THE JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL ACCURACY, Vol.2, Iss.1B, Jan.1997
Anastasios Kioulachoglou
THE JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL ACCURACY
Vol.2, Iss.1B, January 1997
ISSN 1363-1926
The Journal of Biblical Accuracy is a non-denominational
Christian journal. The position of the Journal of Biblical
Accuracy is that the Bible is accurate in everything in the
original text and languages. It is this accurate understanding of
the Bible that this journal wants to promote.
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BACK ISSUES
Vol.1
Jan. 1996: Frequently Asked Questions About the Bible
Feb. 1996: God Loves You
Mar. 1996: Amazing Grace
Apr. 1996: What a Day!
May 1996: Body, Soul, Spirit
Jun. 1996: Pentecost and New Birth Realities
Jul. 1996: The Devil and his Devices
Aug. 1996: Gospel, Administration, Mystery
Sept. 1996: Genesis 1:1-2
Oct. 1996: Judas: When did he die?
Nov. 1996: Jesus' opinion about prayer
Dec. 1996: On Christ's birth and Christmas (Part I)
All the back issues are available at the following URL:
http://www.goldinc.com/Tour/Greece/Publications/JBA/
All the footnotes are at the end of the article
*** On Christ's birth and Christmas (Part II)***
We examined last week some things regarding the
identity of the Magi and their visit to Jesus in Bethlehem. As we
saw, the Bible says that the Magi found Jesus in a house
(Matthew 2:11) and not in a manger. This means that they
didn't visit him but much time after the birth. Today we are
going to examine some things that followed the visit of the
Magi..
So after they visited Jesus, the Magi were ready to
return to their own country. However, they had promised to
Herod that they would return to him to tell him the results of
their search. Then Herod, having the information of the Magi,
would immediately send his army there to kill the child. BUT at
this crucial point, God interfered:
Matthew 2:12
"Then, being [the Magi] divinely warned in a dream that they
should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country
another way."
God interfered and told the Magi not to return to Herod
but to depart another way. Moreover, knowing what Herod was
going to do after he found out that the Magi deceived him, He
warned Joseph:
Matthew 2:13
"Now when they [the Magi] had departed, behold, an angel of
the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the
young child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I
bring you word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy
him"
See how wonderfully God protected Jesus from the
threat of Herod, and at the same time, from the threat of the one
that was acting behind Herod i.e. the Devil. He first told the
Magi not to return to Herod. This was necessary since
Bethlehem was just 6 miles away from Jerusalem and therefore,
if the Magi went to Herod, there would be no time for Joseph,
Mary and Jesus to abandon Bethlehem. Then, after He secured
that the Magi wouldn't return to Herod, He told Joseph to take
Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt. So when Herod perceived that
the Magi wouldn't return to him, Jesus was already far from his
threat. Really, what a wonderful, wise and caring God He is. If
we are looking to Him, He always knows how to make a way for
us. There is no situation from which God cannot deliver us. As
Romans 8:35,37 says: "Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in ALL these things
[tribulation, distress etc.] WE ARE MORE THAN
CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US." It
required for Joseph, Jesus and Mary to flee to another country to
avoid the threat of the Devil. Certainly, it would be much better
if there was no threat and they stayed in their home without
having to go through the hardship of the movement to Egypt.
However, the truth is that there is an enemy and consequently
there is also a threat. Instead of arguing about this fact or
ignoring it, we have to recognise it and to fight the enemy by
putting on the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-17) and by
following God's instructions given in the Bible and via the spirit
(see ftn.1). That's what Joseph chose to do:
Matthew 2:14-15
"When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by
night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of
Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord
through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son"
Joseph chose to obey. This meant that he had to go
through the hardship of the movement to another country
within a very short time. However, imagine what would have
happened had he not chose to obey: Herod would have sent his
army to Bethlehem entrapping Joseph, Mary and Jesus in a very
difficult situation. Personally, I believe that even if Joseph or the
Magi had disobeyed God, He would have found a way to save
Jesus. However, the certain thing is that the whole situation
would become much more tougher and difficult. It is surely
much better to avoid the trap from the beginning, than to fall
into it and then to have to escape.
