Dear Explorer,
Read Luke 2:36-38
Last time we looked at the old man Simeon who got to hold the Messiah in his arms. Today, I want you to see another person who made an impact on Mary and Joseph that day. Luke tells us that she was a prophetess. We know very little about her except that she was old. She had been married for 7 years when her husband died, but instead of remarrying, she lived at the temple, and worshipped and prayed night and day. She, too, was able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah because of her closeness with God.
Read Luke 2:39-40
We are looking at four biographies of Jesus' life recorded in the Bible. Each one only tells parts of His life and leaves out other parts. No one could record absolutely everything! In fact, even all four books could not contain everything about Jesus!
Luke 2:39 is one of those places where Luke skipped ahead by a few years. In a later study, we'll see that according to Matthew, Mary and Joseph took baby Jesus into Egypt before going to Nazareth. So, let's get a timeline in place.
Apparently, Mary and Joseph stayed in Bethlehem until Jesus was 40 days old. Then they took this trip to Jerusalem and returned to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem they received the visit of the wise men. Soon after that, they went to Egypt to protect baby Jesus and stayed there until after King Herod's death. Then they moved to Nazareth.
Does that make Luke's gospel inaccurate?
No, just incomplete. I could say, “After going to the library, Ian and Rinnah stopped at Mr. Goodies before coming home.” But it would also be a true statement to say, “After going to the library, Ian and Rinnah played in the park with some friends and then stopped at Mr. Goodies before coming home.” Both statements would be true. One would just contain more information.
One reason I have enjoyed putting all 4 Gospels together is that we can get a more complete picture. I hope you are enjoying the reading of God's Word in this fashion.
In His service, dale
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