In Nazareth, the angel Gabriel told Joseph to take Mary as his wife, for that which was conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost. Ultimately through his death and resurrection, Jesus inaugurated a new Israel composed of those people from every nation who put their faith and trust in him. God has a reason for everything that He does, even when it is not readily apparent. 4, some estimating up to bc. Published I hope youve found what you were looking for. Dr. Christopher R. Smith, shares his reflections about the Scriptures and answers questions from users of the guides and from others who want to find out more about the Bible. A reader has asked this follow-up question: Which angel told the parents of Jesus to go to Egypt?. I think Joseph and Mary may have sought out friends-of-friends or extended relatives there. When Jesus was still an infant, King Herod of Judea ordered him to kill all "firstborns.". Scripture tells of Joseph returning to Nazareth, avoiding any further residence in Judea. Most people familiar with the few details given in Scripture about the early life of Jesus are aware of the fact that following the visit from the wise men, Matthew indicates that Joseph and Mary took Jesus and fled to Egypt at the command of God (Matthew 2:13-14). But such an omission is in no way proof of dishonestyanymore than if, at the funeral of a 90-year-old man, someone gives a synopsis of his life, and omits the two years he spent in Warner, Oklahoma in junior college. Herod the King was known as Herod the Great, and was made King by the Romans in the year 43 BC Historians tell us that his death occurred approximately 4 BC According to Matthew Henrys commentary on the book of Matthew, page 10, Christ was born in the 35th year of Herod the Greats reign. I would be afraid to lie on Jesus and his family. Rally I agreed Woman with 12 stars round her head Alan Peters opinion 12 Stars indicaes around Mother Marys Head is true as per the old testment Abraham grand Son JOCOB having 12 Sons, at time of critical stage they went to Egypt for morethan 400 years and 12 generations brought from egypt to Jerusalem 12 generations under leadership of Moses. revealed to him after He was resurrected and gone to Heaven. The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13-23) and in New Testament apocrypha.Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the infant Jesus since King Herod would seek the child to kill him. The Church of St Sergius in Cairo stands where . Interesting. The nativity stories are generally accepted as myths and the arguments for this assertion are excellently presented in this article: http://www.religioustolerance.org/myths-about-jesus-birth.htm. and, ah! how to print iready parent report. You may want to look for further items of interest by using the resources below: the search bar; the lists of posts; and the list of categories. His Understanding the Books of the Bible study guide series is keyed to this format. Firstly, thank you for your work and this excellent hypothesis. What I understand before, a few days after Mary delivered our Lord Jesus, the wise men came and then a few days later they escaped to Egypt. Jess was in Egypt for 1,260 days rev.12:4-5-6. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. One takeaway from this investigation is the realization that King Herod the Great, who had been on the throne for 33 years, died a short time after slaying the children of Bethlehem. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men (Matthew 2:16). When the Israelites fled Egypt, after over four hundred years of slavery, they spent forty years wandering in the wilderness before they entered the Promised Land. 2:19-23 says that Joseph Mary and Jesus returned from Egypt around that same time. The whole area has become a place of pilgrimage for Egyptians and Christians from around the globe. A reader has submitted this comment through the Ask a Question page on this blog: This has been a very good and interesting discussion, and the information you provided is informative, helpful, and much appreciated. Please put more melaine in the skin of Mary and Joseph and Jesus! It was true that Herod died within a relatively short time, but his son still took over. Why did Jesus hide in Egypt? The writer cited Luke and Mathew as a reference. Matt. That is, he gave it a fuller and deeper meaning in light of the significance of his own life. Perhaps I have misinterpreted your explanation, can you please clarify? They remained in Egypt, probably for several years . His wife Samantha maintains this site as well as their missionary outreaches. When Christ was born, it was the time, literally, in history that Egypt had fallen fully from its glory, as God said would happen. This would have taken place at least 41 days after the birth (Lev.12:3-4) and explains why they stayed in Bethlehem after Jesus was born. How can believers in Jesus do even greater things than hedid? December 25, 2022. God