Matthew 2

Question 1. Why did the wisemen go to Jerusalem looking for Jesus, and why did they go to king Harod.
Question 2. Why does it say they went to where the young child was? I thought Jesus was a baby when all this happened?
Question 3. Verse 11 says when they were come unto the house, they saw the young child with Marry.
Mark does not say anything about the birth of Jesus.
Luke on the other hand talks about the angles and the shepherds but no wise men
Then also in Luke we see Mary, Joseph in Jerusalem 8 days after the birth of Jesus to be circumcised
In John we see nothing about the birth of Jesus.
Question 4. How old was Jesus when the wise men find Him?
Looked on the internet and got from 40 days to 2 years with a best guess of a year.
Question 5. Does it matter in the long run? I would like to know does it make a difference in my salvation Not sure. I do know that the gospels were written by 4 different men, but I also thank that God put in there heart what to right.
What do you all thank, or is this even I should be asking?

What tradition teaches and what is truth varies considerable especially throughout the gospels.

Tradition teaches three wise guys…. because of the three gifts. But they traveled in caravans (not minivans) more likely around 12 or more peeps

The gospels were written from 4 different perspectives (see Below)

Scripture build-up regarding a particular event can be gleaned from each gospel. Some as you noted may have nothing; others may give a portion. By putting together scripture from each you will have what the Bible provides.

As for the birth…..angels and shepherds were the only ones there. The wise guys came less than 2 years later to the home.




The gospels were designed to show the four different aspects of Jesus Christ ministry ….as the prophets of old foretold them in regard to the BRANCH in the OT.

Matthew - as King.

Mark - as Servant.

Luke – as Man.

John – as Son of God.

Below gives the Scripture reference and more details. ….



KING

One quality of the coming BRANCH prophesied by Jeremiah would be that of a King descended from David.

In order for Jesus to be the Messiah He would have to be a descendant of David inherit the right to the throne and come as King to Israel.

Jeremiah

23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

Only in the book of Matthew do you find the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” and it’s used 32 times.

There are 10 parables unique to Matthew which relate to a King. Plus the royal genealogy chap 1, and the phrase son of David occurs more in Matthew than any other gospel.



SERVANT

As the promised BRANCH one of the aspects of Jesus Christ ministry would be the role of a Servant.

Zachariah 3:8

3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.



The gospel of Mark emphasizes Jesus as a Servant. There is no genealogy as a position gained by descendant. The word “lord” or “sir” Greek ( kurios) is used only 3 times of Jesus in Mark….. whereas it is used 73 times in the other three gospels.

There is a great emphasis in Mark on Jesus’s actions and responsibility in serving and helping others.



MAN

Another characteristic of the promised BRANCH is Jesus’s humanity …in other words, the Branch would be a man.

Zechariah 6:12

6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:



Luke clearly emphasizes Jesus Christ as a man. Luke 3:23-38 is the genealogy tracing Jesus’ legal ancestry …through Joseph (who adopted him) back to Adam the first man.

There are 11 parables particular to Luke which emphasize the human aspect of his walk. The entire gospel emphasizes His relationship with common man, including publicans and sinners…..It shows Jesus to be a full of human tenderness and compassion as the perfect man.



SON OF GOD

Isaiah 4:2

4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Jesus Christ was the Branch …the offspring of the Lord God. The gospel which clearly depicts and emphasizes Jesus as the son of God is John as seen in the following verses.

John 1:14, 18 & 34 - 3:16 & 20:31

1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.


1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.


3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.



While every gospel encompasses all of these characteristics of Jesus Christ, each gospel specifically emphasizes one of them.

Q1: Because they were seeking to find the One who had been born "King of the Jews" (so I'm sure that Jerusalem seemed the obvious place to began their search).
Q2: παιδίον (paidion) can mean infant or child or little child or young child (the NASB translates παιδίον as "Child", for instance).

Also, we know that the Magi arrived in Jerusalem and met with Herod "after Jesus was born" (but the Bible doesn't tell us when this meeting occurred/how long after His birth).

