“Sesungguhnya, anak dara itu akan mengandung dan melahirkan seorang anak laki-laki, dan mereka akan menamakan Dia Imanuel” –yang berarti: Allah menyertai kita.
Imanuel, Allah beserta kita. Ia datang bukan hanya untuk orang-orang hebat. Ia tidak datang hanya untuk orang-orang yahudi, atau para petinggi agama.
Ia datang buat orang-orang berdosa, buat orang-orang yang termarjinalkan dalam kehidupan dunia. Kaum gembala bukan orang-orang yang dianggap punya status dalam masyarakat saat itu. Mereka hanyalah kaum marjinal namun kepada merekalah malaikat mengabarkan kedatangan Yesus. Not just that. Yang datang menemui Yesus selain gembala adalah orang- orang Majus. Orang-orang Majus ini merupakan kaum non Yahudi yang datang dari bangsa Persia dan merupakan orang bijak (atau imam?) beragama Majusi.
Di dalam Alkitab, kata Majus mulai muncul di kitab Daniel (1:20, 2:27, 5:15), ditujukan buat orang-orang bijak, para imam dari Madai, Persia dan Babilonia. “Dalam tiap-tiap hal yang memerlukan kebijaksanaan dan pengertian, yang ditanyakan raja kepada mereka, didapatinya bahwa mereka sepuluh kali lebih cerdas dari pada semua orang berilmu dan semua ‘ahli jampi’ (Ibrani: ‘ASYAF; Yunani: ‘MAGOS’) di seluruh kerajaannya.” (Daniel 1:20)
Disini kata Magos dikenakan untuk golongan orang bijaksana atau ahli astrologi yang mentafsirkan mimpi atau pesan-pesan dari para “illah”. Namun dalam Perjanjian Baru, kata Magos diperluas dan ditujukan juga pada nabi palsu, ahli sihir, ahli nujum, dan sejenisnya (Kisah 8:9; 13:6,8 ). “Mereka mengelilingi seluruh pulau itu sampai ke Pafos. Di situ mereka bertemu dengan seorang Yahudi bernama Baryesus. Ia seorang tukang sihir (’MAGOS’) dan nabi palsu.” (kisah 13:6)
Orang-orang Majus memang para imam yang belajar tentang ilmu perbintangan. Bukan hal asing kalau mereka selalu mengamati pergerakan bintang-bintang, dan menafsirkannya berdasarkan kepercayaan mereka. Bukan hal aneh kalau pada masa itu orang percaya dengan mitos dan hal-hal berbau magis. Karena pada kenyataannya pergerakan benda langit mempengaruhi kebudayaan dunia.
Sebagai orang-orang yang memang mempelajari langit, tentunya kehadiran bintang terang bukanlah hal aneh, apalagi dengan cerahnya langit masa itu yang belum terkontaminasi cahaya kosmik lainnya dari lampu-lampu kota. Tapi dalam kasus ini, tentu bintang yang dilihat ini sesuatu yang seharusnya memberi makna lain dari pergerakan benda langit.
Dalam rentang tahun kelahiran Yesus, ada beberapa kejadian astronomi yang bisa diasosiasikan sebagai bintang terang itu. Yesus lahir dimasa pemerintahan Herodes. Dari sejarah modern, diketahui Herodes meninggal pada kisaran tahun 4SM dan 1 SM, sementara orang Majus menjumpai Yesus sebelum kematian Herodes. Dari runutan kejadian dalam astronomi disekitar tahun yang dianggap sebagai prediksi kelahiran Yesus, waktu kemunculan bintang Betlehem tersebut berada pada kisaran tahun 7 SM - 2 SM. Jadi dalam rentang waktu inilah kita akan mencoba melihat kejadian yang tak biasa di langit yang mungkin saja menarik perhatian orang-orang Majus tersebut.
Dalam Matius 2:1-2 dikatakan “Sesudah Yesus dilahirkan di Betlehem di tanah Yudea pada zaman raja Herodes, datanglah orang-orang majus dari Timur ke Jerusalem dan bertanya-tanya: “Di manakah Dia, raja orang Yahudi yang baru dilahirkan itu? Kami telah melihat bintang-Nya di Timur dan kami datang untuk menyembah Dia.”
