The Adoration of the Magi

Because of artists’ depictions of the nativity of Jesus throughout the centuries, most people believe the Magi, the wise men of Matthew 2, visited the Lord on the night of His birth. But is this an accurate depiction?

There is not one "smoking gun" passage of Scripture to point to that answers the question as to how old was Jesus when the Magi found the Lord, but the following can be ascertained which shows it could not have been the night of His birth. By examining what we do know we can lay out the following timeline with a fair amount of certainty.

“And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.’” (Luke 2:21-24) Being the righteous parents they were, Joseph and Mary had Jesus circumcised when He was eight days old, and when the 40 days’ time of Mary’s purification was completed they presented Jesus, their first born Son, to the Lord in the Temple in Jerusalem, keeping the Law of Moses (Exodus 13:2 and following; Exodus 22:29-30; Leviticus 12:1 and following; Numbers 3:13; Numbers 8:17).

When the Magi came to worship Jesus, they brought with them expensive gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to give to the newborn King (Matthew 2:11). In Matthew 1:19 we are told that Joseph was a just and righteous man. It is inconceivable that a man who is called a just and righteous man by the Holy Spirit would then withhold this gift from the Lord and give the poor man’s sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons, instead of the normal requirement of a year old lamb. This alone proves that the Magi did not arrive the night Jesus was born. Therefore, Jesus was between 41 days and 2 years old when the Magi arrived, but they could not have arrived before day 41. The Magi had to have come after Jesus' presentation in the Temple, that is, after Jesus was 40 days old. Why is this? The answer is found in Matthew 2:13-15, which tells us that after the Magi departed, an angel of the Lord warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt, since Herod was going to seek to kill Jesus. This is future tense. According to Scripture, Joseph left that very night and went to Egypt, and they stayed in Egypt until the death of King Herod (Matthew 2:15), which occurred in 4 BC. This would have left no time or opportunity for the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, which we know happened according to the Gospel of Luke.

When the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, they sought information among the people regarding the newborn King, and news of their inquiries eventually reached the ears of Herod. By the time he found out, all of Jerusalem was troubled along with Herod. He then consulted the chief priests and scribes of the people to ascertain where the Messiah was to be born, and they informed him Bethlehem was where the Messiah had been prophesied would be born. It was at this point that Herod brought in the Magi to speak with him (Matthew 2:1-7). Herod asked the Magi when they had first seen the star (Matthew 2:7) and he used this information later to have all the male children killed in Bethlehem who were age two and under (Matthew 2:16). Therefore, it should be obvious that several days have transpired in these seven verses for all of these events to occur.

I believe the Magi saw the star appear the night of Jesus' birth to announce the arrival of the Savior, prompting these men to go on this quest. They were in another country when they noted the star’s first appearance, and it would have taken time for them to travel to Jerusalem. For them to have arrived the night Jesus was born would have meant they had to have already been in the very near vicinity. That would be irrational thinking based upon what is known, just as it would be irrational to believe that they arrived in the middle of the night, woke up all of Jerusalem, including King Herod, to trouble them all by asking where they could find the newborn King that very night. As we have shown, it would have taken time for the news of their arrival and what they had discussed with the King Herod to have circulated to the point that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar about it. What is not irrational is seeing that several days are transpiring in the first seven verses of Matthew chapter 2 with Matthew's account of the Magi visiting Jesus. It is the most rational of interpretations.

We do not know where Jesus was for sure when the Magi found Him other than in a house (Matthew 2:11), but we do know that there seems to be a second appearing of His star, for after talking with Herod the Magi "went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy;" (Matthew 2:9-10). Had the star been visible to them during all their journey to Jerusalem, there would have been no need for the Magi to go and speak with the people and Herod. They simply would have followed the star to Jesus. And this would explain why they "rejoiced with exceeding great joy" at the sudden appearance of the star again. They knew it would show them where Jesus was, and Matthew does not identify that place as Bethlehem. I believe, however, that it was in Nazareth or possibly even in Egypt where the Magi worshipped the Lord and gave Him their gifts.

Additionally, when the angel announces to the shepherds that the Savior had been born, Jesus was referred to as "the babe" or "a babe." In Matthew he is referred to as a "young child" and just “child” by the angel. It is this change in how He is referenced that makes me lean towards Jesus being a two-year-old child when the Magi came to Him, for even a 41-day-old would still be called "a babe," whereas a two-year-old is called a "small child."