Matthew 2:11 “They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.”
By the time the Magi found Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, the family was still in Bethlehem; however, Jesus was several months old and might even have been walking. This is a bigger thing than we realize, for this little family was about to have to run for their lives. Now that Jesus was a toddler, his body was much stronger than if he had been a newborn. The Magi were thrilled and immediately bowed and then opened their gifts, rich gifts such as neither Mary nor Joseph had ever seen.
What about those gifts? Again, David Guzik tells us: When they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh: It was common – especially in the East – that one would never appear before royalty or a person of importance without bringing gifts. Considering who these wise men believed the young Child to be, it is not surprising that they gave such lavish gifts.
i. The idea that there were three wise men comes from the fact that there were three gifts. We may say that gold speaks of royalty, incense speaks of divinity, and myrrh speaks of death. Yet it is almost certain that the Magi did this unawares; they simply wanted to honor the King of the Jews.
d. They presented gifts to Him: The precious gifts were not presented to Mary or Joseph, but to Jesus Himself. Yet undeniably, the infant Jesus did not use or spend any of these precious gifts, but His parents used them, hopefully wisely, on His behalf and benefit.
i. In the same way, when we give to Jesus today, we do not give to Him directly, but to His people, who use those gifts on His behalf and benefit – and hopefully wisely.”
What the Magi didn’t know as they were presenting those gifts was that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were about to become fugitives. That gold from the Magi would support the family once they had to flee to Egypt and may have even helped them when they later came back from Egypt to settle in Nazareth.
That night, as the Magi were sleeping, the eldest among them suddenly awoke. God had just warned him in a dream, and he and his companions needed to leave immediately. Moving as silently as possible, the entire company packed up. As experienced travelers, these men could gather their things efficiently. Nobody needed a light, for the moonlight was bright that night. Leading their camels and the donkeys that had accompanied them, the Magi and their servants quietly left Bethlehem, passing Jerusalem on a secondary path that would lead them northward and eastward to safety.
What about the routes the Magi took to and from Jerusalem and Bethlehem? Scholars have suggested the routes traced on this map as a possibility. The big challenge would have been escaping Bethlehem without going through Jerusalem. But these Magi were seasoned travelers and very savvy about finding guides with local knowledge. It’s quite possible that the Magi presented their gifts and then quietly left Bethlehem at night after the gates of Jerusalem had been closed. If the caravan was able to take a back road and keep their camels from making too much noise, they could reach the fords of the Jordan pretty swiftly. The big trick would be leaving without Herod’s spies noticing anything. But perhaps Herod was so certain that he had deceived the Magi that he failed to assign spies or else God blinded their eyes. At any rate, the Magi made it safely back home.
So, the Magi made it to the East safely; that trip took 500-1000 miles, depending on where the various members of the company were from. What about Joseph, Mary, and Jesus? As soon as Herod realized that the Magi weren’t going to report to him, he would be livid!
Luke 2:13 After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”
Once more, God speaks to Joseph in a dream. Some scholars estimate that the Holy Family would have traveled a total of 2000 kilometers or 1240 miles round trip from Bethlehem to Egypt and back to Nazareth. (https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253276/the-holy-family-traveled-more-than-1200-miles-from-israel-to-egypt-and-back) There was a large Jewish community in Egypt, and Joseph headed there. Egypt was a Roman province outside Herod’s jurisdiction, giving the Holy Family legal protection as well.
14-15 Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”
16-18 Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he’d gotten from the scholars.) That’s when Jeremiah’s revelation was fulfilled: A sound was heard in Ramah, weeping and much lament. Rachel weeping for her children, Rachel refusing all solace,
Her children gone, dead and buried.”
Once more, Herod proved how bloodthirsty he was when his power was threatened. Lacking specific information, Herod wasn’t taking any chances and ordered the slaughter of all little boys two years old and younger in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
We read this account and wonder why God allowed these innocent little boys to die. Why couldn’t God have worked some kind of miracle to spare all those lives? But we don’t know how God may have tried to influence Herod. It’s quite possible that some of Herod’s religious advisors attempted to mitigate his fury, only to find themselves in danger of being killed themselves. We must remember that the whole universe tilts on the axis of free will. People are not puppets, and they can make terrible choices. Think about the six million Jews who died in concentration camps during World War II. Herod and Hitler had a lot in common.
Traditionally, there are twenty-five different sites where the Holy Family is supposed to have stopped to rest on their way to Egypt. Traditional hospitality would have demanded that such travelers be welcomed, fed, and given water and a place to sleep. Only in heaven will we know the names of those who helped this couple and their little son to escape wicked King Herod. As we approach Christmas, we should look around us. Do we have anything that we might give to someone else? Even in industrialized countries, many children shiver in the cold for lack of warm clothing or attend school with empty stomachs. We might feel that we have very little, but we can still bless those around us. May God give us open eyes and soft hearts so that we will be able to help those around us as did those nameless hosts when they sheltered the Holy Family.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, please help us to share what we have, trusting that You will multiply it. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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