Selama rentang waktu tahun 7 SM - 1 SM, tercatat peristiwa supernova, komet, meteor, okultasi Jupiter dengan Bulan, maupun konjungsi beberapa planet. Jika kita telaah satu per satu, ada beberapa hal yang harus diperhatikan untuk menjadi syarat bintang Betlehem. Menurut Matius yang menjadi syarat bintang Betlehem, bintang tersebut terlihat di timur dan mendahului orang Majus serta berhenti diatas kota Betlehem. Berarti penampakan bintang tersebut tidak pernah tetap, namun ada saat penampakan tersebut diam untuk beberapa waktu. Syarat lainnya, bintang tersebut punya kaitan atau “kepercayaan” dengan orang Yahudi serta mengindikasikan kelahiran serta keagungan. Hal lainnya yang harus diperhatikan, Herodes tidak bisa dengan mudah mengenali bintang tersebut karena didalam Matius dikatakan, ia meminta orang Majus untuk mengenalinya.
Dari berbagai kandidat bintang bethlehem, ada dua kejadian menarik yang secara astronomi maupun mitologi bisa dikaitkan dengan kehadiran seorang Raja.
Konjungsi Jupiter - Saturnus
Salah satu kandidat bintang Betlehem adalah peristiwa konjungsi Planet, dimana dua atau lebih objek langit terlihat berdekatan di angkasa Contohnya adalah Gerhana Matahari total, saat bulan matahari berada pada satu garis. Memang, dalam konjungsi, objek-objek yang berkonjungsi tidak selalu tepat berada dalam satu garis, namun bagi pengamat di Bumi yang melihatnya dengan mata bugil, objek-objek tersebut akan tampak sebagai satu titik yang terang. Sepanjang rentang waktu 7 SM dan 1 SM, terjadi beberapa kali konjungsi planet.
Di sepanjang tahun 7 SM, terjadi 3 kali konjungsi yang melibatkan Jupiter dan Saturnus di konstelasi Pisces (Ikan) dimulai dengan konjungsi pertama pada tanggal 29 Mei, kemudian diikuti konjungsi kedua pada 1 oktober dan yang ketiga 4 Desember. Setelah itu pada Februari 6 SM, terjadi lagi konjungsi antara Mars, Jupiter dan Saturnus yang terjadi setiap 805 tahun. Dalam konjungsi pertama di tahun 7 SM, Jupiter dan Saturnus baru terbit setelah lewat tengah malam, sehingga akan tampak di arah timur sebelum Matahari terbit. Pada konjungsi kedua, kedua planet terbit saat Matahari terbenam dan akan terlihat sepanjang malam. Selang waktu terjadinya konjungsi memungkinkan para Majus melakukan perjalanan dari Timur menjumpai Herodes, setelah melihat bintangNya di timur (Mat 2:2).
Tak bisa dipungkiri kalau kelahiran seseorang di masa itu seringkali dikaitkan dengan tanda-tanda tertentu di langit. Nah, pada masa itu konjungsi Jupiter (mag -2.5) dan Saturnus (mag 0.8) bisa dikatakan merupakan tanda ideal kehadiran raja baru. Jupiter dikenal sebagai “Planet of Kings” sementara Saturnus dikenal sebagai “Protector of Jews” (Pelindung bangsa Yahudi), memberi indikasi kedatangan “Raja yang akan melindungi seluruh bangsa Yahudi”.
Bagi astrolog jaman dahulu, konstelasi Pisces (ikan) dikenal sebagai rumah bangsa Ibrani, Jupiter merupakan “ruler of the universe” dan Saturnus diasosiasikan dengan Palestina. Hal ini memberi kesan kalau konjungsi tersebut merupakan pertanda “King of Israel and Ruler of a Universe about to be born in Israel” . Yang perlu diingat dan ditandai, peristiwa konjungsi Jupiter Saturnus sangatlah jarang, dan hanya terjadi dalam interval waktu antara 40 - 338 tahun. Tentulah kejadian ini akan dianggap spektakuler oleh orang-orang yang mempelajari benda-benda langit dan mulai mengasosiasikannya dengan suatu kejadian. Bagi orang-orang Majus yang juga mengenali sejarah Bangsa Yahudi dan kepercayaannya. kejadian ini menjadi pertanda kalau Mesias yang dinubuatkan akan lahir dan menyelamatkan bangsa Yahudi.
