1. Zechariah in Temple
Place: Jerusalem
Scripture: Luke 1:11 (see also Exodus 30, Numbers 16)
Description: The angel of the Lord arrives at the right side of the altar of incense, appearing to Zechariah in the Holy Place. This is the pinnacle of Zechariah’s priestly service, (a once-in-a-lifetime duty burning incense outside the curtain of the Holy of Holies), and it’s here at this sacred spot where the angel’s path intersects with his and tells him he’ll be a father of a son who will make people ready for the Lord.
2. Gabriel brings good tidings to Mary
Place: Nazareth
Scripture: Luke 1:26 (see also John 1:46)
Description: Next, the angel Gabriel visits Elizabeth’s relative in Nazareth (Natzrat), a lowly city sitting on a hill in the lovely northern region of Galilee. Until this time, Nazareth has never been mentioned in the scriptures, although some say Isaiah 11:1 could have pointed to this location – “and a branch (netzer) from [Jesse’s] roots shall bear fruit.”
3. Mary visits Elizabeth
Place: En Kerem (Hebron is another possibility; see Joshua 14:12-13; 15:48-54, Joshua 11:21)
Scripture: Luke 1:39
Description: Mary makes a cross-country trip and finds her way to Elizabeth. She’s welcomed and lives with Elizabeth four miles southwest of Jerusalem for three months in one of the handful of villages of the Judean hill country, likely En Kerem. They have two homes near a spring and nestled among vineyards - a cooler summer house on the hill, and a house in the valley. The neighborhood is an easy commute to Zechariah’s work in the Temple.
4. Mary returns to Nazareth
Place: Nazareth
Scripture: Luke 1:56
Description: Mary covers the distance between the hill country and Nazareth, roughly 80-100 miles, depending on the route she takes. It’s unlikely she takes the shorter route through Samaria and the Jezreel Valley since Jews and Samaritans are not on good terms (John 4:9) and since it’s more strenuous. She probably goes through the Judean Desert to the Jordan Valley, which provides a more level path, and then across the Jezreel Valley.
5. Mary and Joseph journey to Bethlehem
Place: Nazareth to Bethlehem
Scripture: Luke 2:4-7
Description: About six months later, Mary makes another trip south, this time to revisit the place where Joseph’s family is from and to be counted in the census. The two go beyond Jerusalem to the town where Rachel died and where Ruth once gleaned in the fields and where Samuel found and anointed the shepherd David as future king. The last part of the journey is the hardest (especially because Mary probably doesn’t ride on a donkey), climbing 3,500 feet from Jericho to a crowded Bethlehem where Mary finds refuge near a manger.
6. Shepherds are called to Bethlehem by angels
Place: Shepherds’ Field
Scripture: Luke 2:9-20 (see also Micah 4:8)
Description: An angel of the Lord appears to shepherds working a night-shift in the same fields David used to roam, and the shepherds are stunned to hear that a baby in the line of the shepherd-king David is wrapped in swaddling clothes nearby. (In fact, a verse in Micah starts a rumor that the arrival of the Messiah would be announced in this area from the tower of the flock, the Migdal Eder, where shepherds inspect Passover lambs for sacrifice.) The shepherds hear an army of angels sing with the first angel, announcing Christ’s birth, and they hurry to find the Messiah in a feeding trough.
7. Mary and Joseph go to the Temple
Place: Bethlehem to Jerusalem to Nazareth
Scripture: Luke 2:21-22 (see Leviticus 12:1-8, Exodus 13:12-15)
Description: Eight days after the birth in the manger, the child is circumcised and called Jesus. At least 40 days after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph arrive at the Temple to follow the custom for sanctifying the firstborn and to finish Mary’s purification after childbirth. Mary and Joseph sacrifice two pigeons or turtledoves, and Simeon and Anna both recognize the child in their arms as the Messiah. Next, the couple hits the road to head home, possibly to Nazareth.
8. Wise men study the star
Place: Far East
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2 (see also Genesis 49:10, Numbers 24:17, Daniel 9:25-26)
Description: Somewhere far away, the star mesmerizes a group of astronomers who decide to pack their bags for an open-ended trip. Led by the star like the Israelites were led long ago with a cloudy pillar by day and a pillar of fire by night, maybe the astronomers have read about a star coming out of Jacob and a scepter rising out of Israel. Or maybe they are part of a larger group of magi, sky-watchers, who have heard the prophecies of Daniel over 800 miles away in Babylon. Whatever the case may be, they don’t want to dismiss the phenomenon up above, and they don’t want to rely on hearsay—they want to see for themselves.
