A Historical
Perspective
Although
there were other historians such as Tacitus and Pliny the Younger writing around the time of Jesus' birth, it is the Jewish scholar,
Flavious Josephus who is credited with making the earliest historical record of Jesus'
existence. Around 93 AD, Josephus also known as Joseph ben Mattathias,
authored twenty books titled Antiquities of the Jews. The literature
chronicles the history of Jews from creation to the time of Josephus'
writing. Although not intending to write about the life of Jesus Christ,
Josephus mentions events directly and indirectly related to Jesus in some of
his books. There are references to his brother James and incidents such as
his trial before Pilate, his crucifixion and resurrection.
The following is an excerpt from one of Josephus' writings about Jesus
Christ.
(18.3.3)
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him
a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as
receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews
and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the
suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross,
those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to
them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these
and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of
Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
( English (ed. William Whiston, A.M.)
Notwithstanding
its paramount spiritual value as the word of God, many historical records have
been highly corroborative with account of people and events in the bible.
Additional historical readings about Jesus Christ can be found on web sites
such as Jesus
Institute.
A
very familiar example of biblical and historical agreement is the significance
placed on the date of Jesus' birth. Based on historical records and the
bible, His birth is placed at a little over 2000 years ago. This finding is of
such import that it has influenced modern civilization's demarcation of time.
The period before Jesus' birth is designated as B.C.- Before Christ
and the period after his birth is A.D.- Anno Domini (Latin for
"in the year of our Lord").
Prophecy
of Jesus' Birth
The advent
of Jesus' birth is the single most spiritually transforming event in human
existence. As was prophesied, Jesus Christ was born to be the Savior of
mankind. The Old testament contains over 300 prophetic pronouncements of
Jesus' birth. Prophets and religious personalities foretold the birth
thousands of years before the actual event. These men, all worshipers of
Jehovah, the one God, had no concept of the timeframe for fulfilling this
prophecy. Yet, they continued to proclaim and record what God had revealed to
them because of their steadfast faith in His power (The
Prophecy). As we read Matthew's account of Jesus' birth, we learn
that astrologers or wise men living in East Africa, Asia and India too, had
knowledge of Jesus' impending birth. Based on their studies of the stars, they
discerned that an extremely remarkable event was imminent. And they soon
realized with great joy that the astrological phenomenon indeed signaled the
birth of the promised Messiah. Evidence of this is recorded in Matthew 2:
10-11
When
they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were
come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell
down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they
presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
The
Social Environment
Bethlehem,
a city in the region then known as Palestine, was the birthplace of Our Lord.
This is recorded in Matthew 2:1
Now
after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
Jesus' birth was not an ordinary one. Matthew 2:18 states:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Ghost.
. His
earthly parents were of humble origin; Joseph, was a carpenter and Mary
was a typical young Jewish girl.
Undoubtedly her
divine conception must have sparked gossip and made Mary the subject of
ridicule in the village where she lived. But the bible tells us that Mary
though puzzled at first, reacted with great joy to be the chosen vessel to
bring the Son of God, Jesus Christ into the world.
And
Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God
my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold,
henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
Luke
1:46-48
At the time of Jesus' birth, the world was dominated by the Roman empire under
Julius Caesar. But locally, in Palestine, the populace submitted to the
political power of Herod's governance. Yet it was no secret that the
Jews clearly resisted Roman rule and they made this known to their leaders.
The expectation of a promised "Messiah" or savior was the message of
hope passed down through generations of Jews....
Behold,
a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
"
Matt 1:23.
It is safe to say, based on recordings in the gospels, that the Jews
believed that the Messiah would not only bring them spiritual prominence but
that He would also establish an earthly kingdom to deliver them from Roman
oppression. But as recorded by John, just prior to His crucifixion, Jesus
dispelled these presumptions when He told them why He came and described His
kingdom to them. John 18:36 Jesus
answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this
world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews;
but now My kingdom is not from here." And
in Mark 1:38 He further explained His purpose
by stating But
He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there
also, because for this purpose I have come forth." There
was no doubt that Jesus' clear declaration only kindled more hostility from
the Jews. Another interesting point to note is that during Jesus' time
on earth, the prevailing religious view among the Jews was that there were only
two groups of people in the world. Individuals who worshiped Jehovah
were Jews and those who did not, were Gentiles. Thus, being a Jew in the early
centuries was neither linked to an ethnicity nor nationality. It was strictly
a religious identity.
