Following the Wise Men - A Christmas Play

The Wisemen, Magi, Astronomers from the East, whatever it is you'd like to call them, came to Jerusalem looking for a baby who would be King. The current King, infamous King Herod, wasn't too happy about the thought of another coming to usurp his power. That's really all we know about those important men who brought gifts for the baby Jesus, so it's easy to use this basic story from Matthew and speculate what may have happened. That's exactly what this Christmas play does with the story of the Magi.

Picture King Herod sending some of his men to spy on the Magi. Imagine this entourage meeting the shepherds, the innkeepers and finally the Christ child. Consider how expanding this beloved story can help your children as well as your congregation appreciate even more the birth of Jesus.

If you're looking for a play for your congregation, especially your young people, this Advent season, take a look at "Following the Wise Men." This might be just what your congregation needs to entertain and educate (as well as just have a good time!) during the holiday season.

10 - 20 Players (3 Male, 2 Female, 7-17 either)

MAGI I (M/F)

MAGI II (M/F)

MAGI III (M/F)

CHIEF (M/F) - the Chief priest and head of the king’s crew very snooty and sophisticated.

ERIN (M/F) – Probably would suit a girl best, but could be Aaron, a very excitable teacher – talks fast

DANIEL/DANIELLE (M/F) – the levelheaded one, very kind and calm

AVERY, (M/F) a temple guard, very small and timid, carries a backpack and a sword or bow and arrow.

(All of the parts below here may be doubled if you have a smaller group)

KING HEROD (M) an angry conniving man

STEWART (M/F) the King’s steward

BENJAMIN, (M/F) a shepherd (could be a girl - just change the name)

JORDAN, (M/F) a shepherd

REUBEN, (M/F) a shepherd

INNKEEPER (M)

INNKEEPER’S WIFE (F)

ANGEL (M/F)

MARY (F)

JOSEPH (M)

JESUS (can be a doll)

NOTE FROM SYCAMORE TREE CHURCH: We only had nine kids who were able to participate, so our parts are combined like this:Herod is also Benjamin, Daniel is also the Innkeeper, Steward is also Reuben, Avery is also the Innkeeper's Wife, Benjamin and Reuben are our only two shepherds so we split up Jordan's part between the two.

Additionally, we had several folks who wanted to be the Angel - so we divided that part into five other parts so all nine of our characters are on stage in the last couple of scenes

STAGING

STAGE LEFT: Throne with table nearby – Herod’s Throne room (SCENE ONE)

STAGE RIGHT: Shepherd’s field (SCENE THREE)

STAGE CENTER: A CITY (Jerusalem in Scene two and Bethlehem in Scene Four, Five & Six) – with two doors (one for the Inn on the right and one for the House on the left) The door for the Inn can face the audience, the door for the house should be able to open so the audience can see what’s in the house – could have a market throughout the rest of the Center Stage. Need to have at least one place that an angel can “hide” behind so he can “appear” at the appropriate time

PROPS

• Large chair that looks like a throne
• Table or Lectern
• A couple of big old books
• Three Old Backpacks – two should be prefilled with anything, the final one will have:Old map (paper rolled into a scroll will work)
• Two Small oil lamps
• Two Bibles
• Three Shirts or Pants
• “Stuff”
• A fake fire and a few lambs are optional
• A star in the sky – this could be on a power point screen
• Two chairs inside the “House.” You could have a small table between them and even a cradle

The audio is not the greatest on this video, but I think you can get the main idea.