Are the following two bible passages contradicting each other? One has them going into Egypt and the other into Nazareth:

Matthew 2:14
And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt.

Luke 2:39-40
And when they had finished all things according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom. And the grace of God was on Him.

Explanation:

First of all, NOTICE that Joseph and Mary ALREADY WERE from Nazareth, BEFORE Jesus was born:

Luke 2:4-5
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was pregnant.

They went into Bethlehem out of Nazareth, to register and while in THAT CITY of Bethlehem, Christ was born “IN A MANGER”:

Luke 2:6-7
So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to bear. And she bore her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

SHEPHERDS (Not Wise Men) out in the fields, went into the city of David called Bethlehem, and saw “THE BABY” Jesus, lying “IN A MANGER”.

Luke 2:12, 15-16
And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. So it was, when the angels had departed from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go then to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger.

Now AFTER eight days had expired and Mary completed her purification period, they left Bethlehem and took “THE BABY” Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem for circumcision and also to present him to the Lord:

Luke 2:21-22
And when eight days were completed, so they could circumcise Him, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. Now when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

Now when ALL THESE THINGS were done, and Jesus still being “ONLY DAYS OLD”, THEY RETURNED to “THEIR OWN CITY” of Nazareth:

Luke 2:39
So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

So the above clearly explains Luke 2:39-40. This period covers the very first few days of the BABY Jesus’ life. The baby Jesus probably wasn’t even a month old when they returned back home to Nazareth from Jerusalem.

Please note this: It was SHEPHERDS that visited the baby Jesus. The Shepherds found the baby Jesus in a MANGER “IN BETHLEHEM”. The BABY Jesus was a NEWBORN when the Shepherds visited him in the manger.

AND THEN, sometime between this time and Jesus being around TWO YEARS OLD, “AFTER” he’d already been born in Bethlehem, circumcised, presented to the Lord, having returned to Nazareth AND in the days of Herod the king, WISE MEN come from the east into Jerusalem, seeking He, who “HAD BEEN” born King of the Jews:

Matthew 2:1-3
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and have come to worship Him.” But when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Herod, after determining where “THE CHILD” was born, sent the wise men to seek the Christ child in Bethlehem; for he had no idea that the family was actually from Nazareth and that they had already returned there:

Matthew 2:4-5, 8
And having gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ would be born. So they said to him,
“In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet… And having sent them to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and carefully search for the young Child, and as soon as you find Him, report back to me, so that I also may come and worship Him.”

But by this time Christ was no longer in Bethlehem, but rather already living with his parents back in Nazareth.

And so it was “A STAR” and not Herod’s directions to Bethlehem that led the wise men to the “YOUNG CHILD” in Nazareth- who WAS NOW in “A HOUSE”  in Nazareth and not in  “a manger” in Bethlehem, who was now a YOUNG CHILD and not A NEWBORN BABE:

Matthew 2:9-11
When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And having come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and falling down, they worshipped Him, and opening their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

This was now a “YOUNG CHILD” in A HOUSE and not “A BABY” in a manger. And this was Nazareth and not Bethlehem. Remember, the bible never says the WISE MEN found THE YOUNG CHILD in Bethlehem. Herod directed them to Bethlehem- but THE STAR led them to the house In Nazareth!

Then, probably after spending at least one night there, the wise men are divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so they each return to their own country another way:

Matthew 2:12
And having been divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew into their own country by another way.

Now after the wise men departed, Joseph is also warned in a dream that Herod seeks to destroy the young child, and is told to flee into Egypt. And so that is exactly what they do:

Matthew 2:13-14
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, and take along the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is about to seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took along the young Child and His mother by night and withdrew into Egypt…

Shortly after that, Herod sends forth to be put to death all male children who were in Bethlehem and surrounding districts, TWO YEARS OLD and under according to the calculations of the wise men as to when the child might have been born:

Matthew 2:16
Then Herod, seeing that he had been deceived by the wise men, was greatly enraged; and he sent and executed all the boys in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men.

So by that time it was calculated that Jesus was pretty close to being at least two years old. That is why it is widely believed by many scholars that the book of Luke is missing about two years during this time period.

Aside from mentioning the shepherds visiting the baby Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem, Luke is silent in regards to the other things such as the wise men, wise men being led by a star to a house where the young child is, Herod’s plot to kill Jesus, the angelic warnings, the fleeing into Egypt, Herod’s widespread killing of innocent infants, Herod’s death, AND the angelic message giving them the clearance to return to Israel.

So right after the death of Herod though, the family RETURNS BACK HOME to Nazareth:

Matthew 2:19-20, 23
Now after Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, and take with you the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the young Child have died.”

So there are really no contradictions here. These are two entirely separate events and two entirely separate time periods. Luke simply covers the very first few days of Jesus’ life in Bethlehem; While Matthew covers the time period when he was about two years old and living in Nazareth.