What we can come to understand surrounding the birth of
Jesus is very surprising. If we do not take the time to clearly read the
Gospels we will miss the fact that John the Baptist is not merely the forerunner
of Jesus, he is also his cousin. Elizabeth was six months pregnant at the time
Mary conceived Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was a
major connection between the two of them while still in the womb John leapt for
joy (Luke 1:40). In Matthews account of the birth of Jesus was told to Joseph
in a dream by the angel of the Lord (Matt. 1:20) While in Luke’s account the
angel Gabriel came and spoke with her informing her that she would be with child
(Luke 1:31).
After the
birth of Jesus his life would be at risk from King Herod who felt he was the
ultimate king of the Jews. Herod would hear of Jesus birth from the wise men
(found in Matthew), while in Luke’s account shepherds would come to visit the
infant king. Luke does mention that after Jesus’ birth he was taken to the
temple where he is dedicated by Simeon and also comes into contact with the prophetess
Anna, which is something that Matthew leaves completely out. However, Matthew
tells us about the slaughter of males under the age of two due to the jealousy
of Herod, which is when Joseph, Mary and Jesus flee to Egypt. After the death
of Herod which is recorded in Matthew 2:19-23 Jesus’ family returns to
Nazareth. There is only one other account from Jesus’ childhood and that is the
trip to the temple when he we twelve years old. Luke is the only author again who
records this event (Luke 2:41-52).
Now areas
that can often be a source of contention are the genealogies that first take
place in the beginning of Matthew and Luke’s Gospels. As you read through the
both of them you automatically notice several differences first Matthew starts
his with Abraham, while Luke begins with Joseph. Matthew traced Jesus’
genealogy from Abraham with forty-one links to Joseph arranged in three sets of
fourteen generations.[1]
Also, in verse eight Matthew omitted three generations of kings Ahaziah, Joash,
and Amaziah; while he used the term begat (KJV) it doesn’t mean father-son but
more a line of descent.[2]
Luke however worked backwards starting with Joseph, and the lineages are very
similar from Abraham until David; but once it moves from David to Joseph things
change dramatically.[3] In
Lea and Black on page 174 there are several options offered about the best ways
to reconcile these differences. I would suggest you read them over and be the
judge.
No comments:
Post a Comment