Matthew’s Nativity Story, Critically Examined – by Paul Davidson
From Luke’s Nativity Story, Critically Examined – An excellent article dated January 3, 2016 by Paul Davidson with much more than the extracted title, intro, and table below.
Comparison with Matthew’s Nativity Story
It is impossible to harmonize Luke’s story with Matthew’s. While there are some common elements that point to some shared tradition, the stories as developed by the two authors are contradictory on many points.
| Matthew | Luke |
| The story is set in the time of King Herod. | The story seems to be set in the time of legate Quirinius, ten years after Herod’s death. |
| Mary and Joseph live in Bethlehem. | Mary and Joseph live in Nazareth and are brought to Bethlehem by a census. |
| The angel appears to Joseph after Mary has become pregnant. | The angel appears to Mary before she becomes pregnant. |
| Jesus is born in a house. | Jesus is born in a stable or animal stall. |
| Jesus’ birth is attended by magi. | Jesus’ birth is attended by shepherds. |
| Soon after Jesus’ birth, the family flees to Egypt. | Soon after Jesus’ birth, the family travels to Jerusalem for his presentation at the temple. |
| All Jerusalem is afraid of Jesus, and Judea is unsafe for him. | Jesus is warmly received in Jerusalem and recognized as the messiah. |
| Mary and Joseph move to Nazareth to avoid Archelaus, tetrarch of Judea. | Mary and Joseph return to Nazareth because it is their home. |
Elements of tradition that Luke and Matthew do share include the names of Jesus’ parents, an angelic annunciation, a miraculous conception, Bethlehem as the place of birth, Galilee as Jesus’ eventual home, association with a star or light (see Lk 2:32), and Davidic ancestry (though the genealogies disagree considerably). These elements are not necessarily shared by other sources (including the other two Gospels), and it will be interesting to see where they come from in another article.
From OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com
Comparison of the Birth Stories of Jesus in Matthew and Luke
The birth narratives in Matthew and Luke differ in emphasis and details, reflecting the authors’ distinct theological themes and audiences. Below is a comparative analysis, incorporating Matthew’s explicit references to fulfilled prophecy.
1. Genealogy of Jesus
- Matthew 1:1-17: Begins with a genealogy tracing Jesus’ lineage through David and Abraham, emphasizing Jesus as the fulfillment of Jewish Messianic prophecies.
- Luke 3:23-38: Places the genealogy later (after Jesus’ baptism) and traces Jesus back to Adam, emphasizing Jesus’ connection to all humanity.
- In the two genealogies, the linage to David is traced through Joseph but Joseph has different ancestors.
2. Annunciation
- Matthew: Focuses on Joseph.
- Matthew 1:18-25: An angel appears to Joseph in a dream, informing him that Mary’s child is conceived by the Holy Spirit and is to be named Jesus.
- Fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14: “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:22-23)
- The writer of Matthew must have used the Septuagint where the Hebrew word for young women in Isaiah 7:14 is mistranslated to virgin.
- Luke: Focuses on Mary.
- Luke 1:26-38: The angel Gabriel visits Mary, announcing that she will conceive Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Mary responds with humility and acceptance.
3. Birthplace and Journey to Bethlehem
- Matthew: Assumes Joseph and Mary were already in Bethlehem.
- Matthew 2:1: “In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea…”
- Fulfillment of Micah 5:2: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:5-6)
- Luke: Details a journey to Bethlehem due to a Roman census.
- Luke 2:1-5: Mary and Joseph travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem because Joseph belongs to the house of David.
Extract from Bart Ehrmans Post here related to the Birthplace and Journey
Consider one simple question, for example: where was Joseph and Mary’s hometown? Most people, before reading the accounts carefully, would probably say Nazareth. And in fact, that’s right – for Luke. But what about Matthew? Here there’s no word about Joseph and Mary coming from Nazareth. Jesus is born in Bethlehem. And he and his family appear to live there. Notice that the wise men find him in a house, not in a stable or a cave.
