Does Each Person HAVE A STAR?

There is no personal relationship between stars and people. Stars neither light up when a person is born nor blink out of existence when someone dies. Actually, most of the stars that are visible to the eye have been known about since the Sumerians from Mesopotamia mapped them out 5000 years ago.

Scientifically speaking, stars are celestial bodies made up of gas and they outnumber people on Earth 1 to 1000 million. For proof, there are currently 8 billion people on Earth whereas there are an estimated 1 septillion stars in the Universe (a septillion is “1” with 24 zeros).

Scripturally speaking, there’s nothing in the Bible to suggest that each person has their own star. Stars were not created to represent human beings on Earth; they are made by God to illuminate the night sky (Genesis 1:17). So, when a person dies s/he does not become a star.

The idea that every person has a star is rooted in a dubious reading of this passage:

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ²and 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

The Magi were neither kings nor sorcerers, but rather learned men from either Persia (modern-day Iraq) or Media (modern-day Iran) that studied the stars and sought wisdom or meaning; they were possibly Zoroastrians who were familiar with the Hebraic Scriptures (Daniel 2:2 & 5:11).

But please don’t confuse the Magi with astrologers of today and their eye-rolling horoscopes. Whilst Christ pointed to heavenly signs to indicate prophetic events (Matthew 24:30), the Scriptures clearly warn against turning to the stars for guidance or, worse, idolization (Deuteronomy 4:19 & Isaiah 47:13-15).

Tradition suggests that there were three Magi, but the Bible doesn’t actually reveal their number. Three is assumed simply due to the number of gifts they brought for the infant Savior (Matthew 2:11).

Figuratively, the Magi represent all people outside of the Hebrews who sincerely seek ultimate reality. Their inclusion in the Scriptures points to God’s salvation being for Jews and Gentiles—the entire world and not just one nation of people in the Middle East (Acts 20:21 & Romans 1:16).

But what exactly was “his star in the east” that the Magi followed to worship the child Jesus? The way the star moved and settled over one place (verse 9) reveals that it was not a normal star, a supernova or planetary conjunction, but rather a supernatural manifestation similar to the Shekinah glory or angel that guided the Hebrews when Moses led them through the Sinai wilderness to the Promised Land (Exodus 13:21 & 23:23).

When the Magi arrived to worship Jesus, “the King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2), the child was almost two years old in a house and not a babe in a manger (a feeding trough) inside a stable. I point this out because some people mix-up this story with that of…

The Shepherds and the Angels at Jesus’ Birth

When Yeshua was born in a stable in Bethlehem an angel appeared to some shepherds in a nearby field to inform them of the arrival of the Savior of the world, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:8-20). They were terrified by the sighting, which is usual with angelic visitations in Scripture, but the angel encouraged them not to be afraid and told them where to find the amazing baby.

Then this happened: “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host [angels] appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests’ ” (verses 13-14).

Thus the shepherds went into the town of Bethlehem and found Mary & Joseph and the divine baby lying in the manger, which naturally inspired praises to the Most High (verses 15-20).

So here’s the difference between the two events:

The shepherds were local Israelites informed by an angel about the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
The Magi were from far away in the east, led by a moving “star” to Bethlehem and the toddler Jesus, who was close to two years old by that point. Their journey took 4-5 months.

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