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If you’re in a play and you’re the star of the show, you’re the most important character. In that same sense, some might say that Jesus is the star of the Bible, since He is the most important character. But there is a physical star that is important too, because it pointed the way to Jesus.

We see back in Genesis 1:16 that God created the stars. It says, “God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.” When I read this verse, it almost seems like the stars were an afterthought, since they’re barely mentioned. The two verses prior to this one (Genesis 1:14-15) give more detail about the purpose for the two great lights, the sun and the moon. But that brief mention at the end of verse 16 is the only time the stars are mentioned in the creation narrative, even though modern day astronomers are still discovering the vastness of the stars of our universe. It is important, however, that God did create the stars, along with the sun and moon.

Fast forward now to the birth of Jesus, toward the end of Matthew 1. Matthew 2:1-2 then reads, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and 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.’” The story continues in Matthew 2:9-11: “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

This star was important because it brought the Magi (commonly referred to as the “Wise Men”) to come and worship the baby Jesus. While some contend that this star was simply an angel or other glowing light, the word used in the original Greek text indicates that it was a real, physical star in the sky. The Magi were overjoyed when they saw this star, because they knew what it meant - the long-awaited Messiah had come to earth!

In Revelation 22:16, Jesus calls Himself the Morning Star: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” But what does that mean? Astrologically speaking, the morning star is Venus, and it rises within an hour or two of the sun. Jesus, the Morning Star, has risen from the dead, and soon He will come again to bring God’s light of redemption to the entire world for all of eternity.

The next time you see a star in the sky, remember that God created it, and He points the way to the redemption that is coming through our Morning Star of Jesus Christ.