Comparing The Birth Stories In The Gospels Of Matthew And Luke

While numerous scholars say that John is the Gospel to the world (and Matthew to the Jews, Mark to the Romans, and Luke to the Greeks), a Jewish scholar such as Israel Abrahams might very well believe that the Gospel of John is the most Jewish Gospel of the four by the way it reflects Jewish traditions and symbolisms. According to David Wenham[i], there is more attention given to Jesus as the Messiah in the Gospel of John than in any of other Gospels. In John, from chapter one onwards people are directly talking about Jesus as Messiah, and then there is intense public debate about whether Jesus is Messiah or not in John 7:25-31, 41-44[ii], which indicates that John is quite mindful of Jewish issues.

The gospel of Luke and John are gospels about Jesus and John the Baptist. They have several differences and similarities. The Gospel of Luke describes the conception and birth of John the Baptist and Jesus while the gospel of Luke describes their life after birth. Summaries, variances, and connections of these two gospels are discussed below.

Additionally, the structure of the Gospel breaks down into the three sections previously mentioned. Next, the introductory section on the theology of the Gospel highlights 4 different theological themes seen throughout Matthew: Israel and the Gentiles, Christology, The Fulfillment of Scripture, and Discipleship and the Church. Regarding the purpose and audience of the Gospel, Blomberg notes much debate surrounds this topic, but concludes, however, that regardless of the debate the author of Matthew appears to address “. . . a Jewish-Christian audience with distinctively Jewish-Christian concerns” (Blomberg 1992:37). Next, the introduction notes the sources through which scholars believe the author of Matthew gleaned come of his material, specially the material that also resides in Mark and Luke. Blomberg discusses that most scholars believe Matthew used Mark as well as an unknown source, which scholars often refer to as the Q-Hypothesis. Regarding the date of the Gospel

Matthew’s Christology is one that emphasises to a Jewish audience the Jewishness of Jesus. It will be the purpose of this paper to argue that the raison d’etre of Matthew’s Christology is to portray Jesus as entirely compatible if not with the Judaism of his day then with ancient Judaic tradition, namely the Old Testament. Whilst there are numerous titles given to Jesus that are exclusive/predominant within the Matthean account, such as that of Son of God, it is the writer’s assertion that these merely complement Matthew’s central theses; this being the portrayal of Jesus as Messiah and so, as such, will not be investigated except where they promote this conclusion. This fulfilment of Judaic tradition will be

Notable in Matthew is its emphasis on Jesus as the promised Messiah and on matters pertaining to the church. Evidence that it probably was written for Jewish Christians may be found which is concerned with representing Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The deep interest in the disciples is emphasized in Matthew. Matthew gives the fullest account of how Jesus called them, how he instructed them, how they failed him, and

In Matthew 1-2, the infant stories are used to prepare the ground for the theme of Jesus; the new and perfect Moses, the great teacher and interpreter of God’s ways. A parallel can be drawn between the experiences of the infant Jesus and the experience of Moses. This can be seen in Matthew 2:16-18, where the slaying of innocent male Hebrew children occurred around the time of the birth of Jesus, and in Exodus 1:15-22, where Hebrew children were also murdered at the time of Moses’ birth. Just as Moses came out of Egypt, leading the people of God, so does Jesus. Following the infancy stories, the rest of Matthew’s Gospel is structured around five long discourses where Jesus teaches. On each occasion, the evangelist indicates that a great teacher has been at work (Maloney, 1988, p. 133-34).

When studying the Gospel of Matthew, Scholars have dated the book to be written sometime between the ages of 80 and 90 CE. Scholars have also estimated the book to have been written somewhere outside of Palestine, potentially in Antioch, Syria. Antioch was a very wealthy and educated area with a large Jewish community (Study Bible, 1665-1667). From what evidence permits, it’s estimated that the whole purpose of the gospel was meant as a means of correcting the Gospel of Mark by emphasizing the Jewishness of Jesus as the glorious Messiah of the Jews. There is also a stress to all the followers

Luke presents the human/natural man of Jesus. Luke used a longer description of Jesus birth, and childhood. Luke was written after Mark and in all probability Matthew also. The book of Luke focuses primarily on Jesus' humanity. The deliberation in the church was not over rather Jesus was God (that was acknowledged by

