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Subject: When did the Wise Men find Jesus?  Did Joseph and Mary go to Galilee, or to Egypt? 

 

q.gif (1639 bytes)   How does Luke 2:39 and Matthew 2:13 reconcile?  Luke says Joseph & Mary go to Galilee—and Matthew says they went to Egypt.  Are these 2 verses taking place after Mary's obedience of Lev. 12:1-4?  My question is… where did Joseph and Mary go after Jesus birth?

 

a.gif (1659 bytes)   Matthew 2:1-15 says, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.  Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.     When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.     And when they were 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 unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.     And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.     And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.     When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:  And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son."

This passage tells us that when the wise men left, The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and told him to flee into Egypt.  It then says that Joseph arose and took Mary and Jesus by night, and departed into Egypt—and was there until the death of Herod.

Now, let’s read  Luke 2:15-24, "And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.    And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.     And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;  (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)  And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."     Luke 2:39-40 says,  "And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.  And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

So Matthew 2 says that the wise men departed—Joseph had a dream telling him to flee to Egypt—and he got up in the night and departed.     Luke chapter 2 says that Joseph and Mary were around there for a little bit, because at 8 days they circumcised baby Jesus, and on the 40th day after His birth they were in Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord at the Temple.

You get the 40 days from  Leviticus 12:1-4,   “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.  And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.”  So that is the 40 days.  

So Luke 2 is saying that they were around the area for some time—ending up in Jerusalem on the 40th day.    And then they went on back to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.   Luke 2:39 says, "And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth."

How do you reconcile these two passages?   We must determine when this command was given:  Matthew 2:13 “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”   We have to go back to  Matthew 2:7-8, "Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.”

We do not know exactly when the wise men first saw the star in the east, but when Herod realized that the wise men were not coming back to him, he killed all of the baby boys from 2 years old and under.  Matthew 2:16 says “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.”

It seems highly unlikely that he waited 2 years after talking to them, to realize that they were not coming back.   Bethlehem was only 5 1/2 miles south of Jerusalem.   You would not wait for 2 years for someone to come back from only 5 1/2 miles away!   You may give them a week, and then you would probably just go look yourself!    So it seems highly likely that there was a good bit of time that had elapsed from when the wise men first saw the star in the east, until they had arrived in Jerusalem.

Also, please notice that the wise men did not come to a “stable”—nor to an “inn” to see Jesus—they came to a “house.”   Matthew 2:9-11 says, “When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.     And when they were 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 unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

Also notice that this passage does not call Jesus a “babe,” but a “young child.”   Verse 11 “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother…”     That is different terminology than the angels used to describe Jesus to the shepherds in   Luke 2:8-16, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”   The wise men did not go to a stable and find a “babe lying in a manger.”  The wise men went to a house where “they saw the young child.”

So what is the timeline of what really happened?

#1—Joseph and Mary stayed around the area of Bethlehem and Jerusalem for at least 40 days, until they presented the baby Jesus at the Temple.     Luke 2:21-22 21 says, "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.    And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord."

#2—Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus then went back to Galilee, to the city of Nazareth.   Luke 2:39 says, "And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

#3—When Jesus was under 2 years of age, they went back to Bethlehem again.     It had to be under two years, because Herod killed all of the children two years and under.   Matthew 2:16 says, "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

What proof do we have that Joseph and Mary ever went back to the Jerusalem/Bethlehem area?   So many times, the “context” answers our questions—but we stop short in our reading.   Luke 2:39-41 says, “And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.  And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.  Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.”

Because of the elapsed time from the wise men first seeing the star, and then actually making the journey to Jerusalem—my guess is that it was the very next year after Jesus’ birth, at Passover time,  when Joseph and Mary made their yearly journey to Jerusalem, and, being only 5 1/2 miles from Joseph’s relatives, they went down to Bethlehem to visit them again.   Luke 2:4 says, "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)."    The wise men found them in a house—not a barn, and Jesus is called a “young child”—not a “babe,” like in Luke 2.   Matthew 2:9-11 says, "When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.  And when they were 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 unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Do you know what solved this mystery for us, so we could prove that there was no contradiction between these two passages?  It was this statement in Luke 2:41, "Now his parents went to Jerusalem EVERY YEAR at the feast of the passover.”    That lets us know that Joseph and Mary and Jesus were back there in the area the very next Passover.  It was Joseph and Mary’s documented faithfulness, year after year, that silence the scoffers and the critics.

Is your faithful service to Christ silencing the critics and scoffers where you work?  How about your unsaved relatives?  Can they see Christ as someone real in your life?  Is your faithfulness in the Christian life something that is documented, and well known by all around you?    Matthew 5:13-16 says, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."                                

 

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