The above record is not the only one where we find
Joseph following what God had told him. Matthew 1:20-24,
2:20-21, 2:22 are all records that show that he was a man full of
believing, ready to immediately do whatever God wanted him to
do. It was not accidental that Mary, the mother of Jesus,
married this man nor was it something that happened only for
the genealogical reasons examined in the last issue. In addition
to these reasons, Joseph was the BEST man for the raring and
care of Jesus.
After this digression about Joseph, let's return to our
topic. So after being instructed by God, Joseph took Mary and
the child and departed to Egypt.
Now, when Herod saw that he was deceived by the
Magi reacted very violently:
Matthew 2:16-18
"Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise
men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death
all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its
districts, from two years old and under, according to the time
which he had diligently enquired [accurately enquired, Gr.:
"akriboo", as in verse 7] from the wise men. Then was fulfilled
what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "A voice was
heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more."
(NKJV-KJV)
It is important to note here that according to the above
passage, Herod put the age limit to two years and under
"ACCORDING TO THE TIME WHICH HE HAD
DILIGENTLY [ACCURATELY] ENQUIRED FROM THE
WISE MEN". As we may remember from verse 7, Herod had
enquired accurately from the Magi what time the star appeared
and by this he knew the age of Jesus. Thus, if Jesus was born
when "his star" appeared "in the east", it can be concluded that
when the Magi visited him and the massacre of Bethlehem
happened, he was certainly no more than two years old though
not too much less than it (see ftn.2).
Sometime after the massacre of Bethlehem, Herod died
and thus God told Joseph to return to Israel:
Matthew 2:19-22
"Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the
young child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for
those who sought the young child's life are dead." Then he
arose, took the young child and his mother, and came into the
land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning
over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.
And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the
region of Galilee."
Joseph being told by God to return to Israel, he took
Mary and Jesus and went back to his country. Initially, he
determined to go and settle with his family in Judea. Probably,
he might have planned to dwell again in Bethlehem, the place
where they used to live after the birth of Jesus and from which
they fled to Egypt. However, when he heard that Herod's son
Archelaus was king of Judea, he was afraid to go there, and
being warned by God he decided to go northern to Galilee.
Finally, he settled in Nazareth the city where he and Mary used
to live before they went to Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-5):
Matthew 2:23 (for more about this verse see article "written vs
Spoken" later in this issue.)
"And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be
called a Nazarene"
From all the above, it is evident that after Jesus was
born in Bethlehem, Joseph and his family stayed there till the
visit of the Magi, many months after the birth. They abandoned
Bethlehem almost immediately after the departure of the Magi,
and went to Egypt to avoid the wicked plans of Herod. When
Herod died, they moved back to Israel. Their initial purpose was
to settle in Judea again, but after being warned by God, they
went to Galilee and they finally dwelt in Nazareth.
2. Luke 2:39
As it clear from all the above, Mary, Joseph and Jesus
settled in Nazareth after they first went to Egypt, which
happened when Jesus was not too much less than two years old.
Bearing this in mind, it is now time to have a look at Luke 2:39:
Luke 2:39
"So when they had performed [Greek: "teleo" meaning "finish"
(see ftn.3)] all things according to the law of the Lord, they
returned to Galilee, to their own city Nazareth"
The fact that this verse comes just after the records of
the visit to the Temple (Luke 2:21-38), forty one days after the
birth (see ftn.4) may be confusing for some. The reason is
because if we take what is said in Luke, isolated from what is
said in Matthew, we may conclude that Luke says that Jesus,
Joseph and Mary returned to Nazareth immediately after their
visit to the Temple (forty one days after the birth), while
Matthew says that they returned there after they came back from
Egypt (many months after the birth). However, a conclusion like
this, cannot be right since it violates a very fundamental
principle of Bible study. According to this principle: ***to
arrive at right conclusions, ALL the references about the
same event have to be taken into account.*** Instead
therefore of taking Luke separately from Matthew, we have to
put them TOGETHER. If we do that, we will see that Matthew
2 cannot be but between the visit to the temple (Luke 2:21-38)
and the return to Nazareth (Luke 2:39).