This way of thinking again underscores why the Jews rejected Jesus when they
realized that His message was not about religious sovereignty but about
individual relationship with God, whose divine kingdom is supreme.
The
impact of Jesus' birth was extremely threatening to Roman political rule. To
them, even a religious figure such as the promised “Messiah” projected a
potential threat to their political power. Although the Romans did not embrace
the concept of Jesus being a king in the political sense, it was clear that
they were deeply concerned about the place of preeminence He
held among the Jews. They saw a credible threat to maintaining the Roman
empire's dominance over the Jews. So profound was this perception, that Herod, the
Roman ruler, upon hearing about the Jesus' birth, launched a ruthless massacre
of all boys under two years old, in a futile effort to eliminate the Messiah.
Matthew recounts this in the following passage:
-
Matthew
2:16
Then Herod,
when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry;
and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in
Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under,
according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
Eyewitness
Accounts
of Jesus' Birth
Mathew
and Luke, two of the four writers of the gospels, each provide us detailed
accounts of Jesus' birth. The other two writers, Mark and John
concentrated on accounts of Jesus' adult life. But there is no doubt
that these four men exhibited a devout commitment to recording their
biographies with diligence and divine purpose. Luke testifies to this in
the beginning of his record: Luke 1:1-4
Inasmuch
as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which
have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were
eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed
good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very
first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that
you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
It
is evident that Matthew and Luke knew Jesus intimately. Matthew's knowledge of
Jesus was firsthand since he was a disciple. But it is obvious that Luke
gained his knowledge and understanding of Jesus by obtaining information from
those who shared Jesus' life. Bible scholars state that these accounts were
actually written some thirty years after Jesus left the earth but that
does not diminish their authenticity. There is no doubt that the details came
from those who walked, talked, ate, and prayed with Jesus. Therefore,
although the writings of Matthew and Luke reflect some differences in
perspective, there is great correlation between them. The context of the
records do not contradict each other. What they have given to us is a more
holistic view of the events and circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth.
Matthew's
Account
In order to
better understand Matthew's account, we must take a brief look into his
personal life. Prior to becoming a disciple of Jesus, Matthew' worked
as a Jewish tax collector in the town of Capernaum, where he also lived.
It is fair to imagine that being a collector of taxes for the Roman government
may have earned him a stigma of being a traitor to his people. Yet,
Matthew is revealed to be a devout Jew. Therefore, his focus on Jewish
tradition and prophecies is not surprising. Matthew's account contains
almost all of the references to the prophecies of Jesus' birth. Perhaps,
the commitment to present Jesus' Jewish bloodline was Matthew's attempt to
foster greater acceptance of Jesus by the Jews. He knew that it would be
noteworthy for the Jews to trace and have evidence of a direct connection
between Abraham the patriarch and Jesus the Messiah. The detailed
genealogy is described as "The
book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham"...
Matthew 1:2-17 .
Matthew's list of Jesus' relatives shows an eclectic mixture of Jews
and Gentiles, kings and commoners, the wealthy and poor. And it is worth
mentioning that despite his knowledge of male dominance in that society,
Matthew intentionally includes names of five of Jesus' female relatives; Mary,
His mother, Tamar, Ruth, Rahab, and Uriah's wife. Another notable in
Matthew's account is that he does not give us any details about Mary's
reaction or response to her pregnancy.
Highlights
of Matthew's Account:
-
Joseph
realizes that Mary is pregnant, but he is in a dilemma about what he
should do since he knows that he is not responsible for her condition.
-
He
then receives a visit from an angel to tell him about the divine nature of
Mary's pregnancy Matthew 1:18-25.
Joseph no doubt is confused, yet he obeys the angel's instructions and
marries Mary, but refrains from consummating their union until after
Jesus is born.
-
Jesus
is born in Bethlehem.
-
Herod
executes a deranged plan to kill Jesus by slaughtering all males under two
years old.
-
The
astrologers who discerned the divine birth are joyous when they arrive at
the place where Joseph, Mary and Jesus were staying.
-
King
Herod had cunningly asked them to tell him where Jesus could be found. But
the astrologers' obey the angel's directive to return to their homes by
another way instead of returning to Herod with information about Jesus Matthew
2:1-12
-
The
angel visits Joseph again. This time he is warned in a dream about Herod's
wrath and instructed to take his family to Egypt for their protection from
this ruler. Matthew 2:13-16
Luke's
Account:
Luke was a Greek physician from the coastal town of Antioch. It is notable
that he was not a Hebrew but a Gentile. His biography of Jesus is more
detailed and expansive than Matthew's. Luke gives us a panoramic view of the
events and personalities that are involved with the birth of Jesus. Matthew's
account is more restricted to Joseph, Mary and Jesus, while Luke's give us
in-depth insights into the roles of Elizabeth, Zechariah, John, Anna and
Simeon. This author is careful about the sequence and order of
his account. This is reflected in how he begins the first chapter: "Therefore,
since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it
seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent
Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been
taught. Luke 1: 1-4
Interestingly, like Matthew, Luke also presents a genealogy of Jesus. But
with one major difference; Luke's lists only Jesus' male ancestors, going
back to Adam. This is in contrast with Matthews which begins with Abraham. Luke
3:23-38 Here again we have a sense that in compiling Jesus'
genealogy, Luke was more motivated by ancestry of Mankind rather than the
theology of the Jewish people.
Highlights
of Luke's Account are:
-
The
angel visits Zacharias to tell him that his wife Elizabeth, a
barren, elderly woman would bear a child whose name was to be John. Luke
1:5-25 . Zacharias finds this inconceivable and
we read that he is literally left speechless until the day of John's
birth. The angel told him "But
behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things
take place, because you did not believe my words which will be
fulfilled in their own time."
Luke
1:20. Zacharias
returns home to his wife after completing his priestly duties. Elizabeth
is now five months pregnant.
-
The
angel visits Mary and announces to her is that she was chosen to be the
mother of our Lord. Mary also learns that her cousin, Elizabeth is
pregnant too. Luke 1: 26-38
-
Mary
visits her cousin Elizabeth and the two women greet each other joyously.
Elizabeth tells Mary about her baby's reaction in the womb when Mary
arrived at her home. Mary expresses in beautiful poetic verses how God has
shown her great favor by choosing her to be the mother of Jesus. Luke1:39-56
-
John
the Baptist is born.
-
After
John is named, Zacharias' speech returns.
-
Zacharias
prophecies about John, his son, the forerunner of Jesus Luke1:57-80
In
the second chapter, Luke focuses on Joseph, Mary and Jesus.
Highlights are:
-
The
birth of Jesus. Luke 2:1-7
We get an insight into the social status of Jesus' parents. Like thousands
of common folk they had to obey the Roman mandate to be registered in
their hometown, which was Bethlehem. We know that they were not
wealthy because although Mary was very pregnant, they were unable to find
accommodation in an inn. Perhaps the inns that they could afford were all
filled up. Therefore, when the time came for her delivery, she gave birth
to Jesus in the only available place; a lowly stable.
-
Announcement
of Jesus' birth, was made by the angels to the shepherds. It is ironical
that lowly shepherds are the first to be notified about the birth of the
King of Kings. Luke first takes us to the fields where they are routinely
tending their sheep at night, until the sudden appearance of the angels.
He paints a beautiful scene with the shepherds gazing in awe at the
magnificent sight of angels singing and praising God in the heavens.
-
The
shepherds went to visit Jesus. Luke tells us that they went hastily to see
and worship the Christ child. After leaving there, Luke tells us that
they were rejoicing and proclaiming the good news of Jesus' birth. Luke
2: 8-20
