Expert: Jim Miller - 7/12/2010

Question
Hi Jim,
I have a few questions about the early life of Jesus that I have always wondered about. I'll just list them.
1. How could the 3 wise men, or Kings, follow a star not only to Bethlehem, but to an exact house. I mean the star would have to be only a few hundred feet in the air to indicate the exact location of a particular house.
2. They give valuable presents of gold, frankincense and Mihr and yet Jesus grows up in poverty. What happened to those gifts later? Couldn't they have sold them to raise some money?
3. Having found the Messiah they just leave and are never heard from again. Why wouldn't they at least look after him or more likely take him with them to be brought up in a palace? Or announce the fact that the Messiah is here at last?
4. After all this happening, later on in his life Mary and Joseph no longer seem to be aware that their son is the Son of God and are surprised by his actions as a teenager. How could that be?
Thanks, Ray

Answer
1   Apparently only the Magi (their exact number is not given) could see the star.  This means either it was an astrological event that went unrecognized among non-astrologers, or the star was a supernatural sight, visible only to a select few such as these magi.  In the second case, there is no problem with a supernatural sight specifying a house.
2   The family had to flee to Egypt that night.  They were peasants.  At least some of the gifts were used for travel and to set up a new life in Egypt for a few years.
3    Maybe they did.  Not everything that happend made it into the New Testament, or even church tradition (which does have them evangelizing).
4    Actually, he was 12.  Apparently nothing eventful happened between their return to Nazareth and his trip to Jerusalem at 12.  Maybe they got complacent with everyday life.  That is common enough.
I hope this is helpful, Jim Miller