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MATTHEW 2
FACTOID
6
Wise Men
Does your family have a Nativity set?
When we think about the wise men
following the star and bringing gifts to
Jesus, we usually picture him as a baby
in a manger. But did you know Jesus
was probably close to two years old
by the time the wise men arrived? And
they visited him in a house, not a stable
(Matthew 2:11).
20As he considered this, an angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a dream.
“Joseph, son of David,” the angel said,
“do not be afraid to take Mary as your
wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21And she will
have a son, and you are to name him
Jesus, for he will save his people from
their sins.”
22All of this occurred to fulfill the
Lord’s message through his prophet:
23
“Look! The virgin will conceive a
child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
24When Joseph woke up, he did as the
angel of the Lord commanded and took
Mary as his wife. 25But he did not have
sexual relations with her until her son
was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Visitors from the East
2 dea, during the reign of King Herod.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Ju-
About that time some wise men from
eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2“Where is the newborn king of the
Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we
have come to worship him.”
3King Herod was deeply disturbed
when he heard this, as was everyone in
Jerusalem. 4He called a meeting of the
leading priests and teachers of religious
law and asked, “Where is the Messiah
supposed to be born?”
5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said,
“for this is what the prophet wrote:
‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land
of Judah,
are not least among the ruling
cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my
people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called for a private
meeting with the wise men, and he
learned from them the time when the
star first appeared. 8Then he told them,
“Go to Bethlehem and search carefully
for the child. And when you find him,
come back and tell me so that I can go
and worship him, too!”
9After this interview the wise men
went their way. And the star they had
seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and
stopped over the place where the child
was. 10When they saw the star, they
were filled with joy! 11They entered
the house and saw the child with his
mother, Mary, and they bowed down
and worshiped him. Then they opened
their treasure chests and gave him gifts
of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another
route, for God had warned them in a
dream not to return to Herod.
The Escape to Egypt
13After the wise men were gone, an
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with
the child and his mother,” the angel said.
“Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the
child to kill him.”
14 That night Joseph left for Egypt
with the child and Mary, his mother,
15and they stayed there until Herod’s
death. This fulfilled what the Lord had
spoken through the prophet: “I called
my Son out of Egypt.”
16Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted
him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys
