The Infancy of Jesus Our information on the infancy of Jesus is based largely on the Gospels of Matthew and Luke The Gospel of Mark does not cover this time in Jesus’ life, but the Gospel of John goes even further: he explores Jesus in the heart of God before the beginning of time – in-class Read in textbook page 106 insert The Gospel of Matthew begins with the family tree of Jesus going back to Abraham

The Gospel then talks about the virgin birth (“born of the Holy Spirit”) It then gives a simple description of Jesus birth and the giving of His name In-class Read Matthew 1:18-25 This is followed by the arrival of the Magi who follow a star to Jesus’ place of birth – Read Matthew 2:1-12 Then begins the flight into Egypt to escape King Herod’s killing of innocent children – Read Matthew 2:13-18

Finally we read of the family’s return to Palestine, formerly called Canaan, to the town of Nazareth in Galilee where Jesus is raised – Read Matthew 2:19-23 ________________________________________ Luke’s Gospel adds some other details Luke starts with John the Baptist announcing the coming of the Messiah Luke talks about how John came to be born – Read Luke 1:5-25 Then the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is to bear a son to be named Jesus

Read Luke 1:26-38 This day is still celebrated in the Catholic Church as the “Feast of the Annunciation” on March 25 Mary then goes to visit her relative Elizabeth who exclaims “Blessed is the fruit of your womb” – Read Luke 1:39-45 A combination of the words of the angel Gabriel and Elizabeth form the basis for the Catholic prayer called “The Hail Mary” – Recite The Hail Mary in class

A prayer, often set to music, called the Magnificat puts words to Mary’s realization that she is to bear a special son. This prayer is a collect of versus from the Old Testament Read Luke 1:46-55 In Luke’s Gospel this is followed by several scenes about John the Baptist Read Luke 1:57-80 Only after this introduction does Luke describe the birth of Jesus and the events which follow it

Luke describes the classic version of Jesus’ birth – Read Luke 2:7 In Luke, following Jesus’ birth an angel announces the event to a group of poor shepherds – Read Luke 2:11 Luke does not mention the Magi nor does Matthew mention the shepherds Luke goes on to describe some events following on Jesus’ birth: Read Luke 2:21-38 Luke is the only Gospel to mention Jesus appearance in the Temple in Jerusalem at age twelve – Read Luke 2:41-50

Luke closes his description of the early life of Jesus with these words: “[Jesus] went down with [his parents] and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.”

5 steps to reconciling the differences between the infancy stories of Matthew and Luke: 1)Each gospel was written by a different person, at a different place, a different time, and for a different audience: – Mark – 1 st written & for non-Jewish Christians – Luke – written 15 years after Mark & directed at Gentiles – Matthew – written shortly after Luke & directed at Jews – John – very different from the other three “Synoptic” (meaning “to see together”) Gospels

2)The Gospels are testimonies of faith, not a biography of Jesus 3)They about the meaning of Jesus’ life and teaching 4)The Gospels are largely symbolic in their discussion of Jesus’ infancy 5)The Gospels of Matthew and Luke wanted to each teach certain themes about Jesus as the Christ of Faith

Matthew’s 3 Themes aimed at Jewish readers: – Jesus is the Messiah – Jesus was accepted by the Gentiles and rejected by the Jews – Jesus is the new “Moses” Luke’s Theme aimed at Gentile readers: The “Good News” is for everyone Tonight read up to and including page 113 in your textbook

Looking ahead to what we’ll cover after mid-term exams: – Curiosity as to Jesus “hidden years” – Jesus is One with Us in All Things except Sin – Jesus birth date: The calendar is completely inaccurate – Jesus was born in the reign of Herod the Great who died in 4 BCE according to our current calendar when matched to the ancient Roman calendar – The Gospel writers were not historians and were not concerned with accuracy – Speculation as to Jesus’ childhood: Read together in-class pages in your textbook

His Jesus must have had a good education: He was well-versed in Hebrew which was uncommon for the lower-class people of His day Jesus knew the scriptures very well and must have been always a devout Jew – judging by the messages He gave us in His ministry His spiritual devotion would eventually put Him in conflict with those closest to Him in His early life Read together in-class Matthew 12:46-50