s warning for them to avoid Herod … then simply says “they returned home by another route.”

Where did they go? What obstacles did they face? How did that test their newfound faith?

Our 21st-century minds gloss over Matthew’s words. We mentally register something like, “they took a county road instead of a state highway.” But defying Herod made the Wise Men renegades. His outrage at their disobedience meant they would have been captured and killed if they traveled on any Roman road. A quick geography study shows how severely that limited their choices—forcing them into a dangerous, desperate trek.

While this is biblical fiction, every mention of rulers, countries, cultures, customs, world religions, laws, foods, geography, and more are historically accurate. Anderson notes, “The religious themes unfold naturally through the characters’ inner struggles and choices, making the journey feel as much spiritual as it is historical.”

The series balances tension with tenderness and hardships with humor. Because I’m both a science and history geek, you’ll also occasionally see a lighthearted moment such as the use of an invention you wouldn’t know existed in the first century.

Anderson states, “The novel doesn’t rely on action to drive tension, though there are plenty of intense scenes. The emotional stakes carry the weight. The book made me reflect on the cost of conviction and the bravery it takes to search for something bigger than yourself when the world says ‘stop.’”

Perhaps that’s what’s most unique about my series The Magi’s Encounters. I invite you to experience the Wise Men’s journey in New Star and Survival Secrets.

 

_____________________________

    Lana Christian is an award-winning author of biblical fiction and nonfiction. Since 2021, she has won twelve honors for her faith-based writing. She is passionate about making history and the Bible come alive in her books. She believes most problems can be solved with common sense, hiking, or masala chai tea—but God can solve every problem. Visit her award-winning blog “Encouragement from Living History” and connect with her:

Website
Facebook.  

Twitter/X