Matthew is the first of four gospels in the New Testament. Matthew presents his story of Jesus, the demands of Christian discipline, and shares the news of the death and resurrection of Jesus. There are many questions in Matthew that can not be answered.The book of Matthew is a gospel that contains narrative history, genealogy, parables, sermons, and some prophetic oracles. The gospel of Matthew was originally written for a Jewish audience by a Jewish perspective. This is why Matthew is often referred to as "The Gospel for the Jews". Although Matthew was written for Jews, it does not include very much of the Jewish culture and tradition. Throughout the entire gospel of Matthew, it is very clear that the entire book is mainly incorporated with Jews. The book of Matthew ties in with the Old Testament several times, such as when they refer to Jesus as Messiah or King. The key word used in Matthew is "kingdom" and it is used 28 times. The reason Matthew was written was to reveal that Jesus was the messiah, the long of the Jews, and to conceive the Jews that Jesus Christ was indeed their long awaited messiah. The author of Matthew

important and who are wondering how Jesus fits into history of the Jewish people. This problems means that Matthew’s community was largely Jewish Christian and needed to be reassured that being a Christian did not separate then from the Jewish heritage.

Matthew and Luke each contain short but elaborate birth narratives concerning Jesus’. Within each of their narratives,both Matthew and Luke mention the genealogies of Jesus which when compared to each other are quite different. In Matthews gospel he traces Jesus’ ancestry back to that “of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1). While in Luke’s gospel, Jesus is traced back through David and Abraham to Adam and God. Now, even though both Matthew and Luke’s genealogies are not the same, what is even more concerning is that neither is overly correct. In regards to Matthews take on Jesus’ genealogy, one can see that his “genealogy suggests — indeed, it almost demonstrates— that the entire course of Israel’s history has proceed according to divine providence” (116). However, historians today know about two thirds of

The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament in the Bible, and is a Gospel narrative. The narratives provided by the Gospels in the New Testament are here to provide us with descriptions of the life, death, and resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ, as well as to share His teachings. Like any other narrative, it is important to understand the historical and literary contexts surrounding the Gospel of Matthew, as well as the importance and significance of Matthew itself. As a Gospel, Matthew is here to present us with the narrative of Jesus Christ as our Messiah, as promised in the Old Testament Prophesy. While it is important to evaluate the extensive context surrounding the narrative of Matthew, the meaning behind the narrative can be found through relating it to the various events that are described in the other Gospels. By comparing the Gospels, it is easy to evaluate the underlying meaning and significance, within the context of the Gospels. Because the Gospels were written as narratives to provide us with information on the life and death of Jesus Christ, and all that happened in between, it is important to compare the different accounts described in the Gospels whenever possible. In doing so, it is possible to examine the Gospels within the appropriate context. With 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), it is important to compare them with one another in order to further evaluate the importance of Jesus Christ, as he is the

It can be argued that the similarities and differences of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke can cause the reader to either see both of these accounts to complement one another with their different perspectives or that they contradict one another by certain events being mentioned in one birth narrative but not the other. Different aspects of both of these birth narratives such as the way Matthew and Luke treat Mary, the extent to which they use the Old Testament and the audience to whom they are writing to reveals the authors’ agenda as they allow their culture and own personal beliefs to influence what they write. These factors could be argued to have an effect on the historical authenticity of these texts as it could be possible that they could have caused the authors to twist the truth to fit in with their own beliefs.

The word "gospel" is a translation of the Greek word "euangelion" which means "good news. The first three books in the New Testament (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) are often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels (from Greek synoptikos, "seen together") They bear greater similarity to each other than any of the other gospels in the New Testament. Along with these similarities come some differences among the gospels, suggesting that each gospel was written for a specific audience and for a specific purpose. This paper will examine the resurrection of Jesus, while identifying the significant differences between Mark, Matthew and Luke. This paper will also analyze the differences to suggest the prominent theological perspective each gospel author

The theme of the gospel of Luke talks about the journey of the life of Jesus, Christ. His death, burial, and resurrection. Moreover, his ministry, teachings and parables. As a historian, and physician, Luke was not only eloquent in his writing about Jesus; he also took interest in his early life. The Gospel of Luke also depict Jesus as compassionate, caring, and loving. Likewise, Luke not only put Jesus at the heart of the Jewish world during the first century, but also at the heart of the Roman world, where with the Christian gospel exploded.