9. There is a 2-year gap in our story
Place: Parthian Empire, Judea, Rome
Scripture: Matthew 1:25-2:1
Description: If these wise men are from the Roman Empire’s rival, the Parthian Empire to the east, their unfolding plans to enter Roman territory (in pursuit of the star and in search of the “king of the Jews”) would be a bold-faced insult to Herod. Rome had no experienced military commander around this time, and its leaders - maybe especially the leaders in this buffer state of Judea - are worried about a Parthian attack.
10. The wise men discuss Jesus with Herod
Place: Jerusalem
Scripture: Matt. 2:1-8
Description: Herod has good reason to be paranoid if these wise men are part of the Megistanes, a group of Persian-Parthians who elect kings. When they tell Herod about their objective, it might seem like they are trying to provoke a border skirmish. At the very least, this impromptu trip from these foreigners raises red flags.
11. The wise men follow the star and find Jesus
Place: Nazareth or Bethlehem?
Scripture: Matt. 2:9-12
Description: If the wise men from afar are familiar with the prophecies in Genesis, Numbers and Daniel about a star coming out of Jacob and a scepter rising out of Israel, they certainly haven’t read Micah (yet), which connects Bethlehem with the new ruler. Herod’s chief priests and scribes show them Micah 5:2 and re-route the travelers. Do they ditch the directions they’re given and follow the star somewhere else, or does the star indeed lead to Bethlehem? Some say they might end up in Nazareth. What we know for sure is that the wise men find Jesus “in a home.” If they find Jesus in Nazareth, it means this is a strange star that moves from south to north. Regardless, the star doesn’t seem to be following normal patterns.
12. Joseph receives a vision to go Egypt
Place: Nazareth or Bethlehem?
Scripture: Matt. 2:13-18
Description: The angel of the Lord shows up again, this time in Joseph’s dream. When Joseph wakes up, he and Mary pack their bags and travel through the night toward Egypt. By this time, they are seasoned travelers and probably well prepared for another grueling trip that is roughly six times the distance they’ve been traveling. As the sun rises, they are well on their way, retracing Joseph’s journey from Canaan and experiencing another exodus in reverse.
13. Herod’s men kill Jewish boys under two years of age
Place: Bethlehem
Scripture: Matt. 2:13-18
Description: Back in Bethlehem, now that the prophecy from Micah has been fulfilled, a threatened, paranoid Herod fulfills another prophecy in Jeremiah by ordering a slaughter. Apparently, he thinks he can out-maneuver the scriptures, but what he doesn’t realize is that another prophecy in Hosea is also being fulfilled - “out of Egypt I will call my son.” Jesus is out of harm’s way.
14. Mary, Joseph and Jesus stay in Egypt
Place: Egypt
Scripture: Matthew 2:14-15
Description: Several hundred miles later, the holy couple (with Jesus in tow) crosses the Red Sea and wades in the Nile. They must think of the angel of the Lord providing protection for the Israelites crossing the sea in Exodus 14, and how the angel of the Lord provided specific instructions to Hagar, Abraham and Jacob. In search of a new home, they likely think of the time when they arrived in the crowded town of Bethlehem, looking for a place to rest.
15. Herod dies
Place: Herodium, Jericho
Scripture: Matt. 2:19-23
Description: Herod’s health had been failing, and now he succumbs to a painful illness. Some say that it is so painful that he tries to commit suicide, but his cousin stops him. He ends up dying in Jericho of a chronic kidney disease that leads to gangrene. Upon his death, he orders a large group of men to be killed in Jericho so that there would be grieving around the time of his funeral. However, his son Archelaus, the new ruler, doesn’t comply. Herod is buried 25 miles away from Jericho in Herodion, but the procession only travels one mile per day, so the funeral takes a while.
16. Mary, Joseph and Jesus return home
Place: Nazareth
Scripture: Matt. 2:19-23
Description: The angel of the Lord shows up for the third time to Joseph, telling him in a dream to take his family back to Israel because Herod is dead. Although Mary and Joseph seem to have had plans to return to the Jerusalem area (possibly Bethlehem), Joseph is warned yet another time in a dream to change direction (this time we don’t know if it’s the angel of the Lord). They end up back in Galilee.
