023. Chapter 3 - Notes on the Nativity

Chapter 3 - Notes on the Nativity The usual starting point, in writing a biography, is to furnish a record of the person’s birth. Some, however, prepare the way for this account by tracing the antecedents and giving a sketch of the father and mother. Others prefer to record the events of interest that cluster about the birth of the person. Still another method is to show the relation of the first notable achievement of the person to contemporaneous events. Finally, there is the philosophical approach to biography in which the attempt is made to relate the life of the individual to great world movements.

Methods of Gospel Writers

None of the four Gospels begins with the birth of Jesus. Matthew and Luke are commonly said to begin in this manner. But Matthew begins by tracing the ancestry of Jesus back to Abraham. Luke, after a striking prologue, begins by a description of the parents of John the Baptist and the events leading up to his birth. Mark leaps over the birth and youth of Jesus and records the beginning of John’s ministry, relating this to the first great public event in the life of Jesus. John’s opening is the most extraordinary of the four biographers. It is the philosophical approach. He begins by relating the birth of Jesus to His pre-existence, to God Himself, to the creation of the world, to the life and destiny of mankind and finally to John the Baptist. His statement of the birth of Jesus (John 1:14) emphasizes the profound mystery of the event but gives no historical details. The Gospels

Matthew emphasizes the purposes and experiences of Joseph; Luke writes of the experiences of Mary. Matthew tells of the visit of the Wisemen; Luke, of the shepherds. Both give genealogies: Matthew, from Abraham; Luke, to Adam. Matthew records the slaughter of the infants and the flight into Egypt. Luke tells of the circumcision and presentation of Jesus in the temple, of Simeon and Anna. Mark probably omits the birth and youth of Jesus in order to condense his Gospel. His work is the shortest and concentrates on the deeds of Jesus. John probably omits any record of the birth because it is already sufficiently emphasized in Matthew and Luke, and he is bent on offering much new material.

Joseph and Mary The betrothal was a very important matter — almost as sacred and imposing as the marriage ceremony itself. It could be broken only by a bill of divorcement. Joseph planned to write a bill of divorcement and break the betrothal privately without bringing Mary before a public tribunal (Matthew 1:19; Deuteronomy 24:1). The announcement (Matthew 1:20-22) was made to Joseph to prevent him from breaking the betrothal, to let him know Mary was guiltless and that it was God’s will he should marry and care for her. The announcement (Luke 1:26-38) had been to Mary in order that she might understand God’s purposes and the supreme greatness of the child. Matthew 1:25 disposes of the theory of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Tradition represents Joseph as being an old man, many years the senior of Mary. The New Testament offers nothing to support this except the complete disappearance of Joseph from the records after the visit to the temple (Luke 2:41-51). The Wisemen The Magi or Wisemen were probably Persian or Chaldean, a priestly class who interpreted dreams and were soothsayers. They were probably numerous, with many impostors among them, especially in later times. Apollonius heard of the fame of the Wisemen of the East and says that he questioned them on his travels, but found them “not very wise.” Matthew does not state the number of the “Wisemen” who came to Bethlehem, but tradition says they were three in number and that their names were Caspar, Melchoir, and Balthazar. The three gifts presented suggest that there were three Wisemen. How did they know the appearance of the star meant the birth of a King? Some scholars suggest they had learned the teachings of Judaism from Jews of the Dispersion, but from what Old Testament passage would they have learned this? Why did they have to seek the advice of the scribes in Jerusalem as to where the Christ should be born if they themselves were familiar with the Old Testament? They had direct instructions from God as to how they should return home (Matthew 2:1-12). The shepherds learned of the birth of Jesus through a direct revelation. It is plain that the Wisemen also must have had direct instructions in the beginning. Frankincense and myrrh were both very costly; the former, a white gum affording a fragrant odor when burned; the latter, a famous perfume, being used in embalming. Both were secured from the bark of trees. Joseph probably made good use of the gold, thus providentially bestowed, in paying the expenses of the trip into Egypt. The Star

Many attempts have been made to explain the star on a natural basis. Kepler figured out that there was a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in 747 A.U.C. — the planet Mars being added to the constellation in 748 A.U.C. Kent notes that an Egyptian papyrus roll has been discovered which gives the position of the planets from 17 b.c. to a.d. 10. On the basis of this, Oefele figures that the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred between April 15 and December 27 of 6 b.c. (748 A.U.C.). It is supposed that this rare phenomenon must have caused a great deal of excitement in the ancient world. All of this is very interesting, but does not explain at all the New Testament account, for Matthew represents the star as miraculous in character. “Lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child lay” (Matthew 2:9). It is argued that Josephus would have recorded this wonderful phenomenon if it had been a miraculous, moving star. He does say that a star of marvelous brilliance appeared over Jerusalem at the time of its destruction. A sufficient rejoinder is to point out that Josephus and the Talmudic writers suppressed the evidence as to all the miracles of Jesus’ ministry and practically all references to Him. There is no more difficulty about a moving star than walking on the water, the resurrection or any other miracle.