Explain the relationship of the infancy narrative of either Matthew or Luke to the gospel it prefaces.infancy narrative of EITHER Matthew or Luke to the Gospel it prefaces.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Lorraine Kilbride New Testament Module Tutor – Nora Finnegan

Explain the relationship of the infancy narrative of EITHER Matthew or Luke to the Gospel it prefaces.

Comment on the use of this imagery in Christmas celebrations today.

Of the four Gospels only Matthew and Luke introduce the infancy narrative. For the purposes of this essay I have chosen to consider the Gospel of Luke as this is the nativity story I am more accustomed to. I will endeavour firstly to briefly examine the two Gospels outlining their differences and why this is so. Based on this explanation I shall explain the relationship of the infancy narrative to the Gospel it prefaces and finally consider the use of imagery in Christmas celebrations today.

At the outset it helps to remember the purpose of these Biblical accounts. They are not biographies; they are Gospels. The distinction is important. In a biography, the author may fill hundreds of pages, endeavouring to show how his subject developed into the figure that is so well-known. it is different with the Gospels. Of the four Gospel records, Matthew's and Luke's are the only two that tell of Jesus' birth and childhood. Their aim, however, is not to show how Jesus developed into the man he did. So Matthew and Luke did not draw on Jesus' childhood in order to explain what kind of man he became []. Rather, they related incidents that suited the purpose of their Gospels. The word "Gospel" means "good news." Both men had the same message-that Jesus is the promised Messiah, that he died for mankind's sins; and that he was resurrected to heaven. But the two writers had markedly different backgrounds and wrote for different audiences

Let us first consider Matthew. Matthew, a tax collector, shaped his account for a largely Jewish audience. His record stresses the Hebrew Scripture prophecies that were fulfilled in connection with Jesus. Matthew’s infancy narrative shows that this miracle fulfilled a prophecy uttered centuries before by Isaiah [Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22, 23; Roeben]. In Matthew’s Gospel Joseph is considering divorcing Mary after finding out she is pregnant. An angel appears to him, telling him who the child is and commanding him not to divorce her. Jesus is born in Joseph's home in Bethlehem

"When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he to took his wife to his home.” [Matthew 1:24]

The wise men come looking for Jesus, following the star, and "on going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary" [Matthew 2:11] and present their gifts. Soon an angel warns Joseph of the coming slaughter, and they flee first to Egypt and then to Nazareth.

Luke, a physician, began his gospel in a unique way: he stated his purpose for writing. It is clear that he wrote ...

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"When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he to took his wife to his home.” [Matthew 1:24]

Luke, a physician, began his gospel in a unique way: he stated his purpose for writing. It is clear that he wrote this book sometime after the gospels of Mark and Matthew, and he is careful to praise their efforts before beginning his own. Luke wrote his gospel around 60 A.D. and composed Acts approximately three years later. For his gospel account, Luke gathered his information from eye-witnesses and documents. It appears likely that he would have met the apostles and disciples. It is widely held that one of the people Luke interviewed...perhaps at greater length than any other witness...may have been Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. His gospel is addressed to the Theophilus"--who possibly had some high position--and, by extension, to a broader audience of Jews and Gentiles. [Luke 1:1-3]. He follows the more classic historical approach that his non-Jewish audience might have recognized.

In Luke, the infancy narrative begins with the story of the birth of John the Baptist. Elizabeth and Zechariah are elderly and without a child. Yet Elizabeth conceives and an angel tells Zechariah that the child's name will be John. Six months later the angel Gabriel comes to Mary to explain that she will give birth to a child with the help of the Holy Spirit and to tell her that Elizabeth is also pregnant [Harris]. When Mary visits Elizabeth, the older woman feels her child leap in her womb. Elizabeth says to Mary, " all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” [Luke 1:42] Then Mary sings praises to God, in words which have come to be known as the Magnificat.

The story of the birth of Jesus follows. We hear of Joseph and Mary travelling to Bethlehem, finding no room in the inn, and taking shelter in a stable. During the night Jesus is born, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, and shepherds are directed by angels to come and adore him. There's no mention of a star, or of wise men, or of the slaughter, or of fleeing to Egypt or Nazareth. The infancy narrative in the gospel of Luke gives a prominent role to women, unlike most of the narratives in the Bible. The story also emphasizes the humble birth of Jesus in a stable, attended only by his mother and father, and then by shepherds.

What meanings might this birth story have had for Theophilus and the other Greek-speaking Christians of his largely Gentile church? It is known that there were conflicts in the early church between Jewish and predominately Gentile congregations. The Jewish Christians led by Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, emphasized the Jewish law that they believed Jesus had sought to renew. Gentile Christians and many Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, on the other hand, believed that Jesus had freed them from Jewish law altogether. The birth story in the gospel of Luke sets the birth of Jesus within the Roman Empire at the time of a census decreed by Caesar Augustus. When Luke's narrative concludes in Acts 28 with Paul proclaiming new life in Christ in Rome to both Jews and Gentiles, it seems clear that the humble and Jewish beginnings of Jesus are part of God's plan for the whole world.

Luke's attempt at a complete history could have been motivated by his Gentile connections. As one familiar with the thought and education of the ancient Greek world, Luke was determined to stress the humanity of Jesus, always presented in perfect balance with His divinity. Greek society sought what it called the "universal man," one who was perfect in thought and ethics. Luke answered the call of the culture by offering this picture of Jesus Christ as the ideal that had long been sought.

In Luke’s presentation of the “Sermon on the Mount Plain” [6:17-49], there is no emphasis on the Old Testament law as there is in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. This fits in well with Luke’s purpose and audience. This form of the sermon is given to the disciples [cf. 6:20] to show them both the blessings of those who would inherit the kingdom of God [6:17-23] and the kinds of choices one must make if he is to follow Jesus completely [6:24-49]. Luke then skilfully shows that Jesus’ ministry was intended for all people, Jew and Gentile alike [7:1–8:18]. This is seen especially in his healing of the centurion’s servant in Capernaum [7:1-10], his raising the widow’s son in Nain [7:11-17], and his anointing by a sinful woman at a Pharisee’s house [7:36-50].

During the celebration of Christmas, familiar images are recalled in hymns and scripture about the birth of Jesus. In the popular mind, the appearance of herald angels, shepherds abiding in the fields, the star of Bethlehem, the virgin Mary giving birth in a stable, and the adoration of the Magi, have all been melded into one Christmas story. In reality, there are in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, two distinct and at times contradictory stories of Jesus' birth. As mentioned previously there is no mention of the star nor of the Magi [Smith, 2000, , ]. In addition over time, artists have added details not found in the Bible stories, including the animals of the stable.

Luke is regarded as the Gospel written for the gentiles, a Greek audience of non-Jews. Unlike, Matthew's Gospel, Luke contains few quotes from the Old Testament. Hebrew words are translated into Greek. The gospel of Luke reminds us that poverty is not a mark of human failure or divine rejection. The origins of the church are very humble and poor. This is clearly demonstrated in the infancy narrative and is mirrored throughout Luke’s gospel. The gospel story shows that the kingdom of God is not for those who claim to have earned salvation because of their success in the world, but for those who have faith.