Amy Welborn reviews the 2024 Netflix film on Mary:
The family moves on — not to Egypt, but Jerusalem. OK, but why? Herod is still on the hunt brandishing a sword and seething about the Messiah in a great hall, surrounded by baskets of babies. Mary and Joseph approach Jerusalem’s gates. Super dangerous for sure, but Mary is determined and confident. “We are blessed,” she asserts, and in they march to the Temple, where the prophetess Anna awaits. Love will save the world.
Well, sure it will, but wait, what? Setting aside Avenger Joseph, this is all wrong. The Gospels tell us that the Presentation of Jesus occurred 40 days after his birth, coinciding with Mary’s ritual purification. And yes, Mary and Joseph did make it to Egypt, but that journey, along with Herod’s massacre and even the visit of the Magi, occurred when he was a toddler.
Does it really matter?
Yes it does, especially when, no matter how well intentioned, you are presenting your work as the “story” that the rest of us never knew before.
