{"id":1752,"date":"2013-12-09T15:37:35","date_gmt":"2013-12-09T23:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hilbertthm90.wordpress.com\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2019-10-01T11:37:04","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T16:37:04","slug":"christmas-the-nativity-story-as-presented-in-matthew-and-luke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amindformadness.com\/2013\/12\/christmas-the-nativity-story-as-presented-in-matthew-and-luke\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Nativity Story in Matthew and Luke"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since one of my most-read articles this year was my analysis of the passion narrative<\/a> around Easter time, I thought I’d do another one on the Nativity Story for Christmas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not going to present much historical analysis that the events depicted are fiction (it is well-known that there was no census, no slaughter of innocent children, Narazeth probably wasn’t even a town at the time of Jesus, etc).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction to the Nativity Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This will again be textual analysis. It will look at what the stories are and why they were invented based on internal evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, I’d like to get this out of the way. As I pointed out in the last analysis, most people who grow up in a Christian house don’t realize there are differences between the passion narratives or why they exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is somewhat forgivable because they are roughly the same story told in different ways. For the nativity, there are two different birth narratives in the Gospels, and it seems to me a much more devious and intentionally malicious act that churches try to keep this from people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The birth narratives in Matthew and Luke are not at all the same story told in different ways.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are radically different and cannot be reconciled. One or both must be fiction (as we will see, we have good reason to believe both are fiction). A game gets played in churches on Christmas eve where a quote from Matthew gets said here, a quote from Luke here, and deceptively one consistent story is carefully crafted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the usual caveats apply. The Gospels were written by anonymous authors, but for ease of reference I’ll use the phrase “Matthew says” etc to mean “the author of the book of Matthew.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"nativity
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What About Mark?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before beginning, let’s first talk about why Mark doesn’t have a nativity story. In the early days of Christianity, there were all sorts of competing sects with different views trying to make their beliefs the orthodox view. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these competing views was called adoptionism<\/em><\/strong>. This means that they believed that Jesus was born human by normal human means and only later (during his baptism by John the Baptist) became “adopted by” God as his son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you read Mark’s account of the baptism, it is pretty clear this is what is happening. So Mark probably omitted a birth narrative because he held this opinion and thought there was nothing special about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew and Luke are the only two Gospels with a birth narrative.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statement of the Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Matthew<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Matthew, Joseph wants to divorce Mary because she is pregnant, but is convinced not to in a dream. They already live in Bethlehem, so without traveling, Mary has the child, and “wise men” come to investigate for Herod. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wise men decide not to return to Herod, and then because he is suspicious he orders all male children to be killed. Luckily, Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt in time. Once Herod dies they want to go back, but because Herod’s son is ruler they instead go to Nazareth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Luke, an angel appears to Mary to inform her of her pregnancy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then emperor Augustus orders an empire-wide census and people need to return to their ancestral home to register. Mary and Joseph live in Nazareth in this story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, Joseph needs to go to Bethlehem, his father’s father’s father’s … (13 times) father David’s birthplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here Mary gives birth in a stable because there is no room in the inn. Nearby shepherds come and worship him (note: no wise men in this story). Jesus is taken to the Temple for the standard Jewish rites and is recognized as the Messiah there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once finished, they return to Nazareth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essential Notes:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Essentially no part of the stories match up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n