The Visit of the Magi
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a town in Judea, during the reign of King Herod, wise men from eastern lands came to Jerusalem. These scholars had been studying the stars, and they asked everyone they met, "Where is the child who has been born to be King of the Jews? We saw his star rise in the east, and we have traveled here to worship him." When King Herod heard about this, he became deeply troubled, and all the people of Jerusalem were worried along with him. Herod quickly gathered together all the chief priests and teachers of the law and demanded to know where the promised Messiah was supposed to be born. They answered him, "In Bethlehem, in the region of Judea, because this is what the prophet wrote long ago: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not the least important among the ruling cities of Judah, because from you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" Then Herod secretly called the wise men to meet with him privately. He questioned them carefully to find out exactly when the star had first appeared. After learning this information, he sent them on to Bethlehem with these instructions: "Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, come back and tell me exactly where he is, so that I can go and worship him too." After hearing what the king had to say, the wise men continued on their journey. The same star they had seen in the east went ahead of them, moving until it stopped directly over the place where the child was staying. When they saw the star standing still, they were filled with overwhelming joy and excitement. They entered the house and found the child with Mary, his mother. Immediately, they knelt down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with valuable gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by taking a completely different route.
The Flight to Egypt
After the wise men had left Bethlehem, an angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream with an urgent message. "Get up immediately," the angel commanded. "Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. You must stay there until I tell you it's safe to return, because Herod is going to hunt for the child to murder him." Joseph woke up and did exactly what the angel had told him. He got up in the middle of the night, gathered up the child and Mary, and they fled toward Egypt. There they remained, living as refugees until King Herod died. Their escape to Egypt brought to pass what the Lord had spoken long ago through one of his prophets: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
The Massacre of the Innocents
When Herod realized that the wise men had tricked him, he became furious. He sent out orders to kill every baby boy in Bethlehem and the surrounding towns who was two years old or younger, based on the timing he had carefully questioned the wise men about. This terrible act fulfilled what the prophet Jeremiah had spoken long ago: "A voice was heard in Ramah—crying and deep sorrow. Rachel was weeping for her children and would not let anyone comfort her, because her children were gone forever."
The Return to Nazareth
After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream while he was still in Egypt. The angel told him, "Get up and take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel. The people who wanted to kill the child are now dead." So Joseph got up and took the child and his mother, and they traveled back to the land of Israel. But when Joseph found out that Archelaus was now ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he became afraid to go there. Then God warned him in another dream, so he decided to go to the region of Galilee instead. He settled his family in a town called Nazareth. This happened so that what the prophets had spoken long ago would come true: "He will be called a Nazarene."