How do Luke 2:39 and Matthew 2:13 reconcile? Luke says Joseph and Mary went to Galilee, and Matthew says they went to Egypt after Jesus’ birth.
Let’s see what the Bible has to say:
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. (Luke 2:21–22 NIV)
When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. (Luke 2:39–40 NIV)
Now when they [the wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him. When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt” (Matt. 2:13–14 NIV).
Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. (Matt. 2:16 NIV)
And thus, the question was born: where did Joseph and Mary go after Jesus’ birth, Egypt or Galilee?
From Matthew 2:16, we can see that Herod had only ordered the massacre of the children in Bethlehem between 1 and 2 years after Jesus’s birth. There was more than enough time for Jesus and His family to go to Jerusalem 40 days after his birth and then return to Galilee, their hometown. Then, when Jesus was already a toddler, Herod sent his decree, and they fled to Egypt.
Therefore, this is what can be determined from the information given in Matthew and Luke’s gospels:
On the day of Jesus’ birth, an angel appeared to nearby shepherds to go and see him. “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10–12 NIV) They arrived within a couple of days.
Then: “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.” (Luke 2:21 NIV)
Mary needed to wait 40 days after giving birth before the following happened: “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.” (Luke 2:22 NIV)
Once they were done, they went back to Galilee. “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.” (Luke 2:39 NIV)
Wise men from a foreign country to the east wanted to pay homage to the child who was born to be the King of the Jews. “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matt.2:1-2 NIV)
The current king was very worried about what this could mean for him: “When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matt. 2:3 NIV), and so he devised a plan to have the child killed to prevent this predicted usurpation. He got information from the Magi to pinpoint exactly where the newborn king was. “Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” (Matt. 2:7-8 NIV).
However, the Maji were warned not to return to King Herod by an angel, and so they took a detour around Jerusalem. The king was furious, and his plan had to change: “When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious. And he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” (Matt. 2:16 NIV)
God rescued Jesus in the following way: “When they [the wise men] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt,” (Matt. 2:13–14 NIV).
Once verses are put into context, suspected contradictions melt away. After Jesus’ birth, His parents took him home to Galilee. About two years later, they had to flee to Egypt.
