Star of Bethlehem: did it really exist? December 14, 2020 at 12:48 pm Around December, in the run-up to Christmas, talk turns once again to the story of the Star of Bethlehem that supposedly guided three wise men or ‘Magi’ to the birth of Jesus Christ. But who were the Magi and what was the Christmas star that persuaded them to travel across hundreds of miles of desert? Advertisement The Gospel according to Matthew contains one of the most famous passages in the Bible: “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and we have come to worship him.”