At this time of year there is a lot of focus on the story of Christ’s birth. If you have been reading the story lately or following our recent sermon series you may be trying to put all the pieces together and sort out what is Biblical fact and what is tradition and legend. Some have asked specifically about the timeline of events surrounding Jesus’ birth, so I will do my best in the lines below to help connect some of the dots as best as I can. I hope you find it helpful or at least interesting!
There are some challenges in constructing the timeline of the story which leaves us at points to go with the scholars’ best guess based on study of scripture and Jewish tradition. The matter is further complicated by the fact that most of the story is based on Luke 1 & 2, however Luke doesn’t include anything about the wisemen’s visit or the flight to Egypt. Matthew 1 & 2 gives us the story of the wisemen, but doesn’t include most of the rest of the story found in Luke. So putting all the pieces in their proper place can be difficult. Here’s what we know with relative certainty:
Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census. Bethlehem was Joseph’s ancestral home which would indicate he would have relatives there, but we are not told if that means parents and siblings or 7th cousins. Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born and the baby was laid in a manger. We assume that because he was laid in a manger (hay trough) and the statement that there was no room at the inn that they were staying in a barn. Opinions on exactly what this was vary somewhat, from a stable building to a cave to an open space under the house to a guest room.
The shepherd’s story occurs on the night Jesus was born. The angel actually says “has been born today.” It seems that it is the angel’s directions, not the star that leads the shepherds to Jesus, still in a manger.
Luke says Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, as all Jewish boys were. This would have most likely occurred in a home in Bethlehem. We assume that by this time Mary and Joseph had found a place to stay other than the stable.
With the birth of the first born son, there was a special sacrifice that was to be offered. This sacrifice was specifically intended to be offered at the temple in Jerusalem at some time around one month
After giving birth a woman was not to go out for a period of 40 days at which time a sacrifice of purification was to be offered. This sacrifice did not have to be offered at the temple, but definitely could be and if you were anywhere near by Jerusalem this would likely be your choice. Luke specifically identifies this latter sacrifice as the reason Mary, Joseph and Jesus went to the temple. It is possible they offered both sacrifices on this visit, however it had to be after the 40th day or Mary would not be going along, especially not to the temple. During this visit they meet Simeon and Anna in the temple courts. It makes sense that if they wanted to offer the first born son sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem and given Mary’s need to wait 40 days before going out in public, they most likely remained in Bethlehem for that month and a half as opposed to travelling to Nazareth and back which, when travelling with a new born and a newly delivered woman could take close to a week to travel in each direction.
The visit of the wisemen is more difficult to pinpoint. If we add the time it took, from the star’s first appearance, for the wisemen to see the star, come to consensus on it’s meaning, prepare for their journey and then travel from Persia to Jerusalem we come up with a number likely somewhere between 4-6 months or more. The question is, when did the star appear? If they were to arrive at the time of Jesus’ birth or shortly thereafter, the star must have appeared well in advance. If the star appeared when Jesus was born, they would not arrive until many months afterwards. The other indicator is that Herod ordered the death of all boys in Bethlehem age 2 and under. Since Herod specifically asked the wisemen when the star first appeared, we can assume that the star’s first appearance plus the wisemen’s journey to Jerusalem, plus the time it took for the wisemen to travel to Bethlehem and the time it took for Herod to realize that they weren’t coming back was less than 2 years.
Matthew is very specific that the star led the wisemen to Bethlehem where they found the Christ child. He also states that they found the mother and child in a house (not a stable or cave etc). According to Matthew’s account after the wisemen left, Mary, Joseph and Jesus fled to Egypt. We assume they left from Bethlehem since that was the last place Matthew specifies them as being. It also makes sense geographically. If they had already returned to Nazareth, fleeing to Egypt would be a strange move. First, Herod’s attack was targeted specifically at Bethlehem, so there would be no need for them to flee Galilee. Second, if they were to flee from Nazareth, Egypt would be a poor choice as the most likely route would take them through Jerusalem and quite possibly Bethlehem – right into the heart of the lion’s den so to speak. However, if they were still in Bethlehem, fleeing south to Egypt makes perfect sense as it moves them away from Herod’s troops coming down from Jerusalem and out of the country as quickly as possible.
After spending two years in Egypt they receive word (from an angel in a dream) that Herod had died and it was safe to return to Israel. Luke seems to allude to the idea that Joseph’s initial intent was to settle in the south in Judea. Jerusalem and Bethlehem are both located in Judea. However upon learning that the new King was not much better than the old King they decide (based on another angel dream) to relocate to Galilee in the north, back to the village of Nazareth.
Which brings us to the question, “Why does Luke say that Mary, Joseph and Jesus returned to Nazareth after their visit to the temple (40 days after Jesus’ birth) and yet the wisemen appear to find them in Bethlehem several months later?”
Based on the above chronology we assume that the wisemen’s visit comes after the visit to the temple. It seems unlikely that, given Herod’s fury, Mary and Joseph would have made the journey to Jerusalem after the wisemen had departed (having been warned in a dream to not go back through Jerusalem). We also get the impression from the text that the flight to Egypt occurs immediately following the wisemen’s visit which does not allow time to wait for the remainder of the 40 days to pass, then make a visit to Jerusalem, return to Nazareth and then head back south to Egypt.
Therefore the question is what happens between 40 days and the wisemen’s visit. There are a couple explanations:
1) After their visit to the temple Mary, Joseph and Jesus return to Nazareth as Luke describes. However, they do so with the intention of relocating to Bethlehem. Remember Bethlehem is Joseph’s ancestral home town. Also, they may have been able to conceal Mary’s pregnancy, but there’s no way to hide a baby. People could do the math and realize that the baby came before the wedding and that would bring significant social, economic and even religious hardship for the new family. Perhaps a fresh start seemed like a good idea. Of course when they went to Bethlehem the first time they did not intent to stay and packed accordingly. Perhaps this return trip was to gather their belongings as well as give Mary’s parents a chance to meet their new grandson.
2) After their visit to the temple Mary, Joseph and Jesus return to Nazareth as Luke describes. At some point in the next year and a half they make another trip down to Bethlehem, perhaps to visit relatives. It is during this visit that the wisemen arrived and locate them.
3) Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem after Jesus’ birth for a period of several months. After the wisemen’s visit they flee to Egypt for two years and then upon returning to Israel they relocate to Nazareth where they can fly below Herod’s radar. At this point Jesus would be somewhere between 2.5 to 4 years, thus avoiding or at least softening the stigma mentioned in #1 above. The only challenge to this timeline is Luke’s statement that, after their visit to the temple, they returned to their home town of Nazareth. However, since Luke omits the story of the wisemen and the flight to Egypt and the next story he recounts is the visit to the temple when Jesus is 12 years old it is plausible that Luke is merely skipping ahead in his telling of the story to let his reader know that Jesus grew up in Nazareth, which sets the stage for the journey to Jerusalem almost a decade later.
Any of these three scenarios explains the apparent disparity between the Luke and Matthew texts and accounts for the period of time between 40 days and 4 years. If you have further questions or thoughts feel free to send them to us at: ask@skchurch.ca
