Wednesday, February 10

Question:  Why do the books of Matthew and Luke have different accounts of Jesus' birth? Which record is correct?

Matthew says Jesus was born in a house in Bethlehem then sometime afterwards is taken to Egypt to escape Herod. After a period of time his family decides to return to Bethlehem, but soon change their mind and travel to Nazareth instead.

According to Luke, however, Mary and Joseph were from Nazareth. They travel to Bethlehem because a census requires them to do so. While they are there Jesus is born in a manger. After his birth they wait for Mary to go through ritual purification, after which they travel to Jerusalem to sacrifice two birds at the temple. After the sacrifice they go home to Nazareth.

As is often the case with these kinds of questions, at first the two accounts may seem to be contradictory, but when you examine them closely, you find that they actually complement each other.

The basic chronology of Jesus’ early life from birth to growing up in Nazareth is as follows...

Joseph (Jesus’ adopted father) is of the lineage of King David, who was born in Bethlehem. The Romans in 5 B.C. require all those in Judea to return to their ancestral home so that they can be counted (this was done for the purposes of taxes).  Because of this decree Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem, the City of David. It is in the city that Christ is born in a manger (Luke 2:1-20).

On the eighth day after his birth he is circumcised according to the law of God (Luke 2:21).

Jesus is then brought to Jerusalem's temple, after forty days of purification required by God's law, to be presented before God. His parents make an offering to the temple of two young birds. It is also during their visit to the temple that a priest named Simeon, prophesied about his mission in life and blessed his parents (Luke 2:22-35).

Before Mary and Joseph leave the temple a woman named Anna, a widowed prophetess who lived in the house of God, blesses them as well (Luke 2:36-38).

Magi from east arrive in Jerusalem somewhere between 9-12 months after Jesus is born in order to ask Herod where is the new King of the Jews.  Although Herod does not have a clue where the Messiah was to be born he asks the priests and scribes.  They tell Herod the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. 

After leaving Jerusalem the Magi follow the same star that brought them to Judea.  When they arrive at the house they see Mary and Jesus and offer their gifts (Matthew 2:1-11).

After the wise men leave an angel tells Joseph, in a dream, to flee to Egypt because Herod wants to kill the child (Matthew 2:13-15).

Herod commands that, in Bethlehem and the surrounding area, all male children two years old and younger be put to death (Matthew 2:16-18).

After Herod dies an angel of the Lord again appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him it is safe to return to Israel.  After arriving in Judea, Joseph discovers Archelaus (son of Herod the Great) now reigns in Judea.  Fearful of going back and living in Bethlehem, Joseph again has an angelic being instruct him to go to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23, Luke 2:39). 

Jesus grows up in Nazareth and lives there until the beginning of his public ministry, at which time he then moves to the town of Capernaum.

Pastor Jeff Frazier