2. The birth, the adoration of the shepherds, the circumcision, the adoration of the Magi, the purification, the flight into Egypt, the slaughter of the Innocents, the return to Nazareth.
According to this order the
Magi either arrived a few days before the purification or they came on 6 January; but in neither case can we understand why the Holy Family should have offered thesacrifice of the
poor, after receiving the offerings of the
Magi. Moreover, the first Evangelist intimates that the
angel appeared to St. Joseph soon after the departure of the
Magi, and it is not at all probable that
Herod should have waited long before inquiring concerning the whereabouts of the new born king. The difficulties are not overcome by placing the
adoration of the
Magi on the day before the purification; it would be more unlikely in that case that the Holy Family should offer the sacrifice of the
poor.
3.
As
Luke 2:39 appears to exclude the possibility of placing the
adoration of the
Magi between the presentation and return to
Nazareth, there are interpreters who have located the advent of the wise men, the flight to
Egypt, the slaughter of the Innocents, and the return from
Egypt after the events as told in St. Luke. They agree in the opinion that the Holy Family returned to
Nazareth after the purification, and then left
Nazareth in order to make their home in
Bethlehem.
Eusebius, Epiphanius, and some other ancient writers are willing to place the
adoration of the
Magi about two years after
Christ's birth; Paperbroch and his followers allow about a year and thirteen days between the birth and the advent of the
Magi; while
Patrizi agrees with those who fix the advent of the
Magi at about two weeks after the purification. The text of
Matthew 2:1-2 hardly permits an interval of more than a year between the purification and the coming of the wise men;
Patrizi's opinion appears to satisfy all the data furnished by the
gospels, while it does not contradict the particulars added by tradition.
B. The Hidden Life of Jesus
It was in the seclusion of
Nazareth that
Jesus spent the greatest part of His earthly life. The
inspired records are very reticent about this period:
Luke 2:40-52;
Mark 6:3;
John 6:42;
7:15, are about the only passages which refer to the hidden life.
Some of them give us a general view of
Christ's life: "The child grew, and grew in strength and wisdom; and the
grace of God was in him" is the brief summary of the years following the return of the Holy Family after the ceremonial purification in the
Temple. "
Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with
God and men", and He "was subject to them" form the inspired outline of
Christ's life in
Nazareth after He had attained the age of twelve.
"When he was twelve years old"
Jesus accompanied His
parents to Jerusalem, 'according to the
custom of the feast'; When they returned, the child
Jesus remained in
Jerusalem; and his
parents knew it not." After three days, they found him in the
Temple, sitting in the midst of the
doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions." It was on this occasion that
Jesus spoke the only words that have come down from the period of His hidden life: "How is it that you sought me? Did you not
know, that I must be about my
Father's business [or, "in my
Father's house"]?"
The
Jews tell us that
Jesus had not passed through the training of the
Rabbinic schools: "How doth this
man know letters, having never learned?". The same question is asked by the people of
Nazareth, who add, "Is not this the carpenter?"
St. Justin is authority for the statement that
Jesus specially made "ploughs and yokes' (Contra Tryph., 88). Though it is not certain that at the time of
Jesus elementary
schools existed in the
Jewish villages, it may be inferred from the
Gospels that
Jesus knew how to read (
Luke 4:16) and write (
John 8:6). At an early age He must have learned the so called
Shema (
Deuteronomy 6:4), and the
Hallel, or Psalms 113-118 (Hebrew); He must have been familiar with the other parts of the
Scriptures too, especially the
Psalms and the Prophetic Books, as He constantly refers to them in His public life. It is also asserted that Palestine at the time of
Jesus Christ was practically bilingual, so that
Christ must have spoken Aramaic and Greek; the indications that He was acquainted with Hebrew and Latin are rather slight. The public teaching of
Jesus shows that He was a close observer of the sights and sounds of nature, and of the habits of all classes of men. For these are the usual sources of His illustrations.
To conclude, the hidden life of
Jesus extending through thirty years is far different from what one should have expected in the case of a
Person Who is
adored by His followers as their
God and revered as their Saviour.
