Religion and Theology

The story of Jesus is covered by the Gospel Books of the bible. The gospel books are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They hold the record of the life of Jesus, His works, ministry, and His eventual death by crucifixion. However, the story of the birth of Jesus is covered in the Gospel books of Matthew and Luke only.

As Vermes (2006) notes, the entire nativity narration has a short timescale. Vermes notes that in the infancy narratives, Jesus was born to a virgin, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, three days later innocent babies were murdered, Jesus was circumcised on the seventh day, and the parents together with baby Jesus moved to Egypt. The two narratives agree that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is Lord, Christ, and the son of God and they lead to a story that invites mankind to follow Jesus for salvation.

However, this is as far as the two books of Gospel agree. The two books as Van Biema (2004) notes there are variations in the details of the birth of Jesus in the two books (48). Van Biema notes that the differences in the two versions of the birth of Christ occur in the angelic annunciation of the birth of a special child, the first visitors of the new baby, and the actual place where the baby was born.

The book of Matthew chapter 1 verse 20-21, notes that
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS for he shall save his people from their sins.
The book of Matthew notes that Joseph goes ahead and accepts Mary as his wife after the angel appears to him. From the text, Van Biema notes that the Matthew version mentions an unnamed angel giving the message of the birth of Christ to Joseph in a dream.

However the book of Luke chapter 1 verse 26-36 notes that
angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth.And the angel came in unto her (Mary), and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among women.And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

As Van Biema rightly notes in the version given in the book of Luke, angel Gabriel is sent by God to Mary to give her the information of the fore coming birth of Jesus. In addition, in the Lukes version, the angel does not appear in a dream. Luke chapter 1 verse 38 gives the response of Mary who accepts being the mother of Jesus referring to herself as the handmaid of the Lord.

Another discrepancy as noted by Van Biema is the reporting of the first visitors that came to see baby Jesus. Van Biema notes that immediately after the birth of Christ, Matthew reported that wise men came to visit the baby bearing with them three gifts. The wise men came following a star. He however notes that the version according to Luke notes that it was shepherds that were the first visitors. The King James Version bible points out in Matthew chapter 2 verses 1-11 that,

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship HimAnd when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew recorded wise men who followed the star in the east and contrary to what most people think, the narrative does not give the number of the wise men. It is assumed that the mentioning of the three gifts is the source of the assumption that there were three wise men. The version according to Luke chapter 2 verses 8-16 points out that,

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon themAnd the angel said unto them, Fear not for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord..Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.and they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger

Luke recorded that the shepherds who visited Jesus were informed of the birth of Jesus by an angel of God. The wise men in Matthew were directed by a bright star from the east while the shepherds were notified of the birth by an unnamed angel.

Van Biema notes that the two narratives note that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. However, he adds that the narratives do not give the same reason as to why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. According to Matthew, Jesus was born in Bethlehem where Joseph and Mary were residents. However, according to Luke, the hometown of Jesus was Nazareth and he was born in Bethlehem because Joseph and Mary had had to travel to register in a census. In addition, there is no mention of Jesus being born in a manger in the narrative by Matthew.

Explanations for the Differences
The writers of the two accounts were from different background as well as religious beliefs. There have been various reasons put forward by various scholars to explain the differences in the infancy narratives. Van Biema quoting various scholars points out that the different backgrounds of the authors and mistranslation may be the cause of the differences. He notes that Luke was a pagan converted to Christianity and he purposely used fine Greek for non-Jewish audience using particular references that such an audience could identify with. On the other hand, Van Biema notes that Matthew was a Jew and converted to Christianity, and the stellar reference in his narrative is to show his knowledge in the importance of stars and astronomy in general to non-Jews.

Importance of the Infancy Narratives
The birth and the early life of Jesus form an important part of the Christian faith. This is evidenced by the prayers, doctrines, hymnody, poetry, and art that have arisen from the infancy narratives. Despite the differences of the records, they have continued to enrich the lives of Christians and strengthening the Christian faith. They do this by converging on points such as Jesus was indeed born of the Virgin Mary and was the true Christ and the son of God.

The Christmas Stories for Children
The Christmas stories and carols do not focus deeply on the variations in the two versions. Some of the stories combine the two versions to create a general story line while others add more information that is not clear in the two versions.

Understanding the difference enables Christians to focus on the important issues in the story such as the virgin birth and the purpose of the birth. Understanding the important issues enables the formulation of children stories and carols that bring out the fundamental purpose of the birth of Christ that is to save human kind.

In conclusion, the infancy narratives form a basis on which the entire religion is based. The Christian faith is based on the life and teaching of Jesus and the infancy narratives are therefore an important base upon which Christianity rests. For a better appreciation of the Christianity faith, a reflective study of the Matthew and Luke accounts is necessary. Such a study would also help in understanding and appreciating the practices that have resulted from the infancy narratives as well as help in gaining further perspective on the faith. In addition, the narratives are best studied independently without attempting to harmonize their details.