Aunty Jane said:
Matthew’s account is the only one that mentions the magi…..and they were not at the stable, nor does it say there were three of them.
The star that led these pagan astrologers to Jerusalem, was not from God because it led the magi to Herod, not to Jesus. If it was God who led them there, then God is to blame for the deaths of all those infants.
This brings up an interesting point.
The Magi ended up in Jerusalem. Not necessarily because the star led them there.
More of a political move. ??? (talk to Herod)
This was no ordinary star…..the magi called it “his star” that they saw in the East….so if this was in accord with Babylonian astrology, it certainly had nothing to do with God, who forbade his people anything to do with spiritism and predictions of the future. (Deut 18:9-12)
If it had been from God, then the Omniscient One knows what is going to happen, and would have led these men directly to the one they wanted to give their expensive gifts to.….not to Herod, knowing the consequences of doing so. This proud and arrogant ruler was not going to allow his dynasty to be removed from being kings over the Jews. They were a subjugated people, and had been for a very long time under gentile domination, as it was prophesied in their Scripture, and experienced in their history.
God’s part in this story begins when he warns the magi not to go back to Herod, proving that they had no evil intent, but were used as dupes in order to have the Christ child put to death before he could cause trouble to Herod in the future.
There is no whitewashing this event…..if Herod carefully ascertained when the magi saw the star, and got the information about where he was to be born from the Jews, then why have all the male infants in Bethlehem, of 2 years of age and under, put to death?
How long a journey is it from Babylon to Jerusalem by camel….and because there is no mention of a number, or when their journey began, there could have been a camel train with several people involved….in no great rush to reach their destination.….a distance of about 1,400klms (900 miles)
The star that they followed, mysteriously moved and “came to a stop over the place where the child was”….
The Bible account has the shepherds attending the stable because of the angelic vision and chorus they had seen and heard. They were told to expect to see a “
brephos” or “newborn infant” “wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (a feeding trough for animals) which you would find in a stable, not a house. So the shepherds were there….but the account about the magi is not even mentioned in the more detailed account recorded in Luke. Not really the big deal that many like to make it out to be.….but it does provide some interesting detail…
The “house” (“
oikia”) where Jesus was now described as a “
paidion” (a little boy or girl) gives the impression that Jesus was a young child by that time, which would sync with the absence of the magi at the stable.
It was after the magi’s visit that God told Joseph to flee to Egypt to avoid Herod’s murderous intent.
There is no detail about where Mary and Joseph went after Jesus’ birth, so maybe they got a house and decided to settle into parenthood there for a while? They only failed to find lodging originally because of the decree that led them and many others to Bethlehem to be registered under Caesar’s orders.
The expensive gifts were not presented to the newborn Jesus otherwise the offering that Mary and Joseph made at the Temple would have been abhorrent to their God. If they had “gold, frankincense and myrrh”…and only offered two turtle doves or pigeons, it would have breached God’s law….something these two would never have done.
