Everyone knows the biblical Christmas story, with Mary riding on a donkey, an innkeeper turning away Mary and Joseph, animals surrounding the Christ child and three wise men visiting Jesus on the night of His birth.<\/p>\n
Or do they?<\/p>\n
It may come as a surprise to some that none of these elements are included in the two scriptural accounts of Jesus\u2019 birth in Matthew and Luke — though they commonly are featured in Christmas pageants. In \u201cThe First Days of Jesus\u201d two authors with Southern Baptist ties urge believers to separate fact from fiction through \u201ca careful reading of the New Testament infancy narratives in their historical context.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Andreas K\u00f6stenberger and Southeastern Ph.D. graduate Alexander Stewart argue such a reading will help Christians \u201cclear away the brush so [they] can truly encounter and be changed by the Christ of Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The authors analyze the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke as well as the theological presentation of Jesus\u2019 incarnation in John. They also propose a harmonization of the narratives in Matthew and Luke to refute critics who erroneously claim the accounts contradict one another.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wrote the book to help people understand the deeper meaning of the birth of Christ so they can celebrate a more Christ-centered Christmas,\u201d K\u00f6stenberger, senior research professor of New Testament and biblical theology at Southeastern, told Baptist Press. \u201cThis includes the matrix of messianic expectations culminating in Jesus. It also includes a deeper appreciation for the important doctrines involved, such as the virgin birth, the incarnation, the deity of Christ, His sinlessness and many others.\u201d<\/p>\n
A moment of particular significance in Scripture\u2019s birth narratives occurred in conjunction with the wise men\u2019s visit, K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart write. The worship of the mysterious eastern visitors — whose three gifts do not necessarily correspond to the number of people in their party — contrasted sharply with the hardness of heart exhibited by King Herod, the cruel Roman-puppet monarch who sought to eliminate all rivals to his throne.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the one hand, Herod, with the (perhaps unwitting) aid of the Jewish religious leaders, rejected God\u2019s appointed King, while, on the other hand, Gentiles, with little knowledge of the true God, recognized God\u2019s King and responded with submission, allegiance, and worship,\u201d K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart write. \u201cThe narrative pushes us, its readers, to consider our response to Jesus. With whom are you identifying, Herod or the magoi [Greek for \u2018wise men\u2019]?\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to dating Jesus\u2019 birth, K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart say it must have occurred before Herod\u2019s death, which the ancient Jewish historian Josephus placed in the spring of 4 B.C. between a lunar eclipse on March 12 and the Passover on April 11. The authors estimate Jesus was born in 5 or 6 B.C., in view of events Scripture records between Jesus\u2019 birth and Herod\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
The A.D. system of dating — an abbreviation of the Latin phrase Anno Domini, meaning \u201cin the year of the Lord\u201d — was developed by a sixth-century monk and erroneously calculated the year of Jesus\u2019 birth as 1 B.C.<\/p>\n
The specific month of Jesus\u2019 birth cannot be pinpointed, K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart write, despite the claim made by some that shepherds \u201ckept watch over their flocks by night\u201d only between April and November. Shepherds near Bethlehem \u201cmay very well have kept their flocks out year-round,\u201d the authors assert.<\/p>\n
K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart answer what may be the most common objection to the Christmas narrative voiced by skeptics: The reference in Luke 2:2 to a census when \u201cQuirinius was governor of Syria\u201d being erroneous because Quirinius was not governor of Syria until A.D. 6-7.<\/p>\n
In response, the authors argue that, among other flaws in the skeptical argument, the verse might be better translated, \u201cThis was the registration before Quirinius governed Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such a translation renders the Greek word protos , generally translated as \u201cfirst\u201d in Luke 2:2, as meaning \u201cbefore\u201d in this context. While the traditional rendering — \u201cThis was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria\u201d — is perhaps a \u201cmore natural grammatical translation,\u201d the alternative is grammatically possible and supported by \u201ccontextual historical factors,\u201d the authors argue.<\/p>\n
