Some beliefs have been around so long that Christians don’t seem to be able to see that the Biblical text can support a different interpretation. One example is the story of the wise men from the east.
The gospel of Luke tells the story of the Nativity, but it is in Matthew where we read of the wise men. It has long been assumed that the wise men were at the Nativity, but there are clues that indicate otherwise.
Luke 2:39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
After the Nativity and the circumcision, Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth. But after the visit from the wise men, they went to Egypt. This is because the wise men came a year or two after the Nativity when Mary and Joseph were already back in Nazareth.
Matthew 2:11 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.
The wise men didn’t find a baby in a manger; they found a child in a house. This confirms that Mary and Joseph had returned to Nazareth.
Matthew 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
When the wise men first came into Jerusalem Herod gathered the religious authorities and that would have taken some time. So, Herod was able to talk to the wise men for at least an hour or two and gather information.
Matthew 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Herod wanted to know when the star appeared. This means Herod, based on his conversation with these visitors, believed the child was likely born when the star first appeared.
Two Years Ago
Matthew 2:16 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.
The star first appeared up to two years prior to their arrival in Jerusalem. Herod had all children killed up to two years old based on what the wise men had told him. Christians believe that the wise men arrived in Bethlehem when Jesus was born, but that would mean Jesus wasn’t born yet when they spoke to Herod. There would be no reason to ask when the star first appeared unless it was believed that the child was born when the star appeared.
Matthew 2:1 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,
Notice the wise men were said to come from the east. In the Bible people are identified with their ethnic group. People were called Roman, Ethiopian or Samaritan or whatever ethnic group they belonged to.
Jerusalem was sometimes crowded, like at the Passover as many people would come from a great distance. The merchants of Jerusalem would be familiar with many ethnic groups. The Jews certain knew of the land of Persia. Yet with thirty years to talk about it, no one could identify who these men were. They were simply from the east. They must have come a great distance, perhaps a two-year journey.
Matthew 2:9-10 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.
The “Star” of Bethlehem
This was a “star” or a light they had seen back in the east. It wasn’t a star, or a comet, or a planetary alignment. If it had been a star, the wise men could have told everyone which star it was. Everyone could have followed it. The star went before them until it stood over where the child was. This sounds like a supernatural light, maybe ten feet above ground, that led them to Jerusalem. This was a supernatural light that only the wise men could see. The star had gone away as they came into Jerusalem. This is why they had such great joy when the star returned. The star didn’t lead them to Bethlehem; it led them to Nazareth.
Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
The arrival of the wise men had been alarming. Strange visitors from a distant land announcing the birth of a new king in Israel. This was all very troubling. Not only did Herod send his men to Bethlehem in the next few days, but there would also be many people who went to Bethlehem to see this new king.
But Jesus and Mary were up in Nazareth with the wise men. Jesus had been born up to two years earlier. The Nativity had been a very small gathering. There was Joseph and Mary, some shepherds and animals. The shepherds didn’t live in Bethlehem. They came into Bethlehem to see the newborn king. Two years later when people came looking for the new king, no one in Bethlehem knew about a woman from Nazareth giving birth to a baby two years earlier.
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.
At some point the men of Herod would learn of Mary and Joseph, but by that time Mary and Joseph were in Egypt.
The Wise Men were not at the Nativity
This view fits the text more than what Christians have traditionally believed. It shows that Christians need to look beyond what they have always been told. There are other examples where the Bible can be interpreted very differently that what Christians have always believed.
