BIRTH OF JESUS NARRATIVES

INTRODUCTION Birth narratives of Jesus are found in Matthew and Luke. Mark does not have birth narratives. Very few thing are common between Matthew and Luke. The few commonalities contain significance differences.

COMMONALITIES 1. Main characters: Mary, Joseph, Jesus. 2. Supporting characters: Angels, Holy Spirit. 3. Titles attributed to Jesus: Christ, son of David. 4. Heritage: children of Abraham/Israel, house of David. 5. Place names: Nazareth in Galilee, Bethlehem in Judea. 6. Historical period: during the reign of King Herod. 7. Genealogies.

DIFFERENCES Matthew 1–2 (only 48 verses, including genealogy) Luke 1–2 (total of 132 verses, plus 16 more in genealogy) 1:1 - Title of the Gospel 1:1-4 - Literary introduction to the Gospel 1:2-17 - The Genealogy of Jesus (from Abraham to King David to Exile to Joseph) (Genealogy included later, in Luke 3:23-38) - 1:5-25 - Angel Gabriel announces John the Baptist’s birth

- 2:1-5 - Joseph & Mary journey to Bethlehem for the census 1:25 & 2:1a - Mary’s son is born in Bethlehem of Judea, and named Jesus 2:6-7 - Mary gives birth to her son in Bethlehem of Judea 2:8-14 - Angels appear to some shepherds (incl. the "Gloria" of the angels) 2:15-20 - Shepherds visit Mary & Joseph & the infant lying in a manger 2:21 - The infant is circumcised & named Jesus 2:22-38 - Jesus is presented to God in the Temple (incl. Simeon's "Nunc Dimittis")

2:1b-12 - Magi from the East come; they first visit Herod, then Jesus 2:13-21 - Joseph & Mary flee to Egypt with the child Jesus; the Innocents are murdered; the Holy Family returns to Israel 2:22-23 - They journey to Nazareth 2:39-40 - The family returns to Nazareth 2:41-52 - At age twelve, Jesus & his parents visit the Jerusalem Temple

DIFFERENT THEOLOGICAL EMPHASIS . Matthew 1–2 Luke 1–2 Driving Force: Hebrew Scriptures are fulfilled (1:22-23; 2:5-6, 15, 17-18, 23) Holy Spirit is at work (1:1, 35, 41, 67; 2:25-27) Jesus' Heritage: * Son of David, son of Abraham (1:1-17) * Legal son of Joseph, but child of the Holy Spirit (1:18-25) * Son of God, son of Mary by the Holy Spirit (1:26-38) * Heir to David's throne, over the house of Judah (1:32-33; 2:4)

Names & Titles: * Messiah (1:1, 16-18; 2:4) * Jesus: "For he will save his people from their sins" (1:21, 25) * Emmanuel: "God with us" (1:23) * King of the Jews (2:2) * "A ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel" (2:6) * Nazorean (2:23) * Jesus (1:31; 2:21) * Son of the Most High; Son of God (1:32, 35) * He will be great, holy, full of wisdom and grace (1:32, 35; 2:40) * "Of his kingdom there will be no end" (1:33) * A Savior is born... who is Messiah and Lord (2:11, 26) * A light for revelation to Gentiles and for glory to Israel (2:32)

Characters Emphasized: Men: King David, Joseph of Nazareth, Magi from the East, King Herod, chief priests & scribes, Ethnarch Archelaus Women: Virgin Mary of Nazareth, Elizabeth, Anna Poor & Aged: Shepherds, Zechariah, Simeon Themes: obstacles, conflict, fear, murder, politics glory, praise, joy;  poverty, humility, faith

OT Parallels: Dreamer Joseph (Genesis 37–41) Baby Moses (Exodus 1–2) Birth of Samson (Judges 13) Birth of Samuel (1 Sam 1–2) Number Symbolism: [King] David = 14 (DVD = 4+6+4); three groups of 14 generations in genealogy; focus on royalty 70 weeks from Gabriel's first Annunciation to Presentation in Temple? related to 70-week prophecy by angel Gabriel in Daniel 9:24-27?

DIFFERENCES   1. Matthew places the birth of Jesus during the rule of Herod the Great, who died in 4 B.C.E. Luke places it around ten years later, at the time of the Census (6-7 C.E.) 2. In Matthew, Jesus's parents lived in a house in Bethlehem. In Luke, they came to Bethlehem from elsewhere (Nazareth, a town which didn't exist until several hundred years after the time of the Biblical narratives). 3. In Matthew, Jesus was born in a house. In Luke, there was no room at the inn so he was born in a stable.

