Your nativity set is Biblically inaccurate if you have three wisemen staring at Jesus in a manger. If you want to know why, it’s a long read, but here it is, a chronology of the earthly events of Jesus’ birth.
Many people are familiar with the Christmas story. The details are found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. The story of Jesus’ birth is not found in Mark’s gospel nor are the earthly details of Jesus’ birth found in John’s gospel.
Starting with the first event: The angel Gabriel visited Mary and tells her that she will conceive and give birth to a son and name Him Jesus. Mary questions this proclamation since she is a virgin. Gabriel assures her that God can do anything and she will conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Once she was pregnant, her fiance, Joseph, learned of her pregnancy and decided to divorce her quietly so as not to humiliate her. In those days an engagement, referred to as a betrothal, was more formal than in our contemporary society. A betrothal required a divorce even though the marriage had not been consummated. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. This would be a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah that a sign of the coming Messiah would be that a virgin would conceive. Joseph was probably familiar with this prophecy but had no idea he would be part of the story. So, Joseph changed his mind about divorcing Mary. (Good call, Joe. Just saying.)
Sometime after that Caesar Augustus decreed a census and all men—heads of households—had to return to their hometowns with their families and register for the census. Joseph took Mary and went to Bethlehem Ephrathah, a small town about a three hour walk from the Temple in Jerusalem. Keep in mind, Joseph and Mary were not coming from Jerusalem but from Nazareth. This would take about thirty hours of walking to Bethlehem and that’s not taking into account a pregnant woman in her third trimester.
Once they arrived in Bethlehem Mary gave birth to Jesus. Because of the census there were no rooms available so Joseph and Mary ended up in a stable and Jesus’ first cradle was a manger, a feeding trough for animals.
Meanwhile, some local shepherds were watching over their flocks when an angel of the Lord appeared to them and told them about the birth of Jesus. They left the fields and went to the manger where Jesus was born, proclaimed the message they received from the angel, and then returned to their flocks.
Eight days later Jesus was circumcised as required by Jewish law. Once the period of purification passed—forty days following the birth of a boy—Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple to present Him to the Lord. Here they met Simeon, a righteous man who was promised that he would see Messiah before he died. When Simeon saw Jesus he took Him in his arms and praised God for the fulfillment of God's promise to him and His greater promise to Israel and all mankind. There was also a widow and prophetess, Anna, and she spoke about Jesus to all who were waiting for Israel’s Messiah.
What about the Magi, Wiseman from the east? After all, I did say if you have them staring at Jesus in your nativity set then your set is Biblically inaccurate. They are part of the story but there’s a little confusion about the timing of their visit. Some say the trip may have taken up to two years from the time of Jesus’ birth until they met Joseph, Mary and Jesus and presented them with the three gifts. Tradition and nativity sets have them in the stable staring at Jesus in the manger. Scripture tells us they found Joseph, Mary and Jesus in a house.
When they arrived in Israel, the Magi first encountered Herod in Jerusalem while they were looking for Jesus. Herod summoned the chief priests and the scribes and asked where Messiah was prophesied to be born. Bethlehem Eprathah, a few hours away, was the answer.
Herod asked the Magi when they first saw the star that started them on their journey. The answer to Herod’s question is found later in the narrative, two years before their arrival. Herod then sent the Magi to Bethlehem and told them to return to Jerusalem to tell him where the child was so he could go and worship this newborn king. He was lying. The Magi went to Bethlehem and followed the star that reappeared. They found Joseph, Mary and Jesus, in a house, no longer in a stable.
Joseph and Mary were forced to stay in the stable when they first arrived because of the census. Anyone that has ever tried to get last minute lodging in a town where a big event was taking place should understand why this was the case. But, after each man and his family registered for the census they probably returned to where they were when the census was decreed; back to farms and businesses in towns other than Bethlehem. This would have opened up houses and lodges for Joseph, Mary and Jesus to relocate.
After their visit, the Magi were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod so they went to their home country using a different route. When Herod heard he was deceived he ordered the death of all male children two years old and under, the time he learned the Magi first saw the star that started them on their journey to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem.
Before Herod ordered the massacre of all the male children in Bethlehem, Joseph was warned in a dream about Herod’s plan. Joseph took Mary and Jesus and fled to Egypt and did not return until after Herod’s death. When he did return he went back to Galilee.
The one certainty about the timing of the Magi’s visit is that it was not on the night of Jesus’ birth. Jesus was born in stable but the Magi visited Him in a house. It was most likely at least forty days after the birth of Jesus, plenty of time for Joseph and Mary to find better lodging. It could have been two years in keeping with the timing of when the Magi first saw the star and when they arrived in Jerusalem and met with Herod. I think this unlikely since after Jesus was presented in the Temple by Joseph and Mary, the scripture says, “When they completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. [Jesus] grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on Him.” (Luke 2:39 HCSB) That seems more immediate to me than two years.
Herod had no way to know if Jesus was born two years before the Magi arrived in keeping with the timing of when they first saw the star. Nor could he know if Jesus was born two days, two weeks, or two months before the arrival of the Magi. Since he could not know he ordered the slaughter of all two year old males just to be thorough and make sure he did not miss the threat to his rule as self-proclaimed king of the Jews.
To sum up:
- Mary learned she was pregnant.
- Joseph was going to divorce her but changed his mind after an angel told him the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
- Caesar issued a decree that everyone register for a census.
- Joseph took a very pregnant Mary to Bethlehem. There were no rooms because of the census so Joseph and Mary stayed in a stable and Jesus was born there.
- The shepherds were visited by an angel and told of the birth of Jesus and went to see Him before returning to their flocks.
- Jesus is circumcised after eight days and then presented in the Temple after forty days and dedicated to the Lord in accordance with Jewish law.
- Upon seeing Jesus, Simeon and Anna prophecy about the birth of Messiah.
- Magi meet with Herod while looking for this newborn King. They proceed to Bethlehem after Herod consulted with experts in the law. They do not report the location of the child to Herod.
- Joseph is warned in a dream to flee since Herod seeks to kill the child. He leaves for Egypt.
- Herod learns he was deceived and orders the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem and his order is carried out.
- Herod dies and Joseph, Mary and Jesus return to Israel and settle in Galilee where Jesus is raised.
So now you can remove the three wisemen from your nativity set. Or not. They look nice and they represent a critical part of the story. Besides, Christmas decorations should not be the basis of what you believe or why you believe it. That’s why you have God’s written word.
