Advent: Jesus’ Childhood & Other Adventures

Jesus’ childhood is not necessarily what we’d expect.

It’s not really part of Advent, but we have so little information about his growing up years, we might as well put it in here!

The Bible provides a few peeks into Jesus’ boyhood, though his life has been embroidered by many in the 2000 years since his birth.

We have information about his dedication, and a reference to the family returning to Nazareth. 

We know about the wise men visiting the family in Bethlehem , the family’s flight to Egypt, and return to settle in Nazareth for good.

So, was Jesus’ childhood spent in Nazareth or Bethlehem?

Luke 2:39-40 explains events about Jesus’ childhood after the Jerusalem temple dedication:

“So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.  And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

Traditionally, Luke is believed to have gotten the story of Jesus’ birth from his mother, Mary, who was still alive when Jesus was crucified.

Luke wrote an orderly account, aimed at Gentiles, and so his story focused on the basic facts.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth after being born in Bethlehem.

Except for the interlude in Egypt.

The gospel of Matthew interjects another story into Jesus’ childhood: the visit of the magi and a subsequent hurried trip to Egypt.

The text says the wise men visited the baby and his parents in a house in Bethlehem. The magi presented their expensive gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They then departed after worshiping the new born king.

That night, according to Matthew 2: 13-15,  Joseph had another dream:

^” Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt. Stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt. [They were} there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

What do you make of this?

Did Joseph and Mary take their child to Nazareth after his dedication?

Or did they stay in Bethlehem to meet the wise men?

Back to Nazareth?

Perhaps Joseph saw better opportunities to support his family in Bethlehem. Maybe Mary wanted to be closer to Elizabeth. Perhaps the couple both thought the son of God should be raised in close proximity to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

On the other hand, no one really knows what Mary’s Nazareth family knew. Perhaps staying away for a few years would keep questions at bay about Jesus’ father?

They probably lived in Bethlehem under two years. That can be conjectured by what happened when the wise men did not return to Herod:

^“Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry. He sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.” 

Herod in tended his  “Slaughter of the Innocents” to kill the baby Jesus.

He had not anticipated God would intervene, apparently the very night the wise men left Bethlehem.

Egypt

Many believe Joseph used the magi’s gifts to pay for their flight to Egypt.

(And why not? We worship an orderly and efficient God.)

It’s not clear how long the family lived in Egypt.

I’ve always liked the song “My Deliverer,”  by Rich Mullins depicting what Jesus’ time there might have been like:

Joseph took his wife and her child
And they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly King
There along the banks of the Nile
Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing
They were singin’

My deliverer is comin’, my deliverer is standin’ by

Don’t you love the image of the child Jesus listening to people plead for their redemption?

Safe now?

When Herod died, circa AD 6, Joseph decided it was safe to return to Israel with his family:

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

“Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”

Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.

And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. ²³ 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.”

Joseph and Mary knew following God’s directions brought blessings.

They obeyed Joseph’s dream and returned to spend Jesus’ childhood in Nazareth. They journeyed to Jerusalem, still down that road, every year at Passover–as befits a devout Jewish family.

Why the confusion between the two gospel accounts?

Richard Bruce  explains:

“The key point is that Luke is writing to a Roman official and Matthew is writing to Christians who were formerly Jews. In other words, Luke is writing to the oppressor and Matthew is writing to the oppressed. Luke has carefully left out those things that would upset the Roman official, Theophilus, or any other Roman official. Matthew  similarly left out those things that would upset Jewish Christians.”

The Scriptures are limited to what God wanted people to know about Jesus’ childhood. The only other glimpse we have of his childhood is the story in the temple.

At the age of 12, Jesus already was concerned with “being about my father’s business.” He knew the Torah well and confounded the learned religious leaders in Jerusalem with his insight.

What else would you expect from the son of God?

Tweetables

Did Jesus grow up in Nazareth or Bethlehem? Click to Tweet

How/why do the gospel accounts conflict about Jesus’ babyhood? Click to Tweet

Jesus’ childhood in Egypt? Really? Click to Tweet