4. In Matthew, kings/wise men/noble visitors of some sort came from afar. In Luke, it was shepherds from the fields. You know those nativity scenes that show both shepherds and kings? That's a third version that nobody ever wrote about! 5. In Matthew, the kings attracted the attention of Herod, who ordered the slaughter of the innocents to try to kill Jesus. In Luke, that never happened.

6. In Matthew, Joseph and Mary fled with Jesus to Egypt 6. In Matthew, Joseph and Mary fled with Jesus to Egypt. In Luke, they calmly stayed in Bethlehem until Mary could be purified, then went to the Temple (in public!) where the priest Simeon made a major scene. 7. In Matthew, the family didn't return from Egypt for several years. In Luke, they went from Jerusalem directly back home to Nazareth and stayed there. 8. There are two completely different genealogies for Jesus.

DIFFRENCES IN GENEALOGIES 1. Matthew starts from Abraham, Luke starts from Adam and God. 2. Five matriarchs: Ruth, Bathsheba, Rahab, Tamar, and Marry are included in Matthew, but not in Luke. 3. Different names. 4. Luke has more ancestors than Mt. (Matthew - 41, Luke - 76) 5. Matthew traces the genealogy through Joseph, but Luke does it through Mary’s father/grandfather.

WOMEN IN THE GENEALOGY 1. Tamar: Disguised herself as a prostitute and conceived a son with her father-in-law (Gen 38). 2. Rehab: She was the harlot of Jericho whose life was spared because she aided Joshua’s spies (Josh 2, 3). 3. Ruth: Was a Moabite woman who joined herself to Israel through her husband’s family. 4. Bathsheba: Was Uriah’s wife with whom King David had Solomon (2 Sam 11-12). 5. Mary: A virgin who was betrothed to Joseph.

SOURCES The Birth of Jesus: Comparing the Gospel Infancy Narratives by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.  Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel Of Matthew. Luke T. Johnson, The Gospel of Luke.

JESUS’ YEAR OF BIRTH A RECONSTRUCTION

The early church was not so worried about the year of the birth of Jesus. It valued epiphany (revelation of God through Jesus). Epiphany was celebrated on the 6th January. Christmas was not their bother. Dionysius Exiguus, a Russian monk who died about 544, was tasked by Pope John I to set out the dates for Easter from the years 527 to 626. The Pope wanted some order in the celebration of Easter.

 Dionysius began with what he considered to be the year of Jesus' birth. He chose the year in which Rome had been founded and determined, that Jesus had been born 754 years later (Anno Urbis Conditae (AUC) – in the year of the founding of the city (Rome)Ab Urbe Condita (AUC) – from the founding of the city). He maintained 25 December as the day of birth. So according to him, 754 = 1 AD. Any year before 754 becomes BC (Before Christ) and any year after 754 inclusive becomes AD (Anno Domini).

Dionysius Exiguus decided that Christians were to celebrate the birth day of Jesus on December 25. In 274, in Rome, the Emperor Aurelian had declared December 25 a civic holiday in celebration of the birth of Mithras, the sun god. By 336, in that same city, Christians countered by celebrating the birth of Jesus, the son of God, on December 25.

PROBLEMS   King Herod died in 750 AUC, and Jesus was born when King Herod was alive. If Herod died in 750 AUC, yet Jesus was born when Herod was alive, then Dionysius’ calendar was 4 years off the mark.

2. According to Mat 2:16, the wise men were led by a star 2. According to Mat 2:16, the wise men were led by a star. Can this help us? Astrologists agree that between 6 and 7 BC there was some strange movement of stars. Probably one of such stars was Jesus’ star. The star which Matthew mentions is no ordinary star but a mysterious and miraculous one, yet astrologists are talking of ordinary stars. We cannot use a miraculous star to establish historical facts.

3. When Jesus was born the gospels say that there was a census. A census should be recorded in the archives of a nation. Unfortunately the census which the historian Josephus recorded took place in 6 AD by Herod Archelaus. It was carried out in Judaea in order to estimate the amount of taxes to be collected.

So apart from the Herod fact, there is no other help in the gospels So apart from the Herod fact, there is no other help in the gospels. Herod died in 750AUC/ 4BC. Jesus could have been born two years earlier, 6 BC.  Luke 3:23 says that Jesus started his ministry when he was thirty years old. However, thirty might be a symbolic figure which points to maturity. But since Luke was a gentile he might not have been in touch with Jewish symbolism. So Jesus was born between 6 and 4 BC.