bless. Should a man desire to learn of them, let him ask for understanding. Although, I personally believe that the REAL reason for the use of BCE/CE is for progressives to be able to avoid reference to Christ, Christianity, and Christ as Lord. Joseph, acting with complete docility, rose up, took the Child and his Mother by night, and fled into Egypt (Mt 2:14). However, in Luke's Gospel, Joseph, Jesus and Mary did not go the Egypt. According to this text, which Notovitch had translated into French, Jesus had spent his missing years the years between his childhood and the beginning of his ministry studying Buddhism in India. It was the Pharisees traditions that forbade him from doing it. At this site the Church of Abi Serja, within the walls of the Fortress of Babylon, was built years later. Taught by tradition as set forth by God. The story of Jesus and his parents fleeing from Bethlehem to Egypt is one of the biblical passages that is often seen as supporting immigration policies that deregulate national borders. Alfred Plummer, in his exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew, notes that, We know neither how old the child Christ was when He was taken into Egypt nor how long he remained there. this Savior whom we kneel beside. Of course you are free to hold the view if you wish, but it should be acknowledged that it is not the consensus view. Since Luke mentions nothing about Egypt, and Matthew says nothing about a trip to Nazareth soon after Jesus birth, allegedly either Matthew or Luke is mistaken. They reached Egypt after a 65 kilometers journey where they lived for three years until after the death of Herod in 4 B.C. 16-18. by the wise men, gives orders that all the children in Bethlehem of two years and under be slain. Much of this artwork was created BEFORE the sixth century. Jesus' childhood . (We have no real idea of where Jesus lived in Egypt for all that.) Our traditional crche or manger scenes are wrong about this; the shepherds came there, but the Magi didnt. He didn't want another "King" to interfere with his kingdom. In other words, only those who believe they are forgiven and ask God for forgiveness, can be forgiven. He was literally under the same peril as Moses, death as a child from a crazy ruler. October 23, 2011. There is a spring near the . 2:13-18 Joseph is warned by an angel in a dream to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape King Herod's wrath (see 3 on Map 4). It is indeed blessed by the Holy Spirit because it makes us praise His glorious name always in the knowledge that we learned from your site. According to Matthew, after Herod killed John the Baptist, When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Its unlikely that this solitary place was Egypt because: (1) Jesus wouldnt have gone there by boat, but rather on foot; by boat suggests across the Sea of Galilee, as the context in Matthew confirms (when they went back to the other side, they landed at Gennesaret, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, and (2) a solitary place suggests an unsettled place like the far shore of the Sea of Galilee, not a major civilization such as Egypt. Why were some books removed from the Bible and is it a sin to read them? Actually, when something in the life of Jesus recapitulates the history of Israel, the gospel writers usually give the specifics. and 4 B.C, as if the census helps us date the birth of Christ. The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1323) and in New Testament apocrypha. The purpose behind understanding this ties it to the seven Feasts. 2- Joseph was still alive when Jesus was 12 . Tormented by a demon and on the run from a Roman centurion, a 7-year-old Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph, flee Egypt for Nazareth. Beautiful, brought tears to my eyes. with skin of yellow hue. You can also download them to your computer, phone, or tablet. Color of skin means nothing, only that God loves wondrous variety, and every person is unique, and His mercies will never end for those who believe. It isnt that people want Jesus to be white. The starting point for the journey that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus took down to Egypt is shortly after the end of the wise mens visit with them, before Herod realized, after a few days or a couple of weeks, that they werent coming back to his court as they had promised. Thank you! Matthew 11:14. In fact, if there hadnt been a Roman census in 6 B.C., wed have even less idea of when Jesus was born. Egyptian Christians date their first bishop to the days of Mark the Evangelist.. He was being taught while he was in Egypt. Some children see Him bronzed and brown, I thank you for your efforts. As we saw in Session 14, this concept is so rich in meaning that it needs to be seen from more than one perspective to be fully appreciated. I suppose in some cases there could be an agenda thats hostile to Christianity behind the use of BCE/CE. Including photos