read matt chap 2 :11 and 2:16 before answering
2006-12-06 15:41:05 · 15 answers · asked by gary d 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!
2006-12-06 16:01:12 · update #1
FINALLY....someone who actually reads and studies the bible! Yes it does say that Jesus was a young child living in a house with his mother. I have often wondered also why people think God would send wise men, led by a star, who are astrologers, a practice which God condemns in the bible. God did not send these astrologers to his son.
2006-12-06 16:45:41 · answer #1 · answered by GraycieLee 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
>Wise men went to a house?
Yes. Probably after the Birth (and the Stable was a fairly secluded site), room was found for them at the "Inn" or in another house. They were considered "kin" there in Beit Lechem anyway.
>Jesus was around 2 years old?
Some think so, allowing time for the Magi to have travelled AFTER the Birth. However, the Star might have appeared timed such that they could travel and arrive within days of the Birth.
Also, King Herod demanded all boys those under two years of age were to be slaughtered. But, of course, he might have been just making sure by saying "TWO years and under". And the term for Jesus does show a change from a new-born to a young child.
>so why is the nativity showing the wise men?
The Magi MIGHT have arrived within only a few days after the Birth, or they might have been a year or more later. HOWEVER, it is part of the Nativity account [the birth, etc.], and so are included in the Nativity or Crèche scenes. A Nativity picture or scene is not intended to provide precise details [like, how many shepherds, etc.]; rather, toremind people of the events.
Many churches do celebrate the visit of the Magi NOT on Christmas but, rather, on Epiphany.
2006-12-06 23:58:44 · answer #2 · answered by kent chatham 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They were in a stable, but for the Hebrews any place in which people live (even temporarily) is called a 'house'.
(an example in Psalms 103:17) - "there the sparrows shall make their nests. The highest of them is the house of the heron".
People in Bethlehem numbered their population, and to make it easier for them, they simply referred to babies as children '2 years and under'. That doesn't mean that Jesus was 2 years old, just that he was referred to in the way that people most often used at that time.
Regarding the 'wise men'....
There were three gifts, it is believed by some historians that each king brought a gift, according to his own traditions. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh offered as gifts were symbolic - the gold signified the tribute they paid to Jesus as their king, the incense, that he was God, and the myrrh (used to embalm dead bodies) recognized that He had also become a mortal man (not mortal in the sense that the perfect Man could die a natural death, but that He would die). The prophets and Psalms foretold that the kings of the earth would pay homage to God at this time (Isaiah 49:23). They would offer him their treasures (Is. 60:5) and adore him (Ps. 72:10-15).
More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi
2006-12-07 00:02:52 · answer #3 · answered by Myst 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Also, Luke Chapter 2 helps some on this. Yes, he was not a babe in a manger when they arrived. The Bible says he was a young child, living in a house. It was probably about 2 yrs later according to Bible scholars.
Interestingly, it never says the men were wise, nor does it say there were three of them. It simply calls them "astrologers".
Lovely as the nativity scene can be portrayed, it has no Scriptural truth to it.
2006-12-06 23:48:28 · answer #4 · answered by greg_airious 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The wise men were astrologers and THe Nativity " Scene"is Man-Made Depiction of how to remember how DIVINE and HOLY and Important JESUS was to God and his People. King Herod Was threatened by Jesus and yet he was only 2! Imagine knowing that someone younger than you is going to be so pwerful and change the world forever!
2006-12-06 23:49:48 · answer #5 · answered by its me 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because people don't want to accept the truth about that or the truth about the origin of the whole Christmas festival.
2006-12-06 23:47:04 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well maybe they just decided not to do it in chronological order. Probably the people who created it wanted the entire nativity in one scene. They wanted Jesus to have as much splendor as was possible.
2006-12-06 23:45:40 · answer #7 · answered by Tialiarhetta 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is also taught that there were only 3 magi..... however this is said no where in the scriptures..... there were 3 gifts..... but it dosnt say how many magi were present.... it was their custom to give gifts when they had audience with a King.... yes they were honoring him as King... but they gave gifts to every King they visited..... and magi were known to travel in huge caravans..... so the idea that there were only 3 men because there were only 3 gifts is a bit presumptious also.
2006-12-06 23:45:26 · answer #8 · answered by PreacherTim63(SFECU) 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
because the world does not go by actual events i think they do it for drama in the movies that where i believe it first started and your right the three wise first saw Jesus when He was three years old,they saw the star when he was first born that when hey started their journey.
2006-12-06 23:44:54 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I know you are correct. I don't know why they show the wise men in the nativity scene. I guess some very uneducated people created it.
2006-12-06 23:43:17 · answer #10 · answered by bashnick 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