JESUS' HIS BIRTH

?
  • Created by: moranm
  • Created on: 11-04-21 23:34

JESUS' HIS BIRTH

Similarities

  • BOTH INCLUDE SUPERNATURAL EVENTS
  • Both writers see Jesus as the incarnation
  • Both Gospels place his birth in Bethlehem
  • Both state the conception of Jesus was via the Holy Spirit
  • Both  have Mary and Joseph as his named parents
  • Both accounts have visitors to the infant

Differences

  • Matthew's supernatural event has magi led by a star; Luke's has angels appearing to shepherds
  • Matthew's visitors are magi from the East; Luke's are humble shepherds
  • Only Matthew records the massacre of the male children in and around Bethlehem
  • Matthew includes Joseph's genealogy; Luke focuses on Mary
  • Only Luke has Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth and the birth of John the Baptist
  • Only Luke includes the circumcision
  • Matthew records the flight into Egypt and the subsequent years Jesus spent there before the death of Herod
  • The writers are from different backgrounds - Matthew is Jewish writing for Jews and Luke is a Gentile doctor writing for Gentile communities

Overall comparison

Both stories attempt to show Jesus is God; and is the incarnation.  They do this by using similar techniques - such as including supernatural events and having visitors arrive to show the significance of the new birth.The differences are explained by Redaction Critics who suggest that each writer edited and selected material relevant to their community.  For example Luke includes the circumcision of Jesus - something that Gentiles may not have known about; Matthew omits this entirely as it is common knowledge among Jews.

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Religious Studies resources:

See all Religious Studies resources »See all Christianity resources »