God having given analytically the fulfilment of various
prophecies in Matthew, and having also given analytically the
fulfilment of the necessary legalistic requirements in Luke,
summarises all these accomplishments in Luke 2:39 by telling
us what happened after Joseph, Mary and Jesus fulfilled
everything i.e. "WHEN THEY HAD PERFORMED
[FINISHED] ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF
THE LORD". To "ALL things according to the law of the Lord
(see ftn.5)"are included both the legalistic requirements (Luke
2:21-38) and of course the various prophecies, the fulfilment of
which is given in Matthew (Matthew 2:15, 2:17, 2:23). Luke
2:39 does not tell us what happened immediately after the visit
to the Temple, but what happened after ALL things that the
Word of God said about this stage of Jesus Christ's life were
fulfilled. After ALL these things were fulfilled, Jesus, Joseph
and Mary indeed returned to Nazareth (Luke 2:39, Matthew
2:23)
3. ***Conclusion***
After all the above we are now in a position to give a
summary of the events regarding the birth of Jesus Christ:
1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea (Matthew 2:1).
2. In the night of the birth, he was visited by the shepherds
(Luke 2:8-18). After the birth the family continued to stay in
Bethlehem and they moved to a house.
3. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day from the birth (Luke
2:21).
4. Jesus was presented to the Lord in the Temple, forty one days
after the birth. There, the legalistic requirements for the
purification of Mary were also fulfilled.
5. The Magi came to Jerusalem after "having seen his star in
the east" (Matthew 2:2). In Jerusalem, they met Herod who
enquired accurately of them the time that the star appeared
(Matthew 2:7). From this, he determined the age of the child
which then he used to define the age limit for the children that
he commanded to be killed (Matthew 2:16). Since this age limit
was two years old and under, it can be concluded that when the
Magi visited Jesus, he was no more than two years old, though
not much less than it.
6. God warns Joseph to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13). The
prophecy of Hosea 11:1 is fulfilled.
7. Herod kills all the children in the district of Bethlehem from
two years old and under (Matthew 2:16). The prophecy of
Jeremiah 31:15 is fulfilled.
8. Herod dies, and Joseph returns from Egypt. Joseph, Mary and
Jesus having fulfilled everything that the law of the Lord said
about this period of Jesus' life, returned to Nazareth (Matthew
2:23 and Luke 2:39).
Anastasios Kioulachoglou
***Footnotes***
1. See also: The Journal of Biblical Accuracy, Vol.1, Iss.7, July
1996
2. Otherwise, a different age limit would have been chosen.
3. The verb "teleo" occurs 27 times in the New Testament. From
these the KJV translates it, eight times as "finish", seven as
"fulfil", four as "accomplish" and only one as "perform" (in
Luke 2:39). Its meaning therefore is "finish", "bring to an end"
and not simply "perform".
4. Luke 2:22 tells us that the visit to the Temple happened when
the days of Mary's purification were completed. Since according
to the law (Leviticus 12:1-5), the days of purification for a
woman that gave birth to a boy were forty, we can conclude that
the visit to the Temple happened forty one days after the birth.
5. The phrase "the law of the Lord" does not necessarily mean
the law of Moses only. Apart from the law of Moses, the phrase
"the law" is also used generally, meaning the Scriptures of the
Old Testament. This is indicated by the usage of this phrase in
John 10:34 and 15:25 where the Psalms are called "law" as well
as in I Corinthians 14:21 where Isaiah is also called "law". It is
with this more general meaning that this expression is used in
Luke 2:39.
Unless otherwise stated, all the verses were taken from the
New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible. Verses marked
KJV were taken from the King James Version of the Bible while
verses marked NIV were taken from the New International
Version Any explanatory insertions by the author within a
scripture verse are enclosed in brackets. Finally by LXX is meant
the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament or Septuagint
The Journal of Biblical Accuracy is issued by:
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Tel: 0030-491-31242
E-mail address: J...@compulink.gr
Website: http://www.goldinc.com/Tour/Greece/Publications/JBA/