Dan lihatlah, bintang yang mereka lihat di Timur itu mendahului mereka hingga tiba dan berhenti di atas tempat, di mana Anak itu berada. (Matius 2:9)
Setelah bertemu Herodes, orang-orang Majus kemudian menuju kota Betlehem di arah selatan. Dalam pengamatan mereka, bintang yang mereka lihat di Timur sudah bergerak mendahului mereka dan berhenti di atas kota Betlehem. Pada pertemuan pertama Jupiter dan Saturnus memang terlihat di timur setelah lewat tengah malam, namun saat terjadi konjungsi kedua dan ketiga ( Oktober dan desember 7 SM) keduanya akan tampak berada di zenith (titik tertinggi yang dicapai dalam gerak harian benda langit) setelah matahari terbenam. Hal inilah yang menyebabkan kedua planet ini seolah-olah berhenti di atas langit kota Betlehem, memberi tanda pada orang Majus kalau sang Raja itu ada disana, terbaring di palungan dalam balutan kain lampin (atau kain kafan).
Pertemuan Raja Planet dan Raja Bintang
Kandidat lainnya muncul pada kisaran tahun 3SM- 2SM di saat perayaan Tahun Baru Yahudi, Rosh ha-Shanah. Saat itu di bulan September saat orang Majus mengamati langit, tampak Jupiter memulai proses konjungsinya dengan bintang Regulus.
Regulus berasal dari kata Regal, orang Babilon menyebut Regulus “Sharu” yang berarti raja. Orang Roma menyebutnya Rex, yang juga berarti raja. Dan di awal tahun Yahudi, “Planet of Kings” bertemu dengan “Star of Kings”. Yang menarik, saat itu Jupiter bergerak berlawanan dengan gerak bintang. Aneh? Well, gerak inilah yang kita kenal sebagai gerak retrograde. Mungkin gerak retrograde Jupiter inilah yang menarik perhatian orang Majus, karena setelah mengalami konjungsi dengan jarak terdekatnya dari Regulus, Jupiter memasuki masa gerak retrogradenya. Tapi kemudian, Jupiter berubah pikiran dan kembali bergerak mendekati Regulus dan mengalami konjungsi kedua. Setelah pertemuan kedua, Jupiter kembali berbalik arah dan bertemu untuk ketiga kalinya dengan Regulus. Maka terjadilah triple conjunction. Kejadian seperti ini sangatlah jarang, dan setelah beberapa bulan yang terlihat Raja Planet ini sedang menari halo di atas Regulus. Laksana penobatan sang raja.
Lalu berkatalah seorang dari tua-tua itu kepadaku: “Jangan engkau menangis! Sesungguhnya, singa dari suku Yehuda, yaitu tunas Daud, telah menang, sehingga Ia dapat membuka gulungan kitab itu dan membuka ketujuh meterainya.”(Wahyu 5:5)
Bukan hanya itu. pertemuan Jupiter dan Regulus sendiri berlangsung di konstelasi Leo, yang berlambang singa dan diasosiasikan dengan bangsa Yehuda. Dan Singa Yehuda sendiri merupakan perlambangan dari Yesus, Mesias yang akan datang dari bangsa Yehuda. Fenomena alam ini sepertinya memberi pertanda akan kedatangan Raja Yahudi. Inilah yang bisa jadi menjadi alasan orang Majus mengikuti bintang terang tersebut menuju Bethlehem menemui Yesus. Tuhan memakai kejadian sehari-hari yang biasa ditemui orang Majus untuk membawa mereka datang kepada Kristus. Kejadian alam yang diasosiasikan dengan kepercayaan setempat membawa kesimpulan akan kelahiran seorang Raja ditengah mereka.
Persembahan Orang Majus
Orang-orang Majus, imam dari agama Majusi yang dikenal sebagai orang-orang bijak, melihat dan mempelajari arti kelahiran bintang itu lantas datang kepada Yesus di palungan membawa persembahan emas, kemenyan dan mur. Ini unik, karena dalam pentafsiran, mereka ternyata tidak hanya melihat kelahiran seorang Raja tapi juga melihat lebih dari itu. Emas memberi perlambangan persembahan kepada seorang Raja, Kemenyan sebagai persembahan kepada seorang Imam yang menunjukkan kehadiran Yesus sebagai Imam Besar serta Mur sebagai lambang kematian yang menunjukkan nubuatan kematian Yesus di kayu salib. Dan itu dibawa oleh orang-orang non Yahudi, suatu hal yang sangat indah yang sedang dinyatakan Tuhan. Ia datang bukan sebagai raja suatu bangsa saja, namun Raja diatas segala raja. Bukan kepada orang kudus, tapi kepada orang berdosa. Bukan orang sehat yang membutuhkan tabib melainkan orang sakit. Untukmu, untukku dan untuk kita semua.
