History Main / TheThreeWiseMen

* ''Series/Newhart'': In a Christmas episode where the inn is fully booked, and a couple named Joseph and Mary show up, with Mary pregnant, the stinger has a man looking for rooms for himself and his two brothers. His last name? Wiseman.

* ''[[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286009/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Les Rois Mages]]'' (lit. "''The Mage-Kings''", which is how they're called in France) by Creator/LesInconnus is a comedy about the Magi suddenly finding themselves in modern-day Paris. They end up [[spoiler:finding a baby underground... at the ''Place de l'Étoile'' ("Star square")]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Parodied in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E9SimpsonsChristmasStories Simpsons Christmas Stories]]", where they're played by Skinner, Prof. Frink and Dr. Hibbert.

* StarOfBethlehem: The original -- they state that they followed a star eastward to locate where the King of the Jews was born.

* ''Film/StarOfTheNight'', a SettingUpdate of the Nativity story to the American southwest, has the Magi as three cowboys who bought Christmas gifts for no particular reason. They see a blinking star and follow it -- turns out it's the sign atop a motel. Then a man and his heavily pregnant wife show up at the auto court.

* "Literature/JimButton": While the Magi don't appear themselves, the main character is revealed to be the direct descendant of one and heir to his throne. It also gives some new details about this Magi's (Casper's) live, like having been the king of a now sunken continent called Jamballa and the arch-enemy of Mrs. Grindtooth, the main antagonist of the first book.

%%* RuleOfThree: Naturally (except in "The Fourth Wise Man").

%%* StarOfBethlehem: Led them to Jesus.

** Nor does it describe them as "kings" -- the Greek word "magoi" which Matthew uses originally referred to Iranian priests.[[note]]Incidentally, that's where we get the word "magic" from -- the Greeks distrusted the Persian priesthood and suggested they were doing witchcraft.[[/note]] The identification of them as kings comes from several Old Testament passages stating that kings would pay tribute to the Messiah.

The Eastern church bodies give a variety of different names for the kings, while in the West they are traditionally called Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, but the New Testament never explicitly identifies any of the Magi by name, nor, again, does it say that there were specifically three, only that Jesus and his family received three different types of gifts. Another tradition, which became common starting in the Middle Ages, is to depict each of the three Magi as belonging to a distinct racial group, or at least as hailing from a different continent – typically one is African, one European and one Asian, although which is which varies between traditions – and as being of different ages – one elderly, one middle-aged and one young. The idea behind these triads is to metaphorically represent the entirety of humanity coming to worship Christ.

The Eastern church bodies give a variety of different names for the kings, while in the West they are traditionally called Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, but the New Testament never explicitly identifies any of the Magi by name, nor, for that matter, does it say that there were specifically three, only that Jesus and his family received three different types of gifts. Another tradition, which became common starting in the Middle Ages, is to depict each of the three Magi as belonging to a distinct racial group, or at least as hailing from a different continent – typically one is African, one European and one Asian, although which is which varies between traditions – and as being of different ages – one elderly, one middle-aged and one young. The idea behind these triads is to metaphorically represent the entirety of humanity coming to worship Christ.

* ''Los tres Reyes Magos'': They are the main characters, enduring the hardships Satan, in the form of Prince Olbaid and his minion Murcio, puts on them.

* ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'': The three Magi arrive with gifts for Brian at the start, although it turns out that the real Messiah had been born across the street. So they take their gifts back and go to see him instead.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S1E7TeachersAidePaladinOfTheLostHour Paladin of the Lost Hour]]", the old man who holds back doomsday from happening hints that he's really Caspar.

According to Matthew, the Magi followed a star which came to be known as the StarOfBethlehem. As they approached Jerusalem, King Herod tried to trick them into revealing where Jesus was, so that he might be put to death. Upon finding Jesus, they gave him three symbolic gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh -- precious gold as a gift for a king; frankincense, burned during religious ceremonies, as a gift for a deity; and myrrh, an embalming oil, as a symbol of His eventual death. The tradition of gift-giving for Christians dates back to this story. In many countries, they Magi are the equivalent of SantaClaus. Furthermore, they have dreams from God warning them of Herod's murderous true intentions for the infant king, and return home by a different route to ensure they tell Herod nothing. Unfortunately, this inadvertently leads to Herod committing the Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem, in an attempt to remove this would-be threat to his throne. (Of course, Jesus and his family manage to escape in time; NiceJobBreakingItHerod.)

