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THE VIRGIN BIRTH |
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THE VIRGIN BIRTH |
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Comparison / contrast of the Major Passages
| Matthew 1:18-25 | Luke 1:26-28 ff |
| Mary is pledged to be married to Joseph (verse 18) | Mary is pledged to be married to Joseph (verse 27) |
| Joseph is described as a 'son of David' (verse 20) | Joseph is described as a descendant of David (verse 27) |
| Joseph is described as a righteous man (verse 19) | Mary appears as a devout believer (verses 28, 30, 38 & verses 45, 46-55, (but highly favoured rather than full of grace)) |
| An angel of the Lord appears to Joseph (verse 20) |
The angel Gabriel appears to Mary (and had appeared earlier to Zechariah) (verses 26-27) |
| The appearance takes the form of a dream (verse 20) | Mary is presumably awake when visited by the angel |
| The appearance takes place after the conception (verse 20 "after he had considered this (divorcing Mary), an angel of the Lord appeared ... ") | The appearance takes place before the conception (verses 31, 34-35 - 'you will be with child', etc.) |
| The appearance is consequent on Joseph's decision to divorce Mary and is for the purpose of persuading him to act otherwise (v 20) | The appearance is simply to warn Mary of coming events |
| Stress is placed on Mary's virginity in the quote from Isaiah 7:14 (verse 23) | Stress is placed on Mary's virginity. Mary is referred to as the virgin (verse 27) |
| The conception arose 'before they came together' (v 18). Joseph 'had no union with her until she had born a son (verse 2.5) | 'How shall this be since I have no husband?' (verse 34, RSV, literally 'I do not know a man') |
| Joseph is instructed to call the child Jesus (verse 21) | Mary is instructed to call her son Jesus (verse 31) |
| That which is conceived (in Mary) is of the Holy Spirit (verse 20) | The Holy Spirit will come upon you (Mary) and the power of the Most High will overshadow you (verse 35) |
| No theological lessons are drawn except that the virgin birth is seen as the fulfilment of prophecy. | The purpose of the virgin birth is that 'consequently' (Gk. dio) the child to be born will be holy (verse 35) called the Son of God (verse 35) |
| Joseph asks no questions and is told little | Mary is perplexed, asks a question and receives further information |
| Joseph is obedient. When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife (verse 24) | Mary is obedient : 'I am the Lord's servant', Mary answered, 'May it be to me as you have said.' (verse 38) |
| Isaiah 7.14 is quoted (verses 22-23) : "The virgin shall be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him 'Immanuel'." | There is no quotation from Isaiah |
| Names are interpreted : Immanuel - God with us (verse 23); Jesus - 'He will save his people from their sins' (verse 21) | There is no interpretation of names |
| The names prophesy the Lord's future : he will be 'God with us'; he will save his people from their sins | The Lord's future is explicitly foretold (verses 32-33) : He will be great; he will be called the Son of the Most High; the Lord God will give him the throne of this father David; he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end |
| Joseph names the child 'Jesus' (verse 25) | The child is named 'Jesus' at his circumcision (it is not specified by whom) (2:21) |
Discussion of the Major Passages
Unlike many 'parallel passages' in the gospels, the above narratives in Matthew and Luke are not accounts of the same event, but refer to two separate appearances of one or more angels, to Mary and Joseph, respectively, before and after Jesus' conception. Where the passages can be expected to agree, they do so. As has been seen, (and in what follows, the term 'parent", when applied to Joseph, is to be understood as qualified appropriately), they provide a consistent impression of Jesus' family background and the framework within which his birth occurred..
For instance, both Jesus' parents are seen to be pious and obedient, with Joseph, at least, a descendant of David. Mary and Joseph are only pledged to be married at the time of Jesus' conception (R.E. Brown provides an informative account of the background to this intermediate state between singleness and marriage) and Mary is still a virgin at the time she conceives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Both parents are instructed to call the child 'Jesus'.
Having noticed these similarities, what are the differences between the two accounts? Mainly, these are differences of purpose, both in the original scenes and in the evangelists' records. Alleged discrepancies are discussed later.
We noticed above that Joseph is at the centre of Matthew's account, in which the angel appears after Jesus' conception in order to divert Joseph from his plan to divorce his espoused wife. In the Lukan passage, however, Mary is at the centre and Gabriel appears to forewarn her of what is to happen to her. This said, are there differences in the purposes of the evangelists in recording these passages? Why, for instance, did Matthew and Luke not each record both events?
Probable reasons are the backgrounds of the authors and the intended readership. Matthew, otherwise known as Levi, the former tax-collector, is a Jew writing for Jews. Luke, the Gentile doctor and companion of Paul, is writing at least partly for the benefit of Theophilus, who is probably a Roman provincial official and may not even be a Christian.
Are these differences reflected in the two approaches? I think so. At this period, the Jews only accepted the testimony of male witnesses. Hence, Matthew, writing to Jews, concentrates on Joseph. The Romans, however, were willing to entertain the evidence of a woman, women being capable of holding significant positions in Roman society under the Empire. Consequently, Luke, writing to a Gentile, feels able to give the testimony of Mary.
Similarly, Matthew, writing to Jews, is the one who quotes Isaiah 7 and who shows an interest in the fulfilment of prophecy, whereas Luke makes no mention of this passage. However, it is Luke who records a pointer to the purpose of the virgin birth, and to this we now turn.
Please address any comments on these documents to theotodman@lineone.net.
© Theo Todman August 2000.
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