Kisah Bintang Bethlehem sendiri sampai saat ini masih tetap menjadi misteri yang menarik. Mungkin kita perlu memasuki lorong waktu ke masa lalu untuk mendapatkan sebuah kepastian. Namun diantara misteri dan ketidakpastian itu…. satu hal yang pasti, kemuliaan Allah dinyatakan diantara bangsa-bangsa lewat kehadiran peristiwa alam,budaya, dan mitologi masyarakat zaman itu.
Imanuel… Allah beserta kita…sama seperti janjiNya.. Aku akan menyertai engkau sampai dengan akhir zaman.
Merry Christmas
reference :
Orang Majus
wah vie… asli keren bin kumplit. nyembah2 deh eike… sampe gw print nih buat ditunjukin ke temen2
btw mo nambahin dikit, kaum Majusi itu adl kasta tertinggi pendeta Zoroaster dari daerah sekitar Persia. kata ‘magic’ diturunkan dari namanya karena mereka ini dahulu dikenal dgn kemampuan menyembuhkan, astrologi, ramal meramal, dan segala keajaiban lainnya.
seenggaknya satu kekaguman dari gw soal para Majus ini: bahkan pendeta dari kalangan kaum pagan pun sujud menyembah pada Sang Raja baru itu.
hehehe thx Di buat tambahannya. gue juga kagum Tuhan make cara yang sederhana tapi ajaib buat pendeta kaum pagan ini menyadari dan mencari serta datang menyembah Dia.
btw tapi di tulisan ini gue belon ngebahas pertemuan jupiter venus juga sih hehehe
Salam kenal Vie, banyak hal menarik di blog kamu.
Tulisan ini aku re post di group “AkuCintaYesus” di multiply.
Visit: http://akucintayesus.multiply.com
rgds,
rusma
http://kesha.multiply.com
alo kesha salam kenal juga. have a nice visit in here yah..
keren2..
salam kenal buat semuanya..
good posting dan selamat natal….
saya tak ada sebarang komen? cuma saya ada nak tanya pada semua sahabat? tentang ilmu jiwa mimpi dalam mimpi…..Plz>>>saya nak minta pandangan dari semua sahabat dan saya sertakan email saya janebarry1912@yahoo.com.my
The accounts of the birth of Jesus given by the anonymous authors of the Gospels of Luke and Matthew contradict each other to the degree that each renders the other impossible. It takes only a cursory examination to reveal the flaws in each story.
The following is from Robert Green Ingersoll.
According to the author of Matthew, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and the child into Egypt for fear of Herod. So Joseph took Mary and the child to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. Then Herod, finding that he was mocked by the wise men, “sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof from two years old and under.”
After the death of Herod an angel again appeared in a dream to Joseph and told him to take mother and child and go back to Palestine. So he went back and dwelt in Nazareth.
Is this story true? Must we believe that Herod murdered the babes of Bethlehem? Is it not unbelievable that the enemies of Herod did not charge him with this horror? Is it not marvelous that Mark and Luke and John forgot to mention this most heartless of massacres?
Luke also gives an account of the birth of Christ, but a very different one. He says that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed; that this was when Cyrenius was governor of Syria; that in accordance with this decree, Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to be taxed; that at that place Christ was born and laid in a manger. He also says that shepherds, in the neighborhood, were told of the birth by an angel, with whom was a multitude of the heavenly host; that these shepherds visited Mary and the child, and told others what they had seen and heard. He tells us that after eight days the child was named, Jesus; that forty days after his birth he was taken by Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem, and that after they had performed all things according to the law they returned to Nazareth. Luke also says that the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and that his parents went every year to Jerusalem.
Do the accounts in Matthew and Luke agree? Can both accounts be true? Luke never heard of the star, and Matthew knew nothing of the heavenly host. Luke never heard of the wise men, nor Matthew of the shepherds. Luke knew nothing of the hatred of Herod, the murder of the babes or the flight into Egypt. According to Matthew, Joseph, warned by an angel, took Mary and the child and fled into Egypt. According to Luke they all went to Jerusalem, and from there back to Nazareth.
