The Wise Men at the manger

[puddleglum]

Every year around Christmas we see nativity scenes. The details of the scenes differ but all of them show the baby Jesus in a manger with Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Wise Men either standing or kneeling around him. These scenes serve a useful purpose by reminding everyone that Christmas is about Jesus, not Santa Claus. Unfortunately every nativity scene I have ever seen promotes an error. They show the Wise Men being present at the birth of Jesus. In fact they were nowhere near Bethlehem then and didn’t arrive until much later.

Here is Matthew’s description of the birth of Jesus.

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25)

He doesn’t give any details about the birth except to tell us that Mary was still a virgin.

Luke 2:1-20 gives a more detailed description of Jesus’s birth. Joseph and Mary were forced to go to Bethlehem because of a decree by Caesar and Jesus was born there and placed in a manger. An angel revealed to a group of shepherds that the Messiah had been born and they came to see him.

Matthew 2:1-12 describes the visit of the Wise Men. They came after the birth of Jesus. They might have come as late as two years later and they found Joseph and Mary living in a house. Jesus was certainly not lying in a manger when they saw him. Luke doesn’t mention the Wise Men.

Yet in spite of the fact that the Wise Men couldn’t possible have been present they are included in every nativity scene I have ever seen. Even Christians who know they weren’t there include them because they consider it a harmless custom. They don’t realize that misrepresenting what the Bible says is never harmless.

If the Wise Men came to Jesus while he was in the manger there is a contradiction in the Bible’s accounts of what happened next. Here is what Matthew says happened after the Wise Men left.

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:13-15)

Here is what Luke says happened after Jesus was born.

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) (Luke 2:21-23)

A male child had to be presented to the Lord 40 days after his birth. The instructions on how to do this are found in Leviticus 12 .

I have read statements on the internet by unbelievers who cite these passages to prove that the Bible contradicts itself. When we show the Wise Men being present at the birth of Jesus we are encouraging the false belief which leads them to see this as a contradiction. I would like to see Christians presenting biblically accurate nativity scenes in which the Wise Men aren’t present.

 

[GaryPro]

Every year around Christmas we see nativity scenes. The details of the scenes differ but all of them show the baby Jesus in a manger with Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Wise Men either standing or kneeling around him. These scenes serve a useful purpose by reminding everyone that Christmas is about Jesus, not Santa Claus. Unfortunately every nativity scene I have ever seen promotes an error. They show the Wise Men being present at the birth of Jesus. In fact they were nowhere near Bethlehem then and didn’t arrive until much later.

Here is Matthew’s description of the birth of Jesus.



He doesn’t give any details about the birth except to tell us that Mary was still a virgin.

Luke 2:1-20 gives a more detailed description of Jesus’s birth. Joseph and Mary were forced to go to Bethlehem because of a decree by Caesar and Jesus was born there and placed in a manger. An angel revealed to a group of shepherds that the Messiah had been born and they came to see him.

Matthew 2:1-12 describes the visit of the Wise Men. They came after the birth of Jesus. They might have come as late as two years later and they found Joseph and Mary living in a house. Jesus was certainly not lying in a manger when they saw him. Luke doesn’t mention the Wise Men.

Yet in spite of the fact that the Wise Men couldn’t possible have been present they are included in every nativity scene I have ever seen. Even Christians who know they weren’t there include them because they consider it a harmless custom. They don’t realize that misrepresenting what the Bible says is never harmless.

If the Wise Men came to Jesus while he was in the manger there is a contradiction in the Bible’s accounts of what happened next. Here is what Matthew says happened after the Wise Men left.



Here is what Luke says happened after Jesus was born.



A male child had to be presented to the Lord 40 days after his birth. The instructions on how to do this are found in Leviticus 12 .

I have read statements on the internet by unbelievers who cite these passages to prove that the Bible contradicts itself. When we show the Wise Men being present at the birth of Jesus we are encouraging the false belief which leads them to see this as a contradiction. I would like to see Christians presenting biblically accurate nativity scenes in which the Wise Men aren’t present.

Very good point puddleglum. If we as Christians believe that God's word is infallible, we need to make certain that what we share, in whatever form that may be, to be accurate. To do otherwise is to fuel the critics/atheists perspective.

Gary