AN OVERTURE

In the Bible, there are two versions of the story of the birth of Jesus,
both written in the last half of the first century.
Earlier writings make no real mention of it.

Mark's Gospel starts with the baptism of Jesus as an adult - as does John's.
St Paul writes only that “Jesus was descended from David according to the flesh”
and that he was “born of a woman under the law”.
It would seem that the birth stories appeared later in the Christian tradition.

Somehow the two stories do seem to interlock,
which is how we get the familiar tale that we all remember from Sunday School.
It doesn't always work, but it is near enough.

Both stories can be seen as overtures to the Gospels that are to follow.
All four Gospels then get going in parrallel at the baptism of Jesus.
The overtures, as well as providing a birth narrative,
point out the key points of the book that is to follow.

MATTHEW

Matthew's overture is centred on Jesus being seen as the new Moses.
The parallel to Mosaic legend is spelt out, most obviously, in Herod's attempt to kill all the children.
If we read on in the Gospels we might see Jesus as imitating Moses
by challenging authority and attempting to lead his people out of the Empire of Rome.
Wise men from the Eas (signifying the learning of Jesus). royal gifts (indicating Kingship), the journey from Egypt (Exodus)
are pointers to major themeS in the rest of Matthew's Gospel?
Luke's overture is is different because he wants to make different points.
His Gospel is centred on women, the marginalised and the Holy Spirit.
It is Mary, rather than Joseph, who is central to Luke's story.
It is humble shepherds rather than kings/wise men who visit the baby and bring gifts.

Matthew starts with the Genealogy of Jesus, carfully plotting his descent from Adam, via David.through 40 generations
Luke also includes a genealogy, but it is in Chapter 3, along with his baptism.
Both lists carefully avoid saying that Joseph was the father of Jesus..

There are five anomalies in the list, which don't seem to fit with the general pattern of Matthew's account.
The inheritance through the male line would, of course, have been natural in those days and maybe is still so today,
so the inclusion of the females is noteworthy.
Four of them all share two characteristics
all had shady pasts. Verse 3 Tamar comes up up in Genesis 8. (behaved as a prostitute)
Verse 5 Rahab is in Joshua where she starts off as a prostitute in the city of Jericho.
V 5 Ruth seduces Boaz i- on the threshing floor
V6 The “wife of Uriah” was, of the infamous Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)
Maybe Matthew is aying that Mary too had a shady past. Was not so sinless as many make out!

“Messiah” is the key title for Jesus in Matthew's Gospel,
Matthew's actual birth story starts at the end of chapter 1, with the statement that Mary was engaged to Joseph,
but found out that she was pregnant before they she actually got married.
Which is hardly an unusual situation even in those days.
Matthew, of course, (at least in the final version) assures us that they didn't “come together” before the wedding.
He has the couple living in Bethlehem. Nazareth only enters his story when they return from their trip to Egypt.
Joseph initially planned to dismiss her quietly - so letting her take the blame,
but has a change of heart and married her after all.
The change is said to be brought brought about by Matthew's equivalent of Luke's Annunciation,
An angel appears to Matthew and gives him some sound advice!
As they were engaged, everyone would have assumed it was his baby.
Sex between engaged couples was, seemingly quite acceptable.
In fact he really had any choice. If Joseph had “dismissed her quietly” he had a lot to lose
. Other girls, and parents, in their small community, might well become very wary of him.

The virginity of Mary is something on which both Matthew and Luke agree.
Some believe that Mary remains a virgin even as she holds her baby in her arms
- that is a later add-on, even though much valued in some circles.
Some might think that, from the start, her virginity was not a credible concept.
However the virginity of Mary is so important to orthodox doctrine
If Jesus had a human father, he was just like us, so can not be God.
If he had a human father, he would have inherited the original sin passed through the generations,
so could not be without sin - thus breaking down the atonement doctrine.

There is, surprisingly no account of the wedding, nor of the actual birth.
It is a very male account. First she was pregnant, then, somehow there was a baby.
The actual birth stories all come from Luke's account. Mary's version maybe.
Still the couple did seem to agree about his name.

LUKE

Luke starts with the story of John the Baptist.
This might be because John's story represents the conclusion of the Old Testament.
His birth to aged parents mirrors that of Isaac to Sara and Abraham in Gen 17.
Or it might be a comparison of the old and the new ways
Instead of aged parents and weight of tradition, we have a birth to a virgin and
the lack of formality in the whole birth story.
Or maybe Luke is foreshadowing (in his Overture) John's role in the rest of the narrative
John is the promised forerunner for the Messiah – so his story comes first,
see Isaiah 40:3-5(700 B.C.) (as quoted bt Matthew at Mt3.1-3)
The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth;
The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
and Malachi 3:1(430 B.C.) As quoted by Matthew at Mt11:7-10
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts

It is not until verse 27, that Mary enters the story, in what we call the Annunciation.
As we know, Mary replies “You must be joking” or biblical words to that effect.
Howver the idea of a human being impregnated by a God was not exceptional in pagan legends,
though none of the women were specifically virgins - so maybe she has a reason to be dubious.

