We three kings...

We three kings…

The three wise men…

The nativity story as it is popularly told has three wise men or three kings coming to see the infant Jesus as he lays in the manger with shepherds and livestock gathered around.

Where do we get that from? It is certainly not from the Bible.

Why three? The Bible only say wise men or Magi came to see the child. There is no indication of how many wise men there were, but since there were three gifts mentioned we assume there were three gift givers. Okay I get that.

So who was there at the birth? Joseph, Mary and possible some various animals were there to be sure. Anyone else? We are not told. In the Gospel of Luke we see that Angels tell shepherds of the birth and they go to see the baby very shortly after his birth. Then they leave. No wise men come. Eight days later Jesus is presented at the temple.

Luke 2:8-21

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
 ²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. (NIV)
We fine the story of the Magi in Matthew chapter two. So who are the Magi looking for? They were looking for the “child” Jesus. Not the baby the child. And where did they find him? In a house, (Matt 2:11)
Matthew 2: 1-12

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ² 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.”

 ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

 ⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
   who will shepherd my people Israel.’^[b]”

 ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

 ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ 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. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (NIV)

Next we have the decree from King Herod to kill all male children two and under. Why would he kill two year olds if Jesus was just born? The Magi told him when they first saw the star. He knew it had been a while so he wanted to make sure he got him. But Joseph and Mary we not in a stable and not at an Inn. They were in a house and Jesus was a child not a babe, not an infant, a child.

The three wise men/kings are not biblical and are not part of the nativity. I wish people would actually read a little of the bible especially churches that put on nativity stories.Leave the wise men at home.