The Birth Of Jesus

1. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth BEFORE Jesus’ birth - Luke 2:4.

2. There is no mention of a “stable” or “cave” at His birth. There are no animals there, donkeys or cattle. Baby Jesus is laid in a manger (or feeding trough) - Luke 2:7.

3. They were unable to get a room at the inn - Luke 2:7.

4. There were some shepherds in the fields. First, the angel of the Lord appeared to them and later a multitude of angels appeared to them. They did not sing. The angels praised God SAYING, not SINGING. Angels do not sing - Luke 2:15.

5. The shepherds were the first and ONLY people to see baby Jesus in the manger - Luke 2:16 Jesus was a baby at this time (Greek word: “brephos” = baby). No star led the shepherds. There was no star at all at this time. The shepherds had come in haste - Luke 2:15b & 16 - but there is no mention of a star. The star did not show up until 2 years later - Matthew 2:1 & 2.
6. Eight days later, He was given the name “Jesus”, and then was circumcised in Bethlehem according to Jewish Law - Luke 2:21.

7. Jesus, Mary and Joseph remain in Bethlehem for 40 days more (Luke 2:22 cross-referenced with Leviticus 12:1-4, 6-8) because the Law said women were unclean for 40 days after giving birth.

8. After 40 days, the holy family leaves Bethlehem for Jerusalem in order to go to the Temple to present their first born Son to God, according to the Law of First Born Sons, and to offer sacrifices as required by Law - Exodus 13:1 & 2; Leviticus 12:1-4, 6-8 with Luke 2:22-24.

9. Having completed their census registration in Bethlehem, having completed their circumcision and purification Laws in Bethlehem, having gone next to Jerusalem to the temple for offerings 6.5 miles away, and having completed those offerings according to the Law, they finally leave Jerusalem and go back to Nazareth where they lived and had originally come from - Luke 2:39. (Note: So far, there is no star nor wise men or Magi on the scene.) In fact, there NEVER was any wise men in Bethlehem to visit Jesus in the Luke 2 account.

10. It is 2 years later - Matthew 2:7 & 16. The wise men or Magi first arrive in Israel from the east. (According to Webster’s Dictionary, the Magi came from Persia...ancient Iran.) They saw a star in the east back in their own country and being wise, interpreted that sign to mean that Israel’s promised King had been born. It took about two years from the time they saw the star, determined its significance, organized a caravan, purchased expensive gifts, and traveled an unknown number of miles across the Mideast until they finally arrived in Jerusalem - Matthew 2:1.

11. Upon arrival in Jerusalem, they ask WHERE the new King of the Jews has been born. They do not know WHERE He was born and no longer have any star to guide them. They saw the star “in the east” about two years earlier and it had disappeared. Note:

a. From Matthew 2:1-8, there is NO star.

b. There are no shepherds.

c. The shepherds NEVER saw any Magi and the Magi NEVER saw any shepherds. They NEVER met each other or worshiped baby Jesus together with a star over a stable as most nativity scenes depict.

d. NOWHERE in Matthew 2 does it say how many Magi there were. It does NOT say there are three wise men. The idea of three wise men is not biblical and derived from tradition that since there were three gifts, there must have been three wise men.

e. No star guided them to Israel and since they did not know where Jesus was, they had to ask WHERE He was - Matthew 2:1-7.

12. Herod, the present King, diligently asks them to pinpoint the time they saw the star - Matthew 2:7. Apparently, Herod, nor anyone else in Israel, had seen any star. No one had seen the star, except the Magi, two years earlier - Matthew 2:16.

13. Herod tells the Magi that they should go to Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and come back to report to him, so that he may also worship Jesus - Matthew 2:8.

14. The Magi begin to leave Jerusalem to go south to Bethlehem, 6.5 miles away, and just then they SEE the SAME star reappear - Matthew 2:9.

15. Since we already know that the holy family went back to Nazareth, 85 miles north almost 2 years earlier, this second reappearance of the star takes place 2 years later. It leads the Magi NORTH to Nazareth - Matthew 2:9; Luke 2:39.

16. When the Magi see the star, they are very excited (Matthew 2:10) because they had not seen it for 2 years, but now they see it and know it will lead them to Jesus.

17. When they are finally led by the star (the star actually moved and went before them - Matthew 2:9), they arrive where Jesus is. By this time, the Magi do not see a baby, but a young child (in Greek: “paidion” = young child). The holy family is living in a house, not a stable, and Jesus is NOT in a manger. The house is obviously the house of Joseph where he had established his carpentry business - Matthew 2:11.

18. The Magi gave Jesus three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. The number of gifts in no way establishes the number of Magi. (For example, in the past, how many gifts did you get from your parents for Christmas? Just two because you had just two parents? No way.) In the Magi’s case, only three gifts were presented to Jesus, and NOT to His parents, and the number of Magi is never mentioned - Matthew 2:11. So the giving of gifts does not establish the number of givers.

19. After the Magi conclude their visit, they are warned by God in a dream not to go back to Jerusalem to Herod. Remember, they are 85 miles north of Jerusalem in Nazareth. They depart and go back to their country by another way. (The Magi had come from the east while Herod was waiting for them in the south. To the west was the Mediterranean Sea. The only way left was to take an alternate route possibly to the north out of the country and then east.) Scripture does not tell us the alternate route - Matthew 2:12.

20. After the Magi are gone, Joseph is warned in a dream to leave Nazareth (Luke 2:39) and flee to Egypt before Herod discovered that the Magi had double-crossed him and had left the country. (Joseph knew going south would be dangerous through Jerusalem. Egypt was southwest. So Joseph may have gone west to the coastal road and then south to Egypt, a commonly traveled route. Or, he may have used back roads that led to the southwest to cover his tracks.) In any event, Joseph had to head southwest to avoid Herod who was in the south-central part of the country - Matthew 2:13 & 14.

21. The Magi are gone from the country and the holy family is down in Egypt, a different country. Now, Herod discovers that the Magi have not returned and he has been double-crossed by the them. He orders the execution of all male children, two years old and under, in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. Such is the massacre that had been prophesied in the Bible, six centuries earlier by Jeremiah - Matthew 2:16-18.

22. Joseph remains in Egypt until Herod’s death - Matthew 2:19-21.

23. In a dream, God tells Joseph to return to Israel, which Joseph does at first, but once in Israel, Joseph hears that Herod’s son now rules. He becomes afraid to continue. God warns him to go anyway and so Joseph goes. We do not know what route Joseph took back to Nazareth. It may have been through Judea or back up the coastal road. Regardless, the holy family arrives back in Nazareth and therefore fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:3 made six centuries earlier - Matthew 2:22 & 23.