One Of The Most Enduring Images From The Gospels Is Completely Made Up
How information can be twisted past the original source material
The Nativity scene describing the birth of Jesus Christ is one of the Bible's most famous and enduring stories. It is recounted every year during the Christmas season. Many people believe they know the Nativity scene backward and forwards. What if I told you that the words “kings” and “three” or “wise men” never show up in the Nativity story from the Gospels? The Three Wise Men do not appear in the Bible at all. The images of three wisened kings standing around the manger are a fabrication: an ancient and entrenched fabrication but a fabrication never the less.
But how can that be? Many people have a trio of wise men figurines hiding in their Christmas boxes. The wise men adorn the stained glass of some of the world’s most famous churches. How can they be made up?
What The Bible Really Says
The only chapter of the Gospels that mention the men who will become the Three Wise Men is Matthew 2. Matthew 2 only describes a group of “magi” that came from the East. No number is given for the men, and neither are there any names or descriptions given. The passage in question reads as follows.
