during Jesus' birth...??

Question

who were really there? the shepherds, wise men, or three kings? please explain...

i'm talking about matthew's version vs. luke's

Answer 1

Who was actually there during Jesus's Birth?
It's very simple; the shepherds(Luke 2:11-20). Notice also that Jesus was in a manger. Afterwards you see however; the wise men came to a house; not a manger so Jesus was older(Matt.2:11). Also they walked a long distance to see Jesus; they came first to Herod to see where that he was born at and then they went to Bethlehem(Matt.2:1-2,8-9,12-13).
More details down below:

CHRISTMAS
Christmas isn't Jesus's birthdate; it was the birthday of the sun god. Scripture doesn't mention Jesus's birthdate or any christians celebrating His Birthday. The only birthday mentioned besides Pharoah (Gen.40:20) is the heathen king Herod (Mark 6:21). "Christmas" means "mass of Christ"; the celebration coexisted in Rome before there was any in Jerusalem. The early Roman Church however did establish a pagan festival that (Jer.10) coexisted with Jesus's Birth and that was the birthday of the sun god. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed., article: "Christmas"). The Catholic sources admit that Christmas didn't co-exist with the earliest festivals. Jesus wasn't born Christmas; even scripture makes this evident. "On the night of Jesus's birth, the shepherd's were still keeping watch over their flocks." (Luke 2:8). The rainy season in Ancient Israel began after the Feast of Tabernacles which generally is early October. In November, it would be cool and wet; the flocks from the pasture had already been brought and kept in winter quarters by the shepherds. This tells us the shepherds were no longer in the fields at night. Another peice of evidence is overlooked is in Luke 1:35-36; it tells us John the Baptist was born to Mary's cousin Elizabeth six months before Jesus. And as we look further in verse 5-17, we see Zacharias an elderly priest burning incense on the altar and then an angel appearing to him and telling him that he and his wife would have a son to prepare Christ's Way. We know however when this announcement was made by the angel because of Zacharias was "of the course of Abijah" Please look at 1Chron.24:1-19; it tells us that King David divided these priests into 24 "courses" that served in the temple by rotation. The Course of Abijah would be the 8th of the 24 courses which usually would occur around the end of May. Pentecost came the week after the 8th course served and he had to serve all 24 courses during the three festival seasons. So Zacharias came home approximately after the first week of June; in which John the Baptist was conceived around mid-June and 9 months later would be his birth. John Baptist's birth came around mid-March while Jesus's was around mid-September. Also notice every year people claim 3 wise men seen Jesus in a stable; is this really true? The Bible nowhere states "3 wise men" or "that the wise men visited Jesus in a stable". Read for yourself: (Matt.2:11); these Magi came from the east beyond the Euphrates River which in the 1st century was called the Parthian Empire (the eastern border of the Roman Empire). Several weeks after Jesus's birth, the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, the king's palace searching for Jesus. The "star" in the east led them to take their trip to Judea. After hearing about the timing of the "star's appearance" from the Magi; King Herod ordered the slaughter of all children two years and younger(Matt.2:16). When Jesus was 40 days old: His parents presented him in the temple (Luke 2:22)(Lev.12:2-4). After the Magi came, the family fled to Egypt. {Jesus six weeks old.}

Note: ECCLES.7:1 = "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth."

WHEN WAS JESUS'S BIRTH?
http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/tw/magazine/tw-mag.cgi?category=Magazine33&item=1104261794
http://family.webshots.com/photo/1342393463049373547FazWzQ

Answer 2

Very likely it was just Mary and Joseph. Some legends have angels in attendance. There may have been a midwife, but we have no evidence of that.

The shepherds were out with their flock and only showed up after the choirs of angels announced the birth of Jesus. This is in Luke's gospel.

The Magi/wise men/"kings" (of any number; scripture doesn't say 3 people, only 3 different kinds of gifts) saw the star on the night Jesus was born, but it's not like they just hopped in the car and drove over to see what was going on. Travel was difficult and dangerous and took some planning. The estimates for how long it took the Magi to plan, pack and walk/ride to Bethlehem from Persia range from anywhere between 9 months and 2 years. You'll note that in the Matthew passage that describes the Magi visit, Matthew refers to "the Child," not "the Infant."

For convenience, art and Nativity scenes (creches) tend to ignore any semblance of timeline and have everything happening all at once, but that's just art.

Answer 3

Just Mary and Joseph at the birth. Shepherds came later in the evening. Wise Men (aka the Three Kings) are actually believed to have shown up almost two years later.

Checking accuracy of my statement... standby for edit.


Double checked... The Magi (aka Wise Men, aka Three Kings) showed up some time after the birth, probably several months. No evidence that there were actually three of them, only that the group brought three gifts.

Answer 4

Probably, if Jesus were really born on December 25. In 1992, pictures of the "White Christmas" in Bethlehem were published by news media worldwide, showing 4 feet of snow there. Israel - where it was located in biblical times - is NOT desert, and even deserts at this latitude get snow; it's on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, facing into the prevailing westerly winds, and therefore has a climate very similar to central and northern California. (Northern California is north of San Francisco, not somewhere in Santa Barbara, where geographically impaired people in Hellay think northern California is.) Therefore, the mountainous area where Bethlehem is located gets snow, like the Sierra Nevada. However, it is nearly common knowledge that December 25 was really the date of the Pagan Saturnalia festival, that was renamed Christ Mass by the Catholic Church in the 3rd century. Further, since it is known that shepherds were living out of doors with their flocks when Jesus was born, it was most certainly not Winter. Forget the "wise men" or "magi". By the time they showed up, Herod had to have 2-year-old boys killed, trying to do away with Jesus.

Answer 5

When Jesus was born, the only witnesses were, of course, Mary and her husband Joseph. The other witnesses such as the shepherds and the 3 magi (sometimes called "kings" because of prophecies that kings will pay homage to the Messiah) arrived later.

Answer 6

Just Mary and Joseph. That's it.

The shepards in the fierld were told after the birth by the angels.

The three wise men didn't show up until Jesus was as much as two years old.

Answer 7

During the birth, just Joseph, and maybe a midwife, it does not say a midwife. later in the night, the shepherds. The magi came quite a bit later, I would say Jesus was getting on up in size, but I don't think it tells for sure, Herod assumed he could be up to two years old, that is why he had all the children killed up to two.

Answer 8

The shepherds were there of course but the magi did not come till later , between a few months up to two years. Jesus was a toddler by the time they saw te star and made arraingements to travel and actually get there.

Answer 9

No shepherds..3 Kings came after thet seen the Star of David..just Barn Animals...Joseph....and the Wise men were the 3 Kings......

Answer 10

Mary and joseph and the manger animals were the only ones there during jesus birth the wiseman and shephards came to see him i believe 3 days later.