Mary's visit to Elisabeth gives the opportunity for Luke to include two wonderful songs,
surely sung in the early church (Magnificat and Benedictus.)
He has scattered the proud, brought down rulers, filled the hungry - all very much part of Luke's overall message.
Whilst Matthew's Jesus is the Mosaic leader of his people, Luke's call is for the downfall of the proud rulers through communal action,

John the Baptist's naming is very much part of the Old Testament tradition, that obedience to God leads to healing or recovery. Or even victory.
John was then, seemingly, educated at one of the desert communities. from which he eventually appears as the leader of a revivalist movement.
We don't meet him again in the Christmas story.

Luke now (Chapter 2) has the problem that the Messiah is due to be born in Bethlehem, whilst he has located him in Nazareth.
There are all kinds of controversies over this, as historically Luke's solution doesn't really seem to work.
And what would any lady think of travelling 4 to 5 days in the last stages of pregnancy !
However perhaps that is not the point.
Luke wanted to emphasise the humble roots of Jesus as a Galilean peasant
as well as fulfillling the prophecies which said that the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem.

Matthew doesn't mention any of this, nor the ox and ass, that we sing about in our carols They don't appear anywhere in the Gospels.
The inn of Luke's Gospel would have had rooms around a central courtyard, where the animals were kept overnight.
Mary, apparently, gave birth in a very public place and the baby was put into an animal feeding trough.
That situation is important to the focus on humility, perhaps in contrast to Matthew's Maji.
However both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

LUKE part 2

BR> Somehow or other Jesus has been born in Bethlehem to Mary, who may or may not be married to Joseph, depending on which account you read.
If we go with Luke's account, she is still engaged and has just had a long and uncomfortable journey, of 4 or 5 days, from distant Gallillee.
Sometime after her arrival she gives birth to a son, whom she calls Jesus.

The first thing that we hear about is the visit of smelly shepherds.
The Angel said to the shephards (and when angels speak it is a good thing to listen)
"Don't be afraid, for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.
For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough."
What messages is Luke getting over here?
...Good news..(they were afraid)...
...For all people.(not just Jews?)
... A Saviour who is the anticipated Christ, or Messiah
And what message is there in the Shepherd's response?
...Urgency - went immediately - no pouring over ancient tomes.
...closeness - no long journey needed
...trust - left their sheep untended
...Reality - no high altar or pomposity

After the shepherds left, we skip on a few days,
to a time when Mary was ritually clean and so ready
for a journey to the Temple for the circumcision of Jesus.
Theolgians get in a right twiddle over this....
As Matthew Henry puts it.....
Our Lord Jesus was not born in sin,
and did not need that mortification of a corrupt nature,
or that renewal unto holiness, which were signified by circumcision
Do you see the problem? Circumcision was apparently needed to remove the problem of original sin. Yet doctirne tells us that Jesus was born without sin. However we are also told that Jesus fulfilled the whole of The Law and maybe this was needed for him to do so So, Mary followed the traditional way - as we all tend to do. Anyway, eight days after he was born, we are told that Jesus was carted off for the six miles to the Temple at Jerusalem. where we meet Simeon (a priest) and Anna (a prophetess). Do you think it was important that this happens in the Jerusalem Temple? (competeition between temples in Luke's day?)(7or8) READ Simeon was probably the duty priest for the day. What do think is meant by "in the Spirit" here? He would have prepared himself for his duties, by spending time with God - and now he came into the main body of the Temple to welcome this new baby into the Jewish faith. This is the perfect opportunity for Luke to proclaim the heart of his message about Jesus. Salvation revelation to the gentiles, gloryfor Israel So do you think that his words have come true? Moving on to the priestess, Anna.. So about how old was Anna at the time? ( 15 virginity, 7 married , 84 widow = 106) (Hmmm!) In fact some translations put her age at 84,,, She doesn't actually seem to have said much in her prophetic role. What did she do , or say, that is a prelude to one of Luke's themes? (she told others) Anyway now his parents take Jesus back to Nazareth Where he grew up and made the annual passover trip to Jerusalem, and eventually must have gone to college and so on. Which is where we leave him for the moment, Afterthe break we'll finish off the story with Matthew's account, which, as you will remember, is slightly different - even though it ends up in the same place`. .