Moreover, the text appears to assume that these wise men have been following the star for some considerable time – months, possibly more than a year. When Herod sends out the troops, he doesn’t have just the newborns killed, but every child two years old and under. Surely soldiers would know that two-year-old kids toddling around the yard hadn’t been born last week! Thus Matthew seems to assume that Joseph and Mary live in Bethlehem, that Jesus lived his first year or so there, and that when the wise men came, they had to flee to Egypt.
But there’s even more evidence. When Joseph is told that Herod has died, Matthew indicates explicitly that he decides not to return to Judea because of Archelaus. But why would he consider returning to Judea anyway, if his home were in Galilee? Matthew’s statement makes sense only if Joseph’s home was in Bethlehem, near the Judean capital of Jerusalem. Not able to return there, he goes north to relocate to a new place, in the small village of Nazareth.
Related to the Census – From a Reddit response here.
The reason that the census was taken by Quirinius in 6 CE is due to the removal of Herod’s son Archelaus as ethnarch of Judea and direct administration of Roman rule. As Mason notes, “direct administration inevitably meant direct taxation, and for that purpose the new governor of neighboring Syria conducted a census of property, both in his own territory and in the newly acquired province” (205). In other words, having the census occur in 6 CE makes more sense than having it occur earlier because the reason it occurs is that Judea is now directly under Roman rule. In this sense, Luke is already unreliable because it claims the census as worldwide rather than located to a specific area now directly under Roman rule.
As [Steve] Mason notes, “Luke puts Mary’s pregnancy under the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4 BCE (Lk 1:5), in agreement with Matthew (Matt 2:1).” Further, he notes, “It is not clear how there could have been a census of Judea under Herod’s rule since the territory was not yet subject to direct Roman taxation. According to Josephus, it was the removal of Herod’s family that brought about the need for a census and direct Roman rule” (207). Mason also notes that the census is described as worldwide, which would have caused massive upheaval, and that “according to Roman law, one was taxed on the basis of one’s possessions, especially land and produce. Therefore it made no practical sense to have people return to their ancestral homelands, much less their ancestors’ villages, where their possessions could not be verified” (ibid).
4. Visitors at Jesus’ Birth
- Matthew: Highlights the Magi (wise men from the East).
- Matthew 2:1-12: The Magi follow a star to find Jesus, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This emphasizes Jesus as King and Savior of all nations.
- Luke: Focuses on shepherds.
- Luke 2:8-20: Angels announce Jesus’ birth to shepherds, symbolizing Jesus’ accessibility to the humble and lowly.
5. Threats and Flight to Egypt
- Matthew: Describes King Herod’s plot and the family’s escape to Egypt.
- Matthew 2:13-15: Joseph is warned in a dream to flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s massacre.
- Fulfillment of Hosea 11:1: “This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’” (Matthew 2:15)
- Luke: Does not mention Herod’s threat or the flight to Egypt.
6. The Massacre of the Innocents
- Matthew:
- Matthew 2:16-18: Herod orders the massacre of male infants in Bethlehem.
- Fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:15: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:17-18)
- Luke: Does not include this event.
7. Presentation at the Temple
- Matthew: Does not mention this.
- Luke 2:21-40: Describes Jesus being presented at the Temple in Jerusalem, where Simeon and Anna recognize Him as the Messiah.
8. Return to Nazareth
- Matthew 2:19-23: After Herod’s death, Joseph is directed by an angel to return to Israel. The family settles in Nazareth.
- Fulfillment of prophecy: “There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’” (Matthew 2:23)
- The specific prophecy is unclear but may reference Isaiah 11:1 (netser, “branch”).
- Fulfillment of prophecy: “There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’” (Matthew 2:23)
- Luke 2:39-40: After fulfilling the requirements of the law in Jerusalem, the family returns to Nazareth.
For more on the return, see the italicized paragraphs above from Bart Ehrman.
Summary of Themes
- Matthew: Emphasizes Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, King, and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.
- Luke: Highlights Jesus as the Savior for all people, focusing on humility, inclusivity, and joy.
Resources
- New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV) for scripture quotations.
- Brown, Raymond E., The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke.
- Perkins, Pheme, Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels.
- Powell, Mark Allan, Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey.
End ChatGPT’s Response.