each week from our outreaches and the weekly review. "Herod is looking for your child and wants to kill him.". I say in this post that Jesus parents took him to Egypt no more than two years after Jesus was born. So he was no more than two years old, and as I suggest in the post, the family was there no more than two years, and perhaps as little as a few weeks or months, so they would have returned by the time he was four. Jesus could have arrived on earth, in the same way we arrived on the moon, or by such other, far more advanced forms of travel which must exist on one of Gods many mansions which Jesus himself has told us exist in His Kingdom. Everyone CAN be forgiven if they choose to follow Jesus Christ. Otherwise, the family probably would have gone back to Nazareth. If Jesus family were in Egypt for much less than a year, why then does it say in the Revelation Prophecy of the Woman with 12 stars round her head, generally interpreted (incorrectly I believe) as Mary giving birth to Jesus, that she was transported to a place prepared for her for 1260 days, which equates to nearly 3 and a half years? some children see Him almond-eyed, They stay until Herod dies. Is it documented that the holy family blended in with the Egyptians? 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 (Matthew 2:23). If you look at the native Palestinians who have been there for much longer you see they have a dusky brown skin tone and dark hair. Speculative, but intriguing. We have a better idea of when the sojourn in Egypt ended. how old was jesus when they fled to egypt. And that reminds us in this season when we are anticipating the Feast of the Incarnation (Christmas) that he truly did come to earthas you say, to save us. The Nativity and the Flight into Egypt took place in the last years before the death of Herod the Great which is known to have taken place in late March or early April, 4BC. The best chronologers have supposed that Herod died somewhere between two and four years after the birth of Christ, but the particular time cannot now be determined; nor can it be ascertained at what age Jesus was taken into Egypt. Starring: Adam Greaves-Neal, Sara Lazzaro, Vincent Walsh. And under the beliefs that Christ as a child and his holy family lived there for years and not months. The date of birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical reference, but most theologians assume a year of birth between 6 and 4 BC. in accordance with the Law of Moses, Jesus was circumcised. Would He make an exception now? As the apostle John proclaimed, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (20:30-31, emp. But by the time Jesus begins his public ministry . The Gospels were written after Jesus time and by people who never met Jesus. Good Question, How old was Jesus when his parents brought him back from Egypt? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. All he had to do was to explain to us that we needed to repent and apologise for our sins, otherwise we would be killed. Three days later, realizing he is missing, they return and discover him in the Temple courtyard, where . Why was only Miriam punished with leprosy when she and Aaron rebelled against Moses? Given all this, its most likely that the Magi arrived sometime shortly after Marys purification. Could it be that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth (Luke 2:39) before going to Egypt, and then after traveling to and from Egypt they returned to Nazareth again (Matthew 2:23)? Joseph is between 39 and 56 years old. He is predicted to return in the End Times and there is no suggestion in the scriptures that he is going to do so by being born of a woman then, so why should it have been any different when he came originally? My brother-in-law recently had his DNA profiled. Sometimes people now use the terms BCE (before the common era) and CE (common era) to avoid precisely the confusion youre pointing out. Today, the University has over 11,400 students on campus with 39,000 in the Distance Learning Program (now Liberty University Online), and he is the Dean of the School of Religion.Dr. Herod died in 4 B.C. The Holy Family fleed to Egypt and they stayed in a cave. It is that he most likely WAS white based on the fact that he was an Israeli and most Israelis are white. Unavailable on an ad-supported plan due to licensing restrictions. You are assuming that the prophecy of the Woman with 12 stars relates to Mary giving birth to Jesus but this cannot be the case. And of course, we have four gospels which all more or less agree the details of his ministry for the last 3+ years of his life. We have been to the moon and will, in due course, set foot on other planets as physical humans, without the necessity of being born there. Egypt had been the traditional place of refuge for Jews both in biblical times (see 1 Kgs 11:40; Jer 26:21) and in the Maccabean era when the high priest Onias IV fled there [emphasis mine]. They made it into cakes, boiled it, and ground it into flour. come worship now the infant King. The 1951 language might be considered a bit politically incorrect today, but look past that to the sense of the words: Some children see Him lily white, Perhaps you were brought here by a search engine or by a link to one of the posts. (Even though A.D. dating is supposed to begin with the birth of Christ, it wasnt quite calculated correctly in the first place and so it actually begins a little way into his lifetime.). . Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the infant Jesus since King Herod would seek the child to kill him. To be exact, he said I am the son of man, rather indicating that His Father was also a man! Thank you for your reply and clear explanation, Christopher. In this blog, the author of the Understanding the Books of the Bible study guide series, the Rev. Jesus name in Hebrew was Yeshua which translates to English as Joshua. Answer (1 of 20): I read the other two answers and they are fairly close in their answers. It would be a shame for children to lose the magic of Christmas Nativity but sooner or later they have to learn the reality of Santa Claus. nubians are black real egyptians are black then why jews did not recognize their white brother in a group of blacks lol, they called joseph egyptian, Please see my comments in this post: Did Joseph and Mary take Jesus to Egypt because they could blend in there? He took his family and fled to Egypt to fulfill the prophecy found in Hosea 11:1 that God's beloved Son would be called out of Egypt. Revelations 12:5 She gave birth to a male child [Jesus], one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child[Jesus] was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman [Mary] fled into the wilderness [Egypt], where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. If it was to die so that our sins should be forgiven, why is there still going to be a Judgement Day, when those found wanting will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone? 2021 Calvary Chapel Augusta - WordPress Theme : by, How old was jesus when he returned from egypt, Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost, What happened after jesus rose on the third day, What was jesus wrapped in when he was born, Why did jesus go to the desert for 40 days, Why is jesus called the lion of the tribe of judah. Joseph and Mary leave town without the 12-year-old Jesus, thinking him to be in another part of their caravan. 1260 days is EXACTLY 3.5 years using the Jewish calendar of 360 days per year. Jesus, the Chief Shepherd of our souls, fasted 40 days and 40 nights before beginning his ministry. Towns has given theological lectures and taught intensive seminars at over 50 theological seminaries in America and abroad. It says simply that an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him that the family needed to flee to Egypt because Jesus life was in danger from King Herod. We dont always see immediately what feels like fitting retribution for atrocities like this one that he committed, but in this case it seems that the perpetrator very quickly joined his victims in death and had to answer for his crimes. Why is it that people west of the Atlantic pay no heed to the Egyptian Christians account of our Lords sojourn of THREE YEARS AND A HALF in Egypt to which He was taken when two years of age, and thereby see that contrary to all Western Christians theories He had to have been born in 9 B.C? Post author: Post published: February 17, 2022; Post category: miami university facilities management; Post comments: . Wells, Steve (2011), Skeptics Annotated Bible, http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/egypt.html. Most scholarship places the date of Herod's death around 4 BCE. Cleopatra, (Greek: "Famous in Her Father") in full Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator ("Cleopatra the Father-Loving Goddess"), (born 70/69 bcedied August 30 bce, Alexandria), Egyptian queen, famous in history and drama as the lover of Julius Caesar and later as the wife of Mark Antony. like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace, How old was Jesus when his dad died? This view strikes me as being very close to the so-called Docetic idea, held by some in the early centuries of the Christian era, that Jesus was not really human (as he would have to have been born of a woman to be), but only appeared human. Some children see Him dark as they, So depending on when Jesus was born, the journey to Egypt lasted no more than two years, and perhaps as little as a few weeks or months. It was for justice. Behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:20, notes).The present tense () is here more vivid.Saying, Arise (ver. Beyond this, no one knew while Jesus was growing up that his life would turn out to be the most important thing that ever happened on earth. The Holy Family fled into Egypt, a land of the Gentiles, on February 17, 1 A.D. Oral traditions were the norm. Upon