Two related objections are that no evidence points to an empire-wide census during Augustus\u2019 reign and that no Roman census occurred in Palestine during Herod\u2019s reign.<\/p>\n
K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart respond that Augustus \u201cwas very concerned with census taking,\u201d ordering at least three censuses of Roman citizens and various censuses of all the empire\u2019s inhabitants. None of the known censuses correspond with Jesus\u2019 birth. However, in Judea, Herod would have been responsible for taking his own censuses and paying tribute to Rome. Josephus said Herod kept excellent records for taxation purposes, which would have required census activity even though no record of a specific census remains.<\/p>\n
Luke 2:1 may be describing a situation in which Caesar Augustus ordered \u201cclient kingdoms\u201d like Judea to take their own censuses and then pay tribute to Rome.<\/p>\n
The authors believe their explanation of these contested issues is reasonable, but they add, \u201cWe trust the Bible ultimately because it has been inspired by God. Our faith does not rest on some … yet-to-be-discovered Judean census return from the time of Herod. Our faith rests on the God who raised Jesus from the dead and who, through the Holy Spirit, inspired Jesus\u2019s earliest followers to pass on and record the stories of Jesus\u2019s life and teaching accurately.\u201d<\/p>\n
K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart also note other little-known or overlooked facts associated with the Christmas story. Among them:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Luke\u2019s account is told from Mary\u2019s perspective and includes information that could only have originated with Mary herself, like the account of the angel Gabriel\u2019s visit. Luke could have obtained such information either from Mary personally or from her friends and family.<\/p>\n
Matthew, in contrast, reflects Joseph\u2019s perspective. Though Joseph likely died before Matthew\u2019s Gospel was circulated, the information could have been gleaned from oral or written accounts by those who knew Joseph.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The star that led the wise men to Christ may have been associated with a \u201ctriple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn\u201d that occurred in May\/June, September\/October and December of 7 B.C. in the constellation Pisces. Pisces was associated with the Hebrews while Jupiter was associated with the world ruler and Saturn was seen as the star of the Amorites in the Syria-Palestine region, K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart write, citing a study by New Testament scholar Raymond Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is historically plausible,\u201d K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart write, \u201cthat the conjunction of planets noted above would have led Eastern astrologers to expect the birth of a king in Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jesus, which means \u201cYahweh saves,\u201d was the sixth most popular name in first-century Palestine, according to one study the authors cite.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The pronouncement of the \u201cheavenly host\u201d regarding Jesus in Luke 2:14 bears \u201cstriking similarities\u201d to the way Caesar Augustus and other Roman leaders were worshipped in the imperial cult, suggesting Jesus and not Caesar was the true Savior of the world.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Though neither Matthew nor Luke tells precisely where Jesus was born, extra-biblical sources from the mid-second century describe the setting as a cave, K\u00f6stenberger and Stewart state. Some other Southern Baptist scholars believe Jesus was born in a cave where animals were kept below a house in Bethlehem — the same house where the wise men later visited Jesus.<\/p>\n
\u2022 At the time Jesus and His family fled to Egypt to escape Herod, there was a large and prosperous Jewish community there. The three expensive gifts from the wise men — gold, frankincense and myrrh — may have provided funding for the family to begin their new life in a foreign land.<\/p>\n
K\u00f6stenberger and Steward conclude, \u201cTogether, Matthew, Luke and John provide a wonderful threefold witness to the first days of Jesus, presenting Him as the virgin-born Messiah, the light to the nations, and the incarnate Word. Each in his own way bears witness to the unique event represented by Jesus\u2019s coming into this world to save us from our sins.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than looking for divergences between the Gospel witnesses to Jesus\u2019s birth,\u201d they write, \u201cwe should stand amazed at the richness resulting from the diverse and complementary ways in which the Gospel writers testify to the events surrounding Jesus\u2019s birth, and we should probe their significance for us today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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