No Contradictions (Jesus' Birth)

From a message of 21Dec1994 from a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> Subj: BIRTH OF JESUS

>CQ> why does the gospel of matthew and luke give two contradictary stories regarding the birth of jesus?
>CQ> luke tells of the trip to bethlehem and the birth in the manger.

No, it was after he was born, and wrapped in swaddling clothes, that he was laid in the manger (cattle feeding trough.)

>CQ> matthew tells of jesus birth in joseph and marys house.

No, Matthew did not say he was born in their house. It was quite some time after Jesus' birth that the wise men from the orient finally arrived, and Jesus was no longer a "babe" in a manger, but was in a "house" and was a "young child".

>CQ> what is going on here one of them is lying. you can we behieve

You should quit doubting the word of truth, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, and was buried, and rose again from the dead for our justification through faith in his blood. Grace be to your heart in mercy for Jesus' sake. Amen. --Richard

(BB2) JESUS' BIRTH

From a message of 23Dec1994 from a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> Subj: BIRTH OF JESUS

>CQ> Joseph was betrothed to Mary. She was found with child. An angel appeared to each of them in turn explaining the situation.

Not quite. Gabriel appeared unto Mary before she conceived.

>CQ> The marriage was finalized.

Rather than finalize the marriage, Mary went to stay with her cousin Elizabeth for three months after she conceived by the Holy Ghost. It was after she returned that she was found with child by Joseph who thought to put her away privily, but an angel appeared unto him, saying, "fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." And of course, their marriage was not finalized, that is, Joseph "knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS." (Joseph's firstborn son James was Mary's second. :)

>CQ> ...went to Bethlehem from Nazareth. Soon after they arrived, Mary's time to deliver came. They took lodging in an inn...<

No, the Bible is clear that [there] was "no room in the inn." (And the Bible says nothing about them being in a stable either.)

>CQ> Jesus was born, most likely in late 5 BC.

Considering that Herod died prior to the Passover of 4 BC, it is reasonable to think that Jesus would have been born before that. The time of year of his birth was apparently the 7th month (Sep/Oct), which is the time of year of the feast of tabernacles.

>CQ> After that they took up residence in a house in Bethlehem.

The Bible mentions no residence in Bethlehem. They only went to Bethlehem to be taxed. After they had performed those things required by the law of the Lord, "they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth." (Lk.2:38p) (During the feast of tabernacles, the Israelites made "booths", not houses, to dwell in. :)

>CQ> The wise men from the east, probably Babylon, arrived in early 4 BC. They left expensive gifts with the family, which was God's provision for their stay in Egypt.

I agree that the gifts were the Lord's provision. Now, in Ezra 7:9 we learn that travel time from Babylon to Jerusalem was 4 months, so if they came from Babylon, and left in the 7th month when Jesus was born, they could have arrived in the 11th month, which would be long after Jesus, Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth. If they came from the Orient, Jesus would have been about 16 months old, and instead of 5BC, his year of birth would be 6BC. (+ 2000 = 1995AD :)

(Please see next message. Thanks! :)

(BB3) JESUS' BIRTH

From a message of 23Dec1994 from a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> Subj: BIRTH OF JESUS

>CQ> Herod died in March-April of 4 BC, and the family returned.

Probably April 1st. He supposedly removed Matthias from being high priest on March 13th, and that night there was a notable eclipse of the full moon. He spent some time near the Dead Sea seeking to get healed of a horrible disease afflicting him. He returned to Jericho. He had Antipater killed and 5 days later, he died. It was after 7 days of mourning (and they carried Herod's body 200 furlongs to Herodium) that Archelous met with the people at the temple in Jerusalem to hear their complaints/requests, and the city was swollen with the pilgrims come to attend the Passover.

So then, the March 13th eclipse would have been during the full moon of the 12th month (March), and the Passover would have been at the next full moon of the 1st month (April). JESUS, Mary and Joseph were only in Egypt "until the death of Herod", and they didn't have to wait for messengers to bring news of Herod's death, for the angel of the Lord commanded Joseph, "Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life." So after Herod's death, they had at least seven days to get to Jerusalem in time for the Passover which they attended "every year."

>CQ> The prophecies foretold that Jesus would grow up in Nazareth, and that is the primary reason that God directed Joseph to go there (Matt 2:23). Avoiding Archelaus was not the primary motivation, although it may have been part of it.

Joseph was "afraid" to remain in Judaea because of Archelaus. At the Passover, there was a tumult and about 3000 Israelites were killed, and many fled to the mountains. Archelaus disbanded the multitude and commanded "every one to retire to their own homes; whither they all went, and left the festival." Joseph, having been "warned of God in a dream", possibly would have "turned aside into the parts of Galilee" before the slaughter.

Archelaus then departed to go to Rome to seek Caesar's approval regarding being a ruler in Israel. He was not granted full kingship. His reign lasted 9 years, and would have been over when JESUS, at the age of twelve, appeared in the temple, where the doctors were astonished at his understanding and answers.

Remember that Jesus is the Lord and be wise to cherish the truth. Grace be to them that love the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. --Richard