Elliott's Muses

One of the lesser detailed aspects of the Christmas story is in Matthew's gospel - it is the flight of Joseph, Mary and their infant Jesus to Egypt because of the warning of the angel of the Lord that Herod was going to seek the "king of the Jews" that the Magi had come to seek. The account is in Matthew 2:13-15 (NASB): Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him." So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON." A contemporary of Martin Luther, a German artist/engraver by the name of Albrecht Durer, engraved with interesting detail the story of their flight in...

The journey of the MAGI (it was "wise men" when I was a kid) is one of the most traditional parts of the Christmas story, even though it probably takes place months after Jesus' birth. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: Matthew 2:1-5 (NASB) The word "magos" in the text indicates a group of people who were not Jewish - i.e., Gentiles - who came inquiring about the birth of a King. Up until this point in the Jesus story, little public impact has been made. Some...