Cassie Bailey

BIB102

Professor Stanley

12/3/2020

Compare the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke, what are the differences and

similarities? Do you believe the two stories fit together? Why or why not?

There are many similarities and differences between the birth narrative of Jesus

as written in Matthew and the birth narrative of Jesus as written in Luke. In the end, they

both describe Jesus as the son of God, and there is no dispute on that. One of the

similarities between the two stories is the involvement of Mary and Joseph. They both

agree that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived. They also both agree that

Joseph was going to leave Mary at first, but an angel came to him and told him to stay

with her, because the child was the son of God, and she did not cheat on him. Another

similarity is that Herod the Great is mentioned in both narratives. Herod the Great was a

very jealous King, and when he heard that the king of the Jews was being born, he

decided to go after Jesus and try to kill him. He did this by sending the three wise men

to find out exactly where he was, and then to follow after them to kill him. Fortunately,

the three wise men did not return to Herod the Great, so he never knew exactly where

Jesus was born. Unfortunately, this pushed him to kill all young children in the area,

even after Jesus, Mary, and Joseph had already left. Another similarity is that they both

agree that Jesus was conceived by the Spirit of God. He truly is the son of God, and
Mary did not have sex with anyone for Him to be born. Another thing they agree on is

that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. They disagree on the small details – Matthew says

he was born in a house (Matthew 2:11) and Luke says he was born in a stable in a

manger (Luke 2:7.) But there is no dispute that he was born in Bethlehem.

There are many small differences between the birth narrative of Jesus as

described in Luke versus the birth narrative of Jesus as described in Matthew. For

example, the main characters talked about in Matthew’s story are Joseph, Angel, Magi,

and Herod the Great. In Luke, the main characters talked about are Zechariah, Gabriel,

Elizabeth, Mary, Angels, Shepherds, Simeon, and Anna. Other characters mentioned

are also different. In Matthew, they also mention Mary, Chief Priests & scribes, and

Archelaus. In Luke, the other characters are Herod the Great, Joseph, Caesar

Augustus, and Quirinius. These different characters are due to a different viewpoint

being taken by the two different stories. Another difference is that Matthew talks about

the shepherds following a star to find Jesus. Luke never talks about a star. Another

difference is that Matthew talks about how innocent people were murdered due to

Herod the Great, and then they had to go to Egypt, but Luke never talks about this.

Another difference is that Matthew says that they went back to Nazareth because they

were afraid of Herod’s son, Archelaus. Luke says that they went back to Nazareth just

because that is where they lived already. Luke’s story involves much more detail than

Matthew because Matthew covers much more than just the birth narrative.

The two stories are also different because they have different themes. There are

a few small details that get mixed up, but the overall themes are different as well. In

Matthew, the major themes of the book are (1) Conflict of Kingdoms, like the Kingdom
of God and Heaven vs. the kingdoms of that time period, like Caesar, Satan, etc. (2)

Jesus is the “new Moses” who brings the “new law.” He came to enforce the Old

Testament law, and perform it perfectly, without sin. (3) The church and the community

is another big theme. Matthew is the only gospel that uses the word eklesia, which

means church or assembly in Greek. (4) How to continue with the difference and

separation between Judaism and Christianity is another big theme. (5) And discipleship

is another big theme shown in the book of Matthew. These themes all have an impact

on how the birth of Jesus Christ is displayed. In the book of Luke, the main themes are

different. (1) God has specific redemptive purposes. (2) Salvation is for everyone and

can be for everyone. This is a huge part of Luke’s story, that salvation is for everyone,

including sinners, tax collectors, Jews, Samaritans, women, men, the poor, etc. (3) The

blessings and positive sides of poverty, and the dangers of riches. It harps on the fact

that it is very difficult for a rich man to get into heaven, and the poor have a much better

chance because they are not selfish with what God has blessed them with. (4) Table

fellowship and (5) the role of a disciple are also very big themes in the book of Luke.

These themes all impact the way that the bir4th story of Jesus is told throughout each

Gospel.

The two stories absolutely fit together. While there are small differences between

the two, these can be understood if you consider that they are from two totally different

people. They experienced the same thing through two different lenses. The small details

mostly line up, with some differences due to the different viewpoints, but the main ideas

are concrete. Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, and he is the son of God. This is

the big idea of the birth narrative of Jesus.