Why did Jesus move from Bethlehem to Nazareth?

Answer 1

Both Matthew and Luke say that Jesus was born in Bethlehem: Matthew apparently because Bethlehem was the home town of Joseph and Mary; Luke because there was a census that apparently required Joseph to be in Bethlehem.

Answer 2

In Luke's Gospel, Nazareth was the home town of Joseph and Mary, so it was natural for them to return there.

In Matthew's Gospel, Bethlehem was the home town of Joseph and Mary, but even after the death of King herod it was too dangerous, so they turned aside and migrated to Galilee.

Answer 3

A: There are two biblical infancy narratives for Jesus, and each must be treated separately and on its own merits.

In Matthew's Gospel, Bethlehem was the home town of Mary and Joseph. Some time after Jesus was born, they fled from Bethlehem to Egypt, for fear of King Herod, and remained there for several years until Herod had died. After Herod's death, they began the return journey to Bethlehem but, being warned in a dream, turned aside and travelled to Nazareth in Galilee (Matthew 2:23).

In Luke's Gospel, Nazareth was the home town of Mary and Joseph. After the birth of Jesus, they had no further reason to remain in Bethlehem and so, forty days after the birth of Jesus, they took him to the Temple in Jerusalem then returned immediately and without incident to their home in Nazareth.

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Jesus never lived permanently in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary were residents of Nazareth. They travelled to Bethlehem for the census as required by law. Bethlehem was not their place of residence at the time, but the place they had to return to for the census as it was Joseph's ancestral seat. It was during this time that Jesus was born. Sometime after the birth, the family fled to Egypt to escape Herod's wrath. After Herod's death, they returned to Nazareth. Therefore, both Gospels harmonize to show that Jesus' stay in Bethlehem was temporary and required, but Nazareth was the usual residence of his parents.

Answer 4

Luke's Gospel says that Nazareth was the home town of Joseph and Mary, so they simply left Bethlehem and travelled to Jerusalem to sacrifice at the temple, then travelled peacefully back to their home in Nazareth.

Matthew's Gospel tells us that Bethlehem was the home town of Joseph and Mary, but that they had to leave Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus and travel to Egypt, as King Herod sought to have him killed. After Herod's death, they began the return journey to Bethlehem, but turned aside because Herod's son Archelaus was a continuing danger in Judea. The young family travelled to the safety of Galilee, where they settled in a town called Nazareth so that Jesus would be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23).

Answer 5

Mary and Joesph lived in Nazareth and it is also the site where Mary received the news that she would carry Jesus.