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 birth of Christ, but there are many 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 birth of Jesus 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 birth of Christ 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. The star the wise men were following had disappeared and they needed to know where the king would be born. It would have taken time to gather the priests, so Herod was able to talk to the wise men for at least an hour or two. Herod likely served them a meal.
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 born when the star first appeared.
It Could Have Been 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.
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 Passover when many people would come from a great distance. The merchants of Jerusalem would be familiar with many ethnic groups. The Jews certainly knew of the Persians. 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.
The “Star” of Bethlehem
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.
This “star” was a light they had followed from back in the east. It wasn’t a star, or a comet, or a planetary alignment. If it had been a star, Herod would have wanted to know which star so his men could follow it. Everyone could have followed it. The star went before them until it stood over where the child was. This all sounds like a supernatural light that had led them to Jerusalem. They would call it a star because there was no other word for it.
The burning bush in Exodus wasn’t necessarily a burning bush. That was simply the best way to describe it with the words available at the time.
The star was a supernatural light that only the wise men could see. The star had disappeared as they came into Jerusalem. This is why Herod gathered the priests to learn where the Christ would be born. This is also why they had exceeding great joy when the star returned. If this had been an actual star that was obscured by the clouds, its reappearance wouldn’t be so extremely joyful, it would be inevitable. The star didn’t lead them to Bethlehem; it led them to Nazareth.
The Wise Men First Arrived
Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
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.
Surely the men of Herod would have thought to go to the temple on the eighth day.
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 many 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.
This view explains the text better than what Christians have traditionally believed. It shows that Christians need to look beyond what they have always been told. There are other cases where the Bible can be interpreted in a way that goes against fundamental Christian beliefs.
