Paper Sample on Matthew & Luke's Nativity: Examining the Differences

Introduction

It has since been established that despite documenting a similar narrative, the nativity of Jesus, both Matthew's and Luke's accounts, constitute apparent differences. While the gospels of Matthew and Luke are the only accounts of Jesus's nativity story, they appear to present the story in explicitly different thematic, genealogical, and presentational fronts. Furthermore, disparities can also be observed in how the two gospels incorporate facts and occurrences of the story of Jesus's birth, even as characters differ and are cast in different lights. This paper explores the differences occurring in Matthew and Luke's nativity narratives by adopting a comparative approach while trying to provide a rationale for these differences.

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Discussion

Perhaps the most apparent difference between Matthew's infancy narrative and the one told by Luke lies in the narration of the actual birth. According to Matthew's gospel, Mary would bear a son as a fulfillment of a prophecy in Isiah. While both gospels agree that the birth of Jesus occurred in Bethlehem, Matthew's account does not explain how Mary came to Bethlehem. Furthermore, (Matthew 1:18-25) provides details of the angel's instructions regarding the birth of Jesus. However, in this gospel, these instructions are given to Joseph. Luke's gospel documents that both Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem from Nazareth for the census, and that Jesus was unexpectedly born in a manger because Mary and Joseph could not find an alternative room (Luke 2:1-7). The aspect of Joseph and Mary moving to Bethlehem and the circumstances in which the birth of Jesus occurs are not included in Matthew's gospel.

Another differentiating factor when it comes to the nativity narratives presented by Matthew and Luke features the annunciation of Christ's birth. In Luke's narrative (Luke 1:26-38), the Virgin Mary experiences an encounter with the angel Gabriel. The angel provides the instructions regarding the birth of Jesus after delivering the news that Mary would miraculously conceive a son of the holy spirit. During this encounter, the angel reveals to Mary that the name of the child would be Jesus. Also, Gabriel reveals Elizabeth's conception of Mary. On the contrary, a significant amount of the information found in Luke's gospel about the annunciation is missing in Matthew's gospel. However, (Matthew 1:20-21) documents that instead of the angel visiting Mary with the instructions about the conception and naming of Jesus as is the case in Luke's account, Joseph receives the visitation and the instructions. Elizabeth's conception is missing in Matthew's gospel as well. It shows that while the infancy narrative constitutes one of the most popular stories on a biblical and contemporary consideration, the description of the narrative by the two authors takes different approaches. While some aspects of the narrative exemplify parallels, the change in characters, their encounters, and what they say create significant contrast.

Just as differences in characters included in the nativity narratives in the two gospels differ, so does the order in which the events leading up to Jesus's birth. For example, in Matthew's account of the narrative, the first two chapters include Christ's birth and genealogy. Distinctively, Matthew's gospel presents Jesus as Abraham and David's Son by tracing his genealogy through Joseph (Matthew 1:1-17). More specifically, the character of Jesus in Matthew's narrative is presented as a king's Son. Up to his birth in Bethlehem, he is visited by the wise men who bring him some of the most expensive gifts, frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh, alluding to Matthew's perception that Jesus placed him in a high social class. To differ from this, Luke only brings about Jesus's genealogy towards the end of the third chapter of his narrative, during which Jesus is 30 years old. Luke's description takes off with the narration of Zechariah's, a temple priest, visitation by angel Gabriel to announce that his barren and old wife Elizabeth would bear a son whose name would be John. Zechariah's disbelief of the angel's message causes him to be made mute until the birth of his Son (Luke 1:7). At a time when Elizabeth was six months pregnant, Mary, the mother of Jesus is visited by angel Gabriel with the instructions of the birth and name of Jesus while still delivering the news about Elizabeth's conception. According to Luke(1:32) Mary's Son would be called "the Son of the Most High." For Luke, Jesus's genealogy is traced through Joseph and ends by presenting Jesus as a son of Adam (Luke 3:23-38). While both gospels are similar in that they lack a biological connection of Jesus to Joseph, Luke's genealogy includes a different grandfather Eli from Matthew's Jacob.

The overall themes that constitute the individual nativity narratives presented in the two gospels differ considerably. The exploration of the two gospels reveals that the first two chapters include a representation of the themes that are further developed later in the narratives. For instance, when Luke's account has been considered, the characters of Mary, Jesus, and Joseph are portrayed as hailing from a low social class position. This is exemplified by the fact that besides Mary being a peasant woman, she gets chosen to give birth to the Son of the Most High. Also, his birth is celebrated by the shepherds, who include poor people. The orderly presentation of ideas in Luke's gospel significantly encapsulates many emotional reactions and human connections that increasingly create a picture of the person of Jesus later in the narrative. Luke's nativity narrative is full of ironic instances, including how people are amazed by John's conception and birth, while a significantly more marvelous conception and birth are occurring somewhere else that the people do not know of. Matthew's nativity narrative is set at a time when Herod the Great ruled Bethlehem. This account features apparent parallels to Moses's story so much so that there is an instant connection. In this narrative, King Herod represents the evil Pharaoh. He threatens Jesus's life by ordering those male children two years and below to be killed in Bethlehem forcing Joseph and his family to run away to Egypt (Matthew 2:16). By contrast, Matthew exalts Jesus to a high position portraying him as the Son of a King.

Conclusion

Therefore, it is evident that striking differences exist in how both Luke and Matthew choose to tell the infancy narrative. While Joseph and Herod are pivotal to Matthew's gospel, they are simply names in Luke's story. Similarly, Mary plays a central role in Luke's narrative, while her character is not that integral in Matthew. While both accounts present the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the actual birth circumstances differ considerably. It can also be noted that significant differences come to light when Jesus's genealogy is examined in both accounts. The differences in these two narratives can be explained by the fact that the two narrators have different understandings of the same event. While the names of places, some people, and events are similar, the narrator's knowledge of these things leads to significant differences in the narrative's presentation. As such, it would appear that Luke's nativity narrative is more historically accurate.