How old was Jesus when the wise men came?
Some imagine, much like a nativity scene often appears, that the wise men were on the scene at the same time as the shepherds.
Others say that Jesus was probably several years old or even back at home in Nazareth by the time the wise men arrived.
Let's take a look and see what we can find out.
Where to look?
Matthew 2
Luke 2:1-40
Leviticus 12
If we read these whole passages, we can piece together a picture from them. First we'll figure out what is clear and then see what else may be inferred. After that I will offer a conclusion.
What is clear:
- We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7) ...
- and that he, Mary, and Joseph remained there for his circumcision on the 8th day (Luke 2:21) ...
- and that they h also remained until after their purification according to the Law at 40 days (Luke 2:22-24; Lev. 12:3- 4,6).
- We know that the wise men visited Jesus while they were still in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:8) …
- and that Joseph, Mary and Jesus left Bethlehem very soon after the wise men left (Matt. 2:13-15).
- We also know that when Herod did not hear back from the wise men, he ordered that all male children in the region of Bethlehem two years old and younger be killed, based on what he knew from the wise men (Matt. 2:16).
From this we know that Jesus had to have been between 40 days and 2 years old when the wise men came.
Can we make an educated guess at a narrower age range based on anything else in the text?
What can be inferred:
- When Herod had all male children in the area of Bethlehem 2 years and under killed, that likely does not mean that he believed Jesus was 2 years old. He would have been trying to hit a wide enough age range to ensure that he would get his target. If he knew for sure that Jesus was 2 years old, he would have only had all 2 year old male children killed, or perhaps 1 to 3 year old's to be safe. But the fact that the age range selected was newborn to 2 years suggests that Jesus was likely well inside of the 2 year limit.
- Luke 2:39: “And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.” This verse implies that they left for home (though they had to escape to Egypt first [Matt. 2:13-15]) not long after they had offered sacrifice at the temple following the 40 days of purification. This would make sense of course. Their home town was Nazareth (Luke 2:4,39). The only reason they went to Bethlehem in the first place was because of the census (Luke 2:1-5). But, while they were there, Mary gave birth (Luke 2:6) and they stayed around to take care of the customs related to that (Luke 2:21-24). After that was all taken care of it would make sense for them to go back home since their reasons for being there were done (Luke 2:39).
- Luke 2:2-4 – The asking of the wise men for “he who has been born” and Herod's inquiry of “where the Christ was to be born” may imply a relative nearness of time to the birth.
- “Child” vs. “Baby” – Some have made issue about Jesus being called a child at the visit of the wise men (Matt. 2:11) as opposed to being called a baby as he was called when the angels announced his birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:12). But the use of these words do not distinguish the age as much as some might think because he is also called “child” in the account of the shepherds at his birth (Luke 2:17) and called “child” twice in the account of him being brought to the temple after the 40 days of purification (Luke 2:27, 34).
My conclusion:
The wise men arrived when Jesus was at least within the range of 40 days to 2 years old, but likely much closer to the 40 days mark, perhaps even very close to 40 days.
What do you think?
