December 16, 2025

If you've been following along with me as I walk through the steps of the holy family and the birth of Jesus, you'll see that the stories Matthew and Luke tell have some slight differences. Nothing major, just viewed through different lenses. If we were to make a timeline, Luke would have them going home to Nazareth right after Jesus was dedicated in the temple, but Matthew has them fleeing to Egypt before returning to Nazareth. Did Luke know about their trip to Egypt? Maybe, but he chose to shorten his account. If Luke's and Matthew's timelines are both right, and we have no reason to think they aren't because the Bible is God-breathed, then we must also believe that the Magi/Wisemen met Jesus while he was still an infant. Luke's account says they left to go home to Galilee after Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day in the temple in Jerusalem, which is about 6 miles from Bethlehem. Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem to find Jesus, but because they were following the star, could they have gone to Nazareth? Nazareth is a 90-mile walk from Bethlehem; it's not impossible, but I highly doubt it. It also says they left a different way so they wouldn't have to see Herod, which was only about 6 miles from Bethlehem. It pays to read with understanding, because for all these years I thought Jesus was a little older when the wise men came to see him, but it's more likely that it was before they fled to Egypt, shortly after his being presented at the temple in Jerusalem. However, Herod was in Jerusalem, so the Magi must have come after his visit to the temple. Right after the Magi left, Joseph had a dream telling him to flee to Egypt. I hope I didn't confuse you with my rambling. 

For years, I believed Jesus was probably a toddler when the Magi came, but likely he was still an infant. Because I believed everything I was told, I felt it was wrong to include the Magi in the Nativity, so I left them in the box. Now, I proudly display them with the shepherds and the holy family. Read your Bible to help you unlearn the fables you've been told, even if they aren't completely wrong; that way, you can then sort them out for yourself. 

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Matthew 2:12