Did you know that story of the birth of Jesus is told two different ways in the Bible? If you look through the four gospels, you’ll find that only two cover the actual birth, Luke and Matthew. (Mark and John pick up the tale when Jesus is a grown man.) And while there is some overlap in the tale, the details vary.
One mystery of the Christmas story: who visited Jesus at his birth?
In Matthew, the first visitors to greet the newly born Jesus are local shepherds who venture to the manger from the countryside. But in Luke, the initial visitors are the Magi, aka the “wise men,” who are not mentioned in Matthew. Some biblical scholars see the wise men as invented by the author of Luke; but others believe the Magi visited after the shepherds, arriving up to two years later. (One additional note: while we often hear about three wise men, that number is never mentioned in the Bible.)
Another difference in the two gospel accounts: Mary and Joseph are each told of the impending birth of Jesus by angels, but in different ways:
- In Luke, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary in person and tells her, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”
- In Matthew, an “angel of the Lord” appears to Joseph in a dream. The angel says: “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.”
I’ve blended the stories from Matthew & Luke into a single narrative.
You might think of it as The Gospel of Baby Jesus According to Mattuke. The biblical translations I’m using below come from The Everything Family Christmas Book by Yvonne Jeffrey. I’ve done some additional editing, updating the language using modern-day English.
I’ll pick up the story at the point King Herod, aware of the birth of “the King of the Jews,” tries to get more information on the location of the newborn. Though he says he wants to worship the baby Jesus, he is likely threatened by the potential challenge to his power. We come to discover his intentions are not good.
The Christmas Story According to the Gospel of Mattuke
King Herod called the Wise Men and asked them about the bright star that had appeared in the East. They told him it was a sign of the birth of the King of the Jews. He directed them to “go and search for the child. When you find him, tell me, and I will also come and worship him.”
Many miles away, in a small town called Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to her first-born child and named him Jesus. She wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.
Nearby, in the countryside, shepherds were watching over their flocks at night. An angel from God came upon them, shining a bright light. They grew fearful.
The angel told them to not be afraid, for “I bring you and all people news of great joy. Born on this day is Christ the Lord. You’ll find him wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
More angels appeared and before they disappeared into the heavens, the shepherds heard them exclaim, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to all.”
One shepherd said to the others, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this baby which the Lord has made known to us.”
They came as fast as they could and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. They praised God for all the good things they had heard and seen.
Sometime after, the Wise Men followed the star in the east until it also brought them to the baby Jesus. When they came into the manger, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and fell to their knees in worship. They opened their treasures and presented the baby with gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The Wise Men had been warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod. Instead, they departed and headed into the opposite direction from which they came.
God then appeared to Joseph, the father of Jesus, in a dream. Jesus was instructed to “take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” The next night Joseph, Mary and Jesus departed.
A virgin visited by an angel, who asked her to become a mother. A father who agrees to travel and protect a baby that is not his own. Shepherds and wisemen that came from far away to honor a newborn baby in a manger. It’s a great story. But most amazing is the birth of Jesus himself, a gift from God that each year has the power to lift our spirits, renew our sense of faith, and open our hearts even wider with love and compassion for all. That’s powerful.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
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