The King And The Star

Kαὶ πέμψας αὐτοὺς εἰς Βηθλέεμ εἶπεν, πορευθέντες ἐξετάσατε ἀκριβῶς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου Οὐκ εἶπε περὶ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ παιδίου· οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ ὄνομα ἀνέχεται· ὅθεν δεικνύει ὅτι μαίνεται κατ' αὐτοῦ. Ἐπὰν δὲ εὕρητε ἀπαγγείλατέ μοι, ὅπως κἀγὼ ἐλθὼν προσκυνήσω αὐτῷ. Oἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπορεύθησαν. Ἂδολι γὰρ ὄντες αὐτοὶ, ἐνόμιζον κάκεῖνον ἀδόλως λέγειν. Kαὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀστὴρ ὃν εἶδον ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ προῆγεν αὐτοὺς... Ἀπεκρύβη πρὸς μικρὸν ὁ αστὴρ οἰκονομικῶς, ἵνα ἐρωτήσωσιν αὐτοὶ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, καὶ ταραχθῇ ὁ Ἠρώδης, καὶ οὕτω περιφανεστέρα γένηται ἡ ἀλήθεια. Ἐξελθοῦσαι δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ, πάλιν ἑφάνη, χειραγωγῶν αὐτούς. Ὅθεν δῆλον ὅτι θεία δύναμις ἤν ὁ ἀστήρ. Ἕως ἐλθὼν ἐστάθη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τὸ παιδίον. Καὶ τοῦτο ξένον. Κατέβη γὰρ ὁ ἀστὴρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕψους, καὶ προσγειστερος γενόμενος, ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὸν τόπον. Εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ὕψους αὐτοῖς ἐφαίνετο, πῶς ἂν ἔμελλον ἰδικῶς γνωρίσαι τὸν τόπον ἔνθα ἤν ὁ Χριστός; Οἱ γὰρ ἀστέρες πολὺν τόπον περιλαμβάνουσιν. Ὅθεν καὶ σὺ ἐπάνω τῆς σῆς οἰκίας βλέπεις τὴν σελήνην τυχὸν, κὰγὼ δοκῶ ταύτην ἀνωτέρω εἷναι τῆς ἐμῆς οἰκίας μόνης. Καὶ πάντες ἁπλῶς, δοκοῦσιν ἔκαστος ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ μόνου ἴστασθαι τὴν σελήνην ἢ ἄλλον ἀστέρα. Κὰκεῖνος οὖν ὁ ἀστὴρ οὐκ ἂν ἔδειξε τὸν Χριστὸν, εἰ μὴ συγκατέβη, καὶ μονοουχὶ ἐπάνω τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ παιδίου ἔστη. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ B' Source: Migne PG 123.165a-c

And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, 'Go and carefully enquire about the child.' 1 He did not say 'about the king,' for he was not able suffer the name, but 'about the child,' showing how greatly he was maddened against Him. 'And when you find him, announce it to me, so that even I may go and adore him.' And having heard the king they went off. They who were without cunning, thought he spoke without cunning. And behold the star which they had seen in the east, went before them... It was hidden for a little while by a singular dispensation, so that they would question the Jews and trouble Herod, and thus the truth was made more manifest. Then when they left Jerusalem, again it appeared and led them. Whence it is manifest that the star was a Divine work. ...until it came and stood over the place where the child was. And this is unique. For the star descended from its height and came nearer the earth, and showed a place to them. If it had shown from its height, how could they have been certain of the place where Christ was? They knew much of the ways of the stars. Whence you may perhaps see the moon over your house, and I will see the same moon over my house, and that moon and the other stars appear to stand only over the house of each one of us. Whence that star would not have shown Christ unless it came down, and all but on the head of the child. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 2 1 Mt 2.8