In Leviticus 12, the Old Testament gives the Jewish purification and offering ritual that must take place after childbirth. In addition to describing the ritual, it goes on to describe the offering that women must make at the temple:
6 “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, 7 and he shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. 8 And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.” (Leviticus 12:6-8, ESV)
If a woman or her family had the resources, they would be required to sacrifice a lamb, pigeon and turtledove. If they did not have the money for a lamb, they would sacrifice two turtledoves or two pigeons. What does this have to do with Jesus? Mary was a Jew, and was bound by this law after he was born. Luke 2:22-24 tells us about her and Jesus’ offering.
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22-24, ESV)
The Bible alludes to the sacrifice for Jesus being one made by a family who could not afford a lamb. This would seem to make it clear that Jesus and his family were poor. To confirm this, we should look at the chronology of Jesus’ early life.
There is no definitive date for his birthday, but Scripture tells us that Jesus was born during the last years of Herod the Great. Most historians agree that he would have been born somewhere between 6-4 BC. On the same night Jesus is born, local shepherds visit (Luke 2:8-20). Leviticus 12 tells us that a male child is required to be circumcised eight days after their birth. It also says that a woman is not allowed to enter the temple until “the days of her purifying are completed,” 40 days after she has had a child. After those 40 days, she would be required to bring the offering. Luke 2 tells us that Jesus was circumcised eight days after he was born and says “when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses…” they took their offering to the temple. All of this happened in the first 40 days of Jesus’ life.
The story of the Wise Men in Matthew 2 most likely happens months, or perhaps years later. First, when Herod realized that the wise men had tricked him, he killed all the children in Bethlehem who were two years old and under, and Joseph was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt before Herod gave his order (Matthew 2:13-17). Second, the Wise Men did not find him in a manger. Matthew 2:11 says: “And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.” Third, Herod gave the order to kill children under two, not just infants. If the Magi had visited Jesus during the 40 day purification period, and Herod gave the order to kill children, why would Joseph risk his life to take him to a public temple ceremony? Why would any person who had a child go to the temple at that time? When we add this to the fact that Mary and Joseph were in a house, and Herod didn’t just kill infants, it is highly unlikely that the wise men came in the 40 day window of Mary’s purification and offering.
Most historians believe that the timeline looks something like this:
Day 1 - Jesus birth and shepherds →
Day 8 - circumcision →
Day 40 - Temple visit →
Months later - Magi arrive → Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt →
Years later - Jesus, Mary and Joseph return after Herod’s death in 4BC.
It is entirely plausible, and even likely, that Mary and Joseph were poor, until the Magi showed up. Then, they had enough resources to fund their life in Egypt, as well as Jesus’ ministry for over 30 years.