圣诞之后－寻访耶酥的东方三博士

你知道通常人们说的“东方三博士”的由来吗？他们带给刚刚降生的小耶酥三样礼物，你知道这些礼物代表什么意思吗？一起来看一看——

After Jesus was born, wise men came to look for Him, from an area which is now in either Iran or Saudi Arabia. Although they are often called the "Three Kings", the Bible does not say how many there were, or that they were kings. Three is only a guess because they brought with them three gifts: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
 
They were certainly men of learning - probably today we would call them philosophers or scientists. They had seen an unusual new star in the sky, and knew that it told of the birth of a special king. (The star they saw was probably a exploding "supernova" and is known from astronomical records.)

They followed the direction of the star- East - and eventually found the place where Mary, Joseph and Jesus were staying. To bring honour to the child, they brought rich gifts: gold, frankincense (a resin which burns with a beautiful smell), and myrrh (plant oil with a very strong sweet smell).

These gifts tell us in pictures three key things about Jesus: Gold: a gift fit for a King; Frankincense: burnt in worship of God; Myrrh: a sign of mortal humanness - it was used to bury the dead.

参考译文

耶酥降生之后，三智者从今天靠近伊朗和阿拉伯的地方出发，去寻找他。虽然通常他们被称为“三王”，但是圣经上并没有记载他们确切是几个人，或者他们是不是国王。这样叫叫他们只是一个猜测，因为他们给小耶酥带去了三样礼物：金冠，乳香和没药。

当然总有人在研究他们的。今天我们可能会叫他们哲学家或科学家。他们在天空中看到升起一颗不同寻常的星，因此认定一位特殊的王降生了。（他们看到的星星很可能是颗爆炸的“超新星”，这从天文学的记录可以得知。）

他们跟随着星星指引的方向——东方——并最终找到了玛利亚，约瑟夫和耶酥的所在地。为了让这位不平凡的王荣耀加身，他们带去了丰厚的礼物：金冠，乳香（一种燃烧时会发出香味的树脂），和没药（一种很香的植物油）。

这些礼物为我们描绘了关于耶酥的最重要的信息：金冠：最适合王者的礼物；乳香：为崇净上帝而烧；没药：人性的短浅，生命的终将逝去——用来祭奠死人。