“How many wise men visited Jesus, and where did they visit him?” asked the host of  Sunday Nights with Kel Richards recently. The switchboard lit up, as regular listeners to the Radio 2CH program responded to what they thought was an easy quiz question.

“Most callers made the common assumption that there were three wise men,” says Kel, “starting from the fact that there were three gifts and that Christmas cards and carols always seem to suggest three …  like in We Three Kings of Orient Are.”

When Kel responded that  “three” was not the desired answer, callers took a punt with other numbers. “They were just guessing! I had to take at least a dozen calls before I got the correct answer—and by then I was giving them hints!”

The Biblical account in Matthew 2:1-16 speaks of magi or “wise men from the east” without specifying a number –  which was the answer to the first part of Kel’s question.

If that wasn’t enough of a surprise, many listeners may have reached for their Bible or done a Google search when  they heard the answer to the second part of his question.

“Most callers assumed that the Magi visited Jesus in the stable—at about the same time as the shepherds. Again this probably comes from all those colourful Christmas cards that show the stable crowed with the holy family, the animals, the shepherds and the Magi,” suggests Kel. “How did they all fit?” he finishes with a laugh.

One can almost hear the gasps. Surely the wise men visited Jesus in the stable? What about all those church Nativity plays – where the wise men knelt by the manger,  next to little children dressed as lambs and cows?

Matthew 2:11 is where we find the answer. “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Three types of gifts, presented to Jesus by an unspecified number of wise men, in a house.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Interesting reading: Max Lucado on “What does the Bible say about the three wise men?”