Did the Magi Visit Jesus in Bethlehem or Nazareth?

Why are people so split on this?

After 40 days after His birth, Mary and Joseph took Jesus from Bethlehem to the Temple in Jerusalem for purification, then Luke 2 says they then returned to Nazareth. Yet many people say the Magi went to Bethlehem because they were instructed by Herod that that's where they would find Him, but the Scriptures do not say they went there, it says a Star led them to where the child was, and I believe it led them away from Herod's directions and northward to Nazareth.

I believe Jesus was between 1-2 years old at this time

When the Magi meet king Herod they asked where the young child is. The words "young child" is important here. The Greek word is "paidion" (a young child), not the word "brephos" which Luke uses in Chapter 2 to describe Jesus as an infant.

What do you think?

I don't think that Joseph and Mary would have stayed in Bethlehem for two years. It makes more sense to me that they were in Bethlehem for Jesus' birth and were visited there by both the shepherds and the magi, went to the temple in Jerusalem on the eighth day for Jesus' presentation, and then returned to Bethlehem because it is less than ten miles from Jerusalem, while Nazareth is many days' travel to the North.

At some point in the following few days, Joseph was warned in the dream and took his family to Egypt, which Luke doesn't mention at all. Matthew records that some time after that, they returned to Judea, but, avoiding Jerusalem, they headed to Nazareth (Mt. 2:22-23) from which Joseph had come (Luke 2:4).

Herod knew when the star appeared (Mt. 2:7) which resulted in his order to kill boys up to two years old. While it is not stated as such, it is possible that the magi first saw the star almost two years prior to Jesus' birth. It's an inference that makes sense of the order of events. The text also doesn't state the actual origin of the magi; it could have been Babylon, Persia, or even India, and a journey of many months would not have been impossible.

Luke's statement that "they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth" (2:39) is not incorrect per se but it does leave out a chunk of the story.

Hello Radius!

Actually, scripture does say that Jesus was born in Bethlehem:

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"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity." - Micah 5:2

And

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire. This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child.

While they were there (In Bethlehem), the time came for her Child to be born. And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. - Luke 2:1-7
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The Magi visited Jesus on the same night that He was born in Bethlehem. It wasn't until two years later that Herod realized that they had tricked him, which is why he had all of the boys 2 years and under killed.

My understanding is that the Magi arrived in BETHLEHEM, but some time after the birth of our Lord Jesus. They did not visit a stable, but a "house". The tax census was over and people had returned to their source of income before the tax census, leaving houses free to rent. But much more telling is that Herod slew the children of Bethlehem, but our Lord Jesus had been removed to Egypt. Herod died but his son was unpredictable, so God, in a vision, sends Joseph to Nazareth AFTER Egypt.

Luke's account seems at first to be contradictory, but it is not. Although Mary was unclean first for a week, and then was purified for 33 days, Leviticus 12 does not set the time WITHIN WHICH her purification at the Temple must be accomplished. We might like to think that it was immediate, but with all that was going on, it could very well be that she only accomplished her purification after her sojourn in Egypt. But if that sound too way out, then we have another indication. Luke uses two different words for our Lord Jesus, one for his time in the manger, which is rendered "babe" and another for when He was in the Temple, which is rendered "child" - showing that the events of Luke were later.

It is calculated that our Lord was born in 4 BC. Herod died that same year. So the events of Matthew and Luke could easily fit into a 1 year period. While there are two distinct views and reports about the first year(s) of our Lord's life, there actually isn't a contradiction.

There is nothing about Magi arriving two years after Jesus was born. They saw the star which meant Jesus was born and came to worship him. There is no reason to believe it took two years to travel there.

Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Mat 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Mat 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
Mat 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
Mat 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Mat 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Mat 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Mat 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Herod killed children ages 2 and under but he didn't know when Christ was born. The fact that he wanted newborns killed also shows he thought Christ was possibly newborn but made sure just in case to kill up to 2 years old. So that is children 1 day old on up to 2 years. If it took the magi two years to travel from the birth to arriving then Herod would not have needed to kill children under the age of 1 or 1 and a half since they would have been born after Christ was born.

The Lord means us to learn something when it is pointed out to us that his chosen people did not know the king was born, but strangers from a foreign land, ones who did not know the one true God, knew the king was born.

I think what we are to learn from this is that Christ came, not as the Messiah of the Jews only, but Christ came for the entire world, and Christ would change all the world. It puts an end to those who preach "Israel only".

It only says they came from East of Jerusalem which could have been ten minutes east of Jerusalem. They also knew the Jewish scriptures and prophecy about where Messiah would be born so clearly these men were Jews that studied Torah and prophets, that lived east of Jerusalem and were traveling to Bethlehem. Non-Jewish strangers from a foreign land does not fit the description of them.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Interestng.

But there were no magi in the Jewish race at that time, they did not believe in following the stars as a guide to living. Also, scripture tells us they came from far away lands.

Act 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

Here is mention of a Jewish Magi and this isn't that long after Christ's birth so there were Jewish Magi/wisemen. The fact that they knew Torah prophecy also indicates they were Jewish.



The bible doesn't tell us that. It only says they came from east of Jerusalem.

That is incorrect. Firstly Nazareth is about 100 kilometers from Bethlehem. Secondly, just because Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had found a house after His birth does not mean that they were not in Bethlehem when the magi visited them. Thirdly, it is only AFTER the wise men did not return to Jerusalem and tell Herod where the Christ-child was that Herod was angry, and ordered the slaughter of the children in Bethlehem.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. (Mt 2:9)

There is nothing in the verse to even hint that they changed direction and traveled north instead of south of Jerusalem.

Then answer to the opening question is yes.

But there is a huge difference between a magi and a sorcerer. A magi studies the stars and a sorcerer uses magic.

You should learn how to use a concordance etc to look at the original word because word translated sorcerer in Acts is same exact word for "Magi" which is translated as "wise men" in Matthew.

So, there is zero difference between the words magi and sorcerer.


I'll show words with Strongs numbers so you can see they are same word:

Act 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, (magos Strong's number G3097) a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men (magos Strong's number G3097)from the east to Jerusalem,

The magi came from Babylon, remember Daniel was the chief of the group of people who served the king in this way, they would have had all his writings. So they easily would have known.
with all of this Bethlehem star stuff we have been seeing (sadly it has been cloudy here I did not get to see) we have done some research. And nasa has a program that can trace the night sky. They have found that in 4 ad I believe it was there was a three planet produced star which would have been brighter than what we have seen the last two nights. Prety amazing how science keeps proving the Bible correct as a historical document,

as for the question, I never though of it before will have to give it some thought

Why would it take 2 years before Herod figures out that these guys who had only gone a half days journey away weren't coming back to his palace?

The fact is that they obviously did not know the Torah.
If they had, they would not have gone to Herod and asked where the Messiah would be born. They wouldn't need the scribes to look it up and inform them.

iirc magi simply means 'wise men'
We infer that they studied the sky because they saw His star.

I have no idea. I just know that according to scripture, that Herod realized that he had been deceived and since two years had gone by, he had all of the male children 2 years and under killed, hoping to get Jesus somewhere in the mix.

"When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi."

Wouldn't it make more sense that it had been a year and a half or more between the appearance of the star and the arrival of the wise men?