Feb. 23, 2008 - Whew! It's been awhile!

Hello, All!
I promise- I really am alive. Very busy, but definitely alive! I thought I'd ask my last questions about our dear mysterious Magi. My final questions are strictly factual in nature. I just haven't been able to piece together a time line and to know exactly where and when they came. I first encountered this question when I was doing Beth Moore's Bible study, Jesus, The One and Only.

The very first chapter was about the birth of Jesus and it compared the Matthew and Luke accounts of his birth. In Matthew we find the wise men. They come to Herod in Jerusalem, and iIt says that all of Jerusalem was in an uproar. After making inquiries, Herod sent them to search for the Christ child in Bethlehem. Within the Matthew account, the shepherds are listed first in the "in order of appearance" sense. After the shepherds we find the wise men. And Matthew says the wise men followed the star that had led them from the East, and they found Jesus "in a house." Here's where it gets tricky to me. In Luke, there is the account of Jesus being presented in the temple. It says specifically that this occurred on the eighth day after Jesus was born. Furthermore it says that after this had happened, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went back to their home in Nazareth. So where did those silly Magi go???? Bethlehem? Nazareth? Where exactly was Herod's jurisdiction? Could he have "gotten to" Jesus even with him being in Nazareth? When they fled to Egypt, did they leave from Nazareth or Bethlehem? Now I've always heard, "Bible scholars believe the wise men came to Jesus when he was around two years old..." Who are these Bible scholars and why do they think this? And how does this all line up on a time line between Luke and Matthew? If any of you are Bible scholars or know any Bible scholars, I'd love to find the answers to these perplexing questions. I think one of these days I'm just going to have to break down and call the Bible Answer Man.

So... if you listen to Hank Hanegraaf's radio program and hear someone giving him the third degree about the Magi, Matthew, and Luke, you'll know it's me!!  In the mean time, if you have any answers at all for me, please comment away!!!
Happy Investigating,
Kim

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Feb. 25, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by lahbluebonnet

The Gospels give different perspectives, focusing on different themes of Christ, yet it is all the inspired Word of God. God wants us to search His Word as if it's gold Prov 2:4. =) It's like if you and each member of your family gave your perspective of the family vacation. It would all be accurate, but there would be different versions of it. Therefore, by reading the different Gospel accounts, you can piece things together.
Luke and Matthew tell different parts of the entire story. According to Matthew, the Magi found Jesus in Bethlehem. After that, Herod got so riled up, that he ordered all boys 2 years and under to be killed. An angel was sent to Joseph to flee to Egypt for a few years to escape this event. Matt 2:19 states that after Herod died (you can look at historical documents to see the approximate date) an angel told Joseph they could now return to Israel.

I hope this helps! =) It's just a broad overview.
Blessings,
Laurie

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