Yesterday we looked at the story in Luke about when Jesus was 8 days old Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem according to the Jewish laws pertaining to first born males. The story ended with saying they returned to Nazareth.
Today, I want to look at the next story that we typically think of concerning Jesus’ birth and the time shortly thereafter. This story is only found in Matthew 2 – the visit of the Magi. They had come from the “east,” following the star (group of angels?) The Magi/wise men had traveled a long distance to reach Jerusalem. Was it possible that the angels/the star had started the Magi/wise men before Jesus was born? Was it possible that they had gone to Nazareth, then at some point later returned to Bethlehem?
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they demanded that Herod tell them where the King of the Jews was because they had come to worship Him. Herod in turn asked the chief priests and scribes. They in turn quoted Micah 5:2 “‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, IN THE LAND OF JUDAH, ARE NOT IN ANY WAY LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR FROM YOU SHALL COME A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’” Matthew 2:6 (AMP).
So Herod called the Magi to him “secretly” and asked when they had first seen the star, then proceeded to lie to them and told them that after they found the infant king, to come and let him know so he could go worship him too.
The Magi went to Bethlehem, found the young child, gave Mary and Joseph the gifts they had brought to honor the new king of the Jews, then returned to their home by a different road. When the Magi left, God sent a dream to Joseph and told him to take Mary and baby Jesus and to leave immediately and go to Egypt, because Herod was going to try to kill him. They stayed in Egypt until after Herod died.
Ok, maybe I’m a little dense, but something seems hard to put into my timeline. If at 8 days of age, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem and then returned to Nazareth, then how did the Magi find the young child with Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem? Had them gone back to Bethlehem to visit family there? What other possibilities might have happened?
By the time that Herod was ready to kill all the baby boys when he finally realized that the Magi weren’t coming back, the age he selected was two years old and younger. Then taking into account that Joseph and Mary left Bethlehem and traveled to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died, it is estimated that they spent 3 to 3.5 years in Egypt.
While this seems to be difficult to put on my timeline, I choose to trust God’s Word. If there are seeming contradictions, I choose to believe that there must be something about the story that I don’t understand or that insufficient details have been provided, but not contradictions. The Bible is true in all aspects.
What can I learn from Mary’s perspective of this piece of Jesus’ story? Mary trusted that the Magi had been led by the Holy Spirit to be able to come to where they were staying and knew about her baby boy. The story they retold was reassurance that God had a plan for this child. There can be many things in my life that don’t seem to make logical sense, but I can trust my Creator and Savior to let me know anything I need to know on an as needed basis. If I don’t need to know something right now, that’s ok … I choose to trust God.
As Mary looked at the precious, valuable gifts left by the Magi, she must have felt overwhelmed at the value so much beyond her normal lifestyle. Yet after Joseph’s dream telling them to leave immediately and go to Egypt, she could see God’s hand providing for their needs. In today’s world, often my outgo each month seems to exceed my income, but God always provides. His gifts to me don’t often come in the form of dollars and cents, but the gifts are more precious than gold. The phone call from a friend that I haven’t talked to in ages .. Priceless! Visits from new friends offering help with tasks that are too challenging to do as I age … Priceless! A friend to just offer to listen while I try to process new health information and sort out God’s way toward improving my health … Priceless. Yes, God provides for my needs above and beyond what I think I need.
Thank you Heavenly Father for your provisions even before I realize I need the resources. Thank you for the friends along the way that help me to realize that you understand my human need for companionship and friendship even more than tangible “things.”
Published on MyBibleRoom.com 6/2/25, 10:00pm