The events described in Matthew 2:1–12 culminate with the star finally halting above the place where the Child was and the Magi entering the house. There they see Jesus and his mother, fall to their knees, and offer him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

As interpreted by theologians and communicated in the liturgy, however, the story of the Wise Men has been understood to have various other meanings, several of which emerge in the works discussed here: the universality of the salvation revealed by Christ’s coming; the Saviour’s future death adumbrated in Herod’s hostility; and the eschatological glory of the crucified and risen Lord, who is worthy to ‘receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing’ (Revelation 5:12 NJB).

The liturgy, above all, ascribes multiple meanings to the Magi narrative. The relevant festivity, the Epiphany (‘Manifestation’), celebrated on 6 January by those churches using the Gregorian Calendar, is linked in the Church's liturgical year to two other New Testament events in which Christ was made ‘manifest’ in his divinity: his Baptism in the Jordan river, celebrated on the Sunday following the Epiphany; and his changing of water into wine at the Marriage at Cana, formerly recalled in the Gospel reading of the first Sunday following Christmastide. At the Baptism God the Father acknowledged Jesus as his Son and the Holy Spirit descended upon him (Matthew 3:16–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; cf. John 1:28–34), while at the Marriage at Cana Jesus used his divine power to manifest himself, transforming water into wine (John 2:1–11). These events of his adult life were seen as continuing the revelation given to the Magi by the star that led them to Christ.

A medieval text—the antiphon sung or recited to introduce and conclude the Canticle of Zechariah (or ‘Benedictus’) at Lauds on the Epiphany—suggests how in the past Christians wove the three events into one, fusing the arrival of the Magi bearing gifts with Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan and his miraculous transformation of water into wine at a wedding party. The author of the antiphon takes for granted that those using his text will know that in the Gospel Christ presents himself as ‘bridegroom’ (Matthew 9:15) and the New Testament sees the Church as the ‘bride’ he made worthy of himself by cleansing her (Ephesians 5:22–27). He writes: ‘Today the Church is joined to her heavenly spouse, for Christ washed her of her sins in the Jordan’ (HODIE CAELESTI SPONSO JUNCTA EST ECCLESIA QUONIAM IN JORDANE LAVIT CHRISTUS EJUS CRIMINA). He then evokes the marriage feast and its guests, saying: ‘the Magi hurry with their gifts to the royal wedding’ (CURRUNT CUM MUNERIBUS MAGI AD REGALES NUPTIAS), and concludes: ‘and with water turned to wine, the guests make merry, Alleluia!’ (ET EX ACQUA FACTO VINO LAETENTUR CONVIVAE, ALLELUIA!).

This conflation of scriptural images suggests the spirit in which artists have usually treated the Adoration of the Magi theme, describing the historical event in tones of eschatological jubilation. The many personages, fine clothing, costly gifts, and air of joy befit the ‘wedding feast of the Lamb’, as Revelation 19:9 calls Christ’s ultimate victory—the moment when Revelation’s author:

[H]eard what seemed to be the voices of a huge crowd, like the sound of the ocean or the great roar of thunder, answering: ‘Alleluia! The reign of the Lord our God has begun; let us be glad and joyful and give glory to God because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb. His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen, because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints’. (Revelation 19:6–8 NJB)