* ''Franchise/TheSimpsons'': Parodied in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E9SimpsonsChristmasStories Simpsons Christmas Stories]]", where they're played by Skinner, Prof. Frink and Dr. Hibbert.

* ''Franchise/TheSimpsons'': Parodied in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E9SimpsonsChristmasStories Simpsons Christmas Stories]]", where they're played by Skinner, Dr. Frink and Dr. Hibbert.

* ''Film/StarOfTheKings'': The movie follows the path of three men from disparate backgrounds who come together on a journey to meet the messiah.

->''We three kings of Orient are,''\\
''Bearing gifts we traverse afar.''\\
''Field and fountain,''\\
''Moor and mountain,''\\
''Following yonder star...''

* AwayInAManger: Canonically, [[Literature/TheFourGospels the Gospel of Matthew]] states that the Magi arrived "at the house", not the manger, indicating that their visit likely occurred some time later when Mary and Joseph had found a more permanent accommodation. (This might also explain why Herod ordered all male children under two years to be killed, not just newborns.) However, they are often portrayed visiting the manger in Nativity scenes and creches, probably a fair case of ArtisticLicense.

* AwayInAManger: Canonically, [[Literature/TheFourGospels the Gospel of Matthew]] says that the Magi arrived "at the house", not the manger, indicating that their visit likely occurred some time later when Mary and Joseph had found a more permanent accommodation. (This might also explain why Herod ordered all male children under two years to be killed, not just newborns.) However, they are often portrayed in Nativity scenes, probably a fair case of ArtisticLicense.

In Christian tradition the Magi (Greek: μάγοι ''magoi''), Three Wise Men, Three Kings or Kings from the East are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts. They are mentioned only once, in the [[Literature/TheFourGospels Gospel of Matthew]], which states that they came "from the east to Jerusalem" to worship the Christ, "born King of the Jews". Because three gifts were recorded, there are traditionally said to have been three Magi, though Matthew does not specify their number.

-->"We Three Kings", John Henry Hopkins Jr.

In Christian tradition the Magi (Greek: μάγοι ''magoi''), Three Wise Men, Three Kings or Kings from the East are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts. They are mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew, which says that they came "from the east to Jerusalem" to worship the Christ, "born King of the Jews". Because three gifts were recorded, there are traditionally said to have been three Magi, though Matthew does not specify their number.

According to Matthew, the Magi followed a star which came to be known as the StarOfBethlehem. As they approached Jerusalem, King Herod tried to trick them into revealing where Jesus was, so that he might be put to death. Upon finding Jesus, they gave him three symbolic gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh -- precious gold as a gift for a king; frankincense, burned during religious ceremonies, as a gift for a deity; and myrrh, an embalming oil, as a symbol of His eventual death. The tradition of gift-giving for Christians dates back to this story. In many countries, they're the equivalent of SantaClaus. Furthermore, they have dreams from God warning them of Herod's murderous true intentions for Jesus and return home by a different route to ensure they tell him nothing. Unfortunately, this inadvertently leads to Herod committing the Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem to attempt to remove this threat to his throne. (Of course, Jesus and his family manage to escape in time; NiceJobBreakingItHerod.)

The Eastern church gives a variety of different names for the kings. In the West, the kings are traditionally named Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, but the New Testament never explicitly identifies any of the Magi by name, nor, for that matter, does it say that there were specifically three, only that Jesus and his family received three different types of gifts. Another interpretation that became common starting with the Middle Ages is to depict each of the three Magi as belonging to a distinct racial group, or at least as hailing from a different continent -- typically one is African, one European and one Asian, although which is which varies between traditions -- and as being a different age -- one elderly, one middle-aged and one young. The idea behind these triads is to metaphorically represent the entirety of humanity coming to worship Christ.

* ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'': Spoofed in a festive edition as "We Three Kays" in which Creator/PeterKay, [[Series/FamilyFortunes Vernon Kay]] and, err, [[Series/AlloAllo Gorden Kaye]] go to Bethlehem to give gifts to the Son of God. While Gorden's gift is by far the most underwhelming (in addition to which he's the only one who has to explain to Mary and Joseph who he is), Baby Jesus likes him the best because he lets him touch the (very noticeable) scar on his forehead.