Both of these accounts cannot be true. Will some Christian scholar tell us which to believe? When was Christ born? Luke says that it took place when Cyrenius was governor. Here is another mistake. Cyrenius was not appointed governor until after the death of Herod, and the taxing could not have taken place until ten years after the alleged birth of Christ. According to Luke, Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, and for the purpose of getting them to Bethlehem, so that the child could be born in the right place, the taxing under Cyrenius was used, but the writer, being “inspired” made a mistake of about ten years as to the time of the taxing and of the birth. Matthew says nothing about the date of the birth, except that he was born when Herod was king.
It is now known that Herod had been dead ten years before the taxing under Cyrenius. So, if Luke tells the truth, Joseph, being warned by an angel, fled from the hatred of Herod ten years after Herod was dead. If Matthew and Luke are both right, Christ was taken to Egypt ten years before he was born, and Herod killed the babes ten years after he was dead. Will some Christian scholar have the goodness to harmonize these “inspired” accounts?
Ingersoll was on the right track. But his oration needs some clarification. Yes, Cyrenius was an important Roman official in the time of Augustus. His name was really Quirinius, which became Kyrinios in Greek, and Cyrenius in English. (The RSV bible has corrected his name back to Quirinius.) He was in charge of Roman military matters in Syria, which placed him over the legions in Judea as well, on 2 different occasions: 6-4 BCE and 6-9 CE. Apparently this information was unknown to Ingersoll, who claims Cyrenius did not come into power until ten years after the death of Herod the Great. What Ingersoll is speaking of is Cyrenius’ second term, from 6-9 CE.
No Christian scholar contends that Jesus was born as late as 6-9 CE. The consensus among Christian scholars is that he was born in 4 BCE, during Cyrenius’ first term. And all Christian scholars, even Fundamentalists, agree that Cyrenius was governor twice.
According to Josephus, there was a census taken for the purpose of assessing a special tax initiated during Cyrenius’ second administration. During this time, Herod Archelaus (son of Herod the Great) had been deposed as ethnarch, and Judea had come under direct Roman rule– it became a “procuratorial province” with its capital at Caesarea and Caponius as procurator. This we know as fact. This change in rulership– Judea coming under direct Roman authority– is the reason behind the special taxation. As long as Judea was under the control of a native ruler, Rome was willing to let the taxes be collected in whatever way that pleased the ruler, as long as the appropriate amount was sent on to Rome. But once Rome took control, taxation had to be done systematically, and hence the need for the census– numbering the people and their possessions. And that’s why only Luke’s story mentions that the taxation was under Augustus Caesar, and he says nothing of Herod Archelaus– because Herod was gone.
Herod the Great (Herod Archelaus’ father) ruled Judea as king during Cyrenius’ first term, but he died in 4 BCE. This is the ‘death of Herod’ mentioned in Matthew. Between Cyrenius’ first and second terms, Herod Archelaus was governor of Judea; but he was deposed prior to Cyrenius’ second term. The taxation that Luke claims Joseph and Mary fled from happened in Cyrenius’ second term, under the direct rule of Augustus Caesar.
The contradiction stands, even stronger now than in Ingersoll’s day. If there was a Jesus, and if he was born around 4 BCE, then yes, Cyrenius was governor at that time. BUT, that’s not when Luke’s taxation under Augustus happened. It happened in Cyrenius’ second term around 7 CE, when Jesus must have been around 11 years old.
Did the killing of the infants really happen?
The killing of all the children under two years of age by Herod the Great is not recorded anywhere outside of the Gospel of Matthew. That great weaver of prophecy– the anonymous author of Matthew (hereafter referred to simply as “Matthew”), goes to great lengths to tie Jesus to Old Testament prophecy, and the killing of the infants is just another attempt. He is attempting to create a similarity between the birth of Jesus and the birth of Moses, when Pharaoh killed all the infants of Egypt. Matthew is trying to imply for Jesus at least an equal status to Moses. Matthew even sends Joseph and Mary into Egypt, of all places, to avoid the wrath of Herod! Could anything be more blatantly obvious?
The claim that Herod the Great, who had been firmly established by Antony in his government, and who had full-grown male heirs to succeed him, was afraid that the baby of an obscure Nazareth carpenter would supplant him in his kingdom is enough to cause a Puritan to laugh on Sunday. Had Herod issued such a decree, his family would have probably confined him in a madhouse.
