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Nativity scenes apparently display "what happened on the night of Jesus' birth". There is the familiar picture of the three wise men and the shepherds gazing with adoration at the Christ child in the manger, with his loving parents Joseph and Mary and a menagerie of domestic animals looking on. If we allow The Bible to speak for itself we see that the baby Jesus was laid in a manger. A manger is a feeding trough for domestic animals. Luke 2.7, 12, 16 says nothing about any animals being present. What about the three wise men or Magi gazing at the baby in the manger when the Bible clearly says that the Magi entered a house to see Jesus (Matthew 2.11) A series of traditions have managed to pass off as legitimate Bible facts in churches around the world. The Gospels according to Luke and Matthew speaks of Jesus' birth in a manger in Bethlehem, the shepherds' visit and his circumcision on the eight day. It also records Jesus' presentation in the Temple at Jerusalem.

Shepherds living out in the fields nearby were told the good news of Jesus' birth by angels. They were given a sign, 'a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger'. The shepherds went to see this baby and 'returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told' . It is clear that the shepherds saw the baby Jesus soon after he was born, probably the very same night. On the eight day of his birth, Jesus was circumcised according to the Law (Lev 12.3)When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as commanded in Exodus 13.2, 12 Luke chapter 2 makes it clear that,

1. The shepherds saw the baby Jesus soon after he was born, probably the very same night.

2. He was circumcised on the eight day of his birth.

3. After the days of purification were over (8+33=41 days), Jesus parents took him to Jerusalem to offer the customary sacrifice prescribed by the Law. They were so poor that they could only offer the poor man's burnt and sin offering. (two doves or two young pigeons) Matthew 2:1-12 speaks of the Magi from the east coming to Jerusalem in search of 'one who has been born king of the Jews' Vs 2. The Magi saw the star of Jesus Christ 'in the east' and traveled far to 'worship him'. In the days of camel and caravan travels, it is unconceivable that they reached Bethlehem any time soon. Herod finds from the Magi the exact time the star had appeared. Later when Herod realized that the Magi had outwitted him, he gave order for all boys who were two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity, to be killed based on the time he had determined by minutely questioning the Magi. Herod knew the exact time the star appeared so he limited his killing to boys who were two years and below. Matthew 2:9-11 The Magi followed the star and reached a house above which the star stopped. They entered the house and saw the child. This verse makes it clear that the Magi did not visit Jesus at the manger but at a house. The baby is now a child, a toddler and they worshiped him. Luke chapter 2, verses 12 & 16 makes it clear that the Christ the shepherds went to see and saw was just a newborn baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in the manger. A baby lying thus was to be a sign unto the shepherds. However, Matthew 2.11 clearly states "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him". The Magi saw a child, not a newborn baby. In fact, it may have been over a year after the birth of Jesus before the wise men even arrived! This theory is supported well when we read that King Herod commands his soldiers to kill all the infants in Bethlehem two years old and under (Matthew 2:16). They (the magi) opened their treasures and presented Jesus with costly gifts of gold incense and myrrh. They gave three types of gifts that represented His royalty, priesthood and prophetic role. On a more practical level, these gifts turned the fortune of the poor Jewish family, enabling them to travel far to Egypt to escape the anger of Herod. When Joseph and Mary took baby Jesus to the Temple, they were still poor which is why they offered the poor man's burnt and sin offering. If they had gold or any of the other gifts, they would not have withheld it. This too proves that the Magi visited afterwards.

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