learning that Herod Archelaus had succeeded his father in Judea, they continued on to Galilee. Matthew 2King James Version. and 4 B.C. How long did he stay in Egypt this second time? The story of Gods faithfulness to my late wife and me during the 4 1/2 years when she battled ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease) with unfailing faith, joy, and courage. And see that the holy family spent close to seven years. Post author: Post published: February 17, 2022 Post category: sergei fedorov anna kournikova married Post comments: four characteristics of operations management four characteristics of operations management The Romano-Jewish historian Josephus . The idea that the Lord might have been up to 2 years old when the Magi visited comes from the fact that Herod had all the male babies under 2 years of age in Bethlehem killed in an effort to kill Jesus. In Jerusalem, at least 40 days after His birth, Jesus was dedicated at the . Joseph was told to take them to Egypt so that they would blend in. Herod died 4 BC, five days after he had put his son, Antipeter, to death and a little before the Passover. (LogOut/ I dont know that the Revelation account in ch 12 is necessarily an account of Jesus time in Egypt-that would mean Revelation, or the Apocalypse, had already happened, but could be. It say in the bible that his hair was like wool and his feet was the color brase. . from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Th.M. Thank you! It is also believed that Joseph, the carpenter, might have worked at the Babylon Fortress nearby. Its thought by Christian denominations and Muslims that Our Lady was trying to help peace outlook by appearing in the traditional town thought to have been the Familys refuge. Christopher, loved the poem. for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. If Jesus had arrived with great fanfare as the heir to the Roman imperial throne, wed know the facts of his early life a lot better. . Receiving rich presents from mysterious eastern magi at Bethlehem after Jesus' birth, he then fled to Egypt to avoid the wrath . All my bibles says 1,260 days so l thought that was = to 4.59 years call it 4.6 if you will. sweet Marys Son to whom we pray. Heres an interesting and related issue. We believe in the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord not because it is documented, but because of our faith. Coptic Christians believe the Holy familyJesus, Mary and Josephrested here in Wadi Natrun more than 2,000 years ago as they fled the persecution of King Herod shortly after Jesus was born . When he is eight days old, Jesus is circumcised as is traditional for Jewish boys. Jesus was a refugee in Egypt and this is the cave where he stayed with Mary and Joseph. He is the author of all the teachings here, and all materials are available free of charge! Matthews gospel, which tells us about the Magi, also specifies that they followed the star from Jerusalem to the place where the child was, and that they went into a house to see him. In addition, Paul, who was indeed literate and the one who taught the world to be Christian, didnt live through Jesus time on earth, he interpreted what Jesus himself (the Holy Spirit?) There are many monestarys and very old churches,were monks,priests and even nuns live a very dedicated lives to serve our lord. (Clicking on a category will display all of the posts it, in a continuous scroll with the most recent at the top.). Because there is good reason to suppose that Jesus saw them as a child. There were two main roads to Egypt. They remained there until the death of Herod. This is only a guess, but there was a thriving Jewish community in Alexandria. Jesus could just as easily, and far more logically, have arrived as a fully-grown adult on the day he presented himself to John for Baptism. Herod, so soon as he finds himself mocked Matt. Jews originally were a brown people, you cant have zero melanin in a hot climate or desert climatic zones, would give you skin cancer. Answer (1 of 6): Right after Jesus was born, Saint Joseph took baby Jesus and his Mother Mary to Egypt! It was Herod's attempt to destroy this new king by killing all of the boys in Bethlehem who were two years old or younger that led . He has written over 2,000 reference and/or popular articles and received six honorary doctoral degrees. If we as Christians are full of bitterness, we are the same as the pagan. Not that there would be anything wrong with that but you wouldnt be lying on Jesus if you depicted Him as he probably waslight skinned. As it was halfway through the lunar month, the night sky was lit by a full moon. Did Adam lie before sin entered theworld? This is not including the mixed multitude that came out with them (Exodus 12:38) or the flocks and herds that they also brought out. They lived in Egypt about 3 1/2 years. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Later that night, Joseph had a frightening dream where an angel of God appeared to him.