We also know that Herod wasn't sure how old He was because of his (horrible) edict, the edict that he used to instruct his soldiers with when they slaughtered all of the male children in Bethlehem, and in its surrounding vicinity, who were two years old or younger (so the Lord could have already been a toddler by the time the Magi found Him).

The Gospels are similar, but they are written for different purposes, and from different POV (and we are blessed to have all of them). In general (for instance), Matthew looks at Jesus principally as King, Mark, as a Servant, Luke as a Man, and John looks at Him as God (again, this is speaking in general terms).

BTW, I believe that your questions and insights are both valid and good, so please keep'm coming

God bless you!

~Deut

Hello again @kenallen, one of my favorite verses from the OT is this one.


So, while there are many things that we do know (God has, in fact, revealed all that we ~need~ to know to find Him and to be saved by Him, to obey Him, and to enjoy Him in this life as well), there are also "secret things", things that He has chosen not to reveal everything about to us yet (nor has He revealed His reasons for not doing so). This is why we have things in the Bible called "mysteries", things that we 1. know to be true about God (because the Bible tells us that they are true) even though 2. we do not have enough information to understand how they can be true (or they may also be things that we are incapable of fully understanding in our present, finite state .. the Godhead and doctrine of the Trinity come immediately to mind concerning this).

~Deut

Finally (@kenallen), I'm sorry about the typos that I missed in my first post (post #3) above. By the time that I noticed them, my 5-minute editing time had long since passed.

~Deut

The details in these stories are not going to affect your salvation.

.

Little one now that you have shown you are very observant in the scriptures I leave you with this...

2nd Timothy 2:15. Pray for the Holy Spirit.

The accounts differ slightly, but that is not unusual when people are recording events. Witnesses see things from different perspectives.

1. The "wise men" were astronomers and likely, astrologers. They saw the "star" (likely a great comet that appeared in 4 BC) and thought it significant. And they were right!
2. 4 BC is not a good year for express transport. The astronomers had to organise an expedition, likely camels and and support staff for a long journey.
3. We do know exactly when the expedition set out or how long it took. Lord Jesus was born before they set out. So yes, a young child, not a baby. Mark is very much a condensed gospel record. Luke was far more detailed in his gospel. He reminds me of me, never use one word when ten will do.
4. Herod estimated that Lord Jesus would have been no more than two, hence his command to kill all males up until that age. Between one and two is is my guess.
5. It's not important. If police interview 5 witnesses to a car accident, they will get 5 different accounts. It's interesting trying to make sense of the record of Jesus' birth, but it does not affect salvation.

Ken, you're going to fry your brains if you start cross-referencing the Bible right out of the gate lol...

The Bible is a gathering of many books and letters, from many authors and witnesses, at many different times and places, and written for many different reasons in the service of God's will.

I highly recommend you simply finish Matthew, then ask questions about the book as a whole from Matthew's perspective.

Oh, and please be mindful and understand, everyone here in this place has their own personal opinion about their own walk with God. So... focus on prayer. Sincerely ask God to bless you with His wisdom as you read His word and begin your own walk... in your own time... and form your own opinion.

The Gospel of John is UNIQUE.
John does not speak of the physical birth of Jesus because John focuses on who Jesus was BEFORE HE came into the world.
The Gospel of John declares the Most Important Message of CHRIST immediately in Chapter 1.

The Word(Jesus) is the true Light who gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

JESUS says this again = “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6

Good word

I thought that when I got saved I got His spirit. Are you talking about that stuff I have seen on TV where people fall down, get healed. I am not sure that is true.

Does knowing the answer make a difference in your salvation? Not at all. Should you even be asking these questions? A resounding YES!

Here's what I suggest: keep a journal specifically for your questions (whether digital or physical doesn't matter). Log the date, the question, and the relevant Scripture passage. Leave room for answers. Don't concern yourself with finding the answers right away; just keep reading Scripture.

As you discover the answers, log them alongside the questions, again with the date.

The purpose is twofold: that you don't get stuck on a difficult or perplexing question, and that you see God's faithfulness in teaching you over the years.