The fact that the Roman and Jewish historians of the day (one of whom was an enemy of Herod, and gives a full and complete account of Herod’s life) knew nothing of this infant slaying, and that an anonymous author, writing some two centuries afterward, is the only person on earth who mentions it, is of itself sufficient to brand the story as an atrocious falsehood.
No trace of this horrendous massacre appears in recorded history. Why, if it happened, did it not get recorded? Was it because “the winners write the history”? Was it because historians feared the consequences of writing such an event?
This cannot be the case. We know that Herod the Great had ordered the assassination of Malichus. He arranged the murder of 45 members of the Sanhedrin (a ruling body), and confiscated their property. He executed Hyranicus, former governor of Syria, who had previously pardoned Herod. He also had his wife Mariamne executed. He also had her brother, Aristobulus III, drowned at Jericho. We also know that Herod executed his own two sons by Mariamne, and on his deathbed, ordered his death of his eldest son Antipater (named after Herod’s father). There is absolutely no reason to suppose that any of Herod’s outrageous deeds would be suppressed by history.
Some apologists say that the killing of the infants by Herod was consistent with the way Romans did things. Well, Herod wasn’t a Roman. He was descended from a family of Idumaean origin. He came to Rome when he was 33 years old, where Antony, who had been a friend and ally of Herod’s father Antipater, persuaded the Senate to declare him King of Judea. In 39 BCE Herod returned to Palestine and, when the presence of Antony put the reluctant Roman troops entirely at his disposal, he was able to lay siege to Jerusalem two years later. Secure of the support of Rome, he endeavored to legitimize his position in the eyes of the Jews by taking the Hasmonaean princess Mariamne to be his second wife. By 37 BCE, Herod was king of Judea. He died in 4 BCE.
Thomas Paine, usually a very good source, makes the following error. He says:
Matthew makes Herod to die while Christ was a child in Egypt, and makes Joseph to return with the child on the news of Herod’s death, who had sought to kill him. Luke makes Herod to be living, and to seek the life of Jesus after Jesus was thirty years of age… The obscurity in which the historical part of the New Testament is involved, with respect to Herod, may afford to priests and commentators a plea, which to some may appear plausible, but to none satisfactory, that the Herod of which Matthew speaks, and the Herod of which Luke speaks, were two different persons.
That’s because they were two different persons. Herod the Great is whom Matthew is speaking of, and Luke speaks of Herod Antipas, his son.
Matthew calls Herod a king; and Luke (iii, 1) calls Herod, Tetrarch (that is, Governor) of Galilee.
That’s exactly right. Herod the Great is called king of Judea. Herod Antipas is called Tetrarch of Galilee– and his brother Herod Archelaus is Tetrarch of Judea, and his other brother, Herod Philip, is Tetrarch of Iturea. One needs a scorecard to keep track…
But there could be no such person as a King Herod, because the Jews and their country were then under the dominion of the Roman Emperors who governed then by tetrarchs, or governors.
And here Paine is exactly right again. There WAS no King Herod when the Jews were under Roman rule– they were governed locally by the tetrarchs, the sons of King Herod. But there used to be a King Herod, in the previous generation, before the Romans took control of Judea.
Luke ii makes Jesus to be born when Cyrenius was Governor of Syria, to which government Judea was annexed; and according to this, Jesus was not born in the time of Herod. Luke says nothing about Herod seeking the life of Jesus when he was born; nor of his destroying the children under two years old; nor of Joseph fleeing with Jesus into Egypt; nor of his returning from thence. On the contrary, the book of Luke speaks as if the person it calls Christ had never been out of Judea, and that Herod sought his life after he commenced preaching, as is before stated.
So you can see that Paine’s argument is based on the incorrect assumption that Matthew and Luke were speaking of the same Herod. I hardly like criticizing the monumental Paine, but errors need to be corrected. But Paine wasn’t the only one to make such an error– the Gospel of Mark, in 6:14, makes the same mistake and calls Herod Antipas (the tetrarch of Galilee) a king. Well, no one is perfect, including the author of Mark.
If the author of Matthew is right about the killing of the infants, then the author of Luke wrong about the taxation. And if the author of Luke is correct, then the author of Matthew is mistaken. Both gospels cannot be correct.
http://freethought.mbdojo.com/herod.html
so what’s your point… it won’t change my believe or what so ever. Believe what yu believe and be it like what you believe..