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Dear Parish Faithful,
"In the form of God all things were made by Him (Jn. 1:3); in the form of a servant, he himself was born of a woman, born under the law (Gal. 4:4)." — St. Augustine - The Trinity
Yesterday's Nativity Narrative Test highlighted the differences between the two Gospels in the presentation of Christ's Nativity. Yet, we do not want to lose sight of the many "shared points" which are of great importance. This list was compiled by the eminent biblical scholar Raymond Brown. I hope that you find this quite helpful.
Eleven Shared Points in the Two Infancy Narratives of the Evangelists Matthew and Luke
+ The parents to be are Mary and Joseph who are legally engaged or married, but have not yet come to live together or have sexual relations (MATT. 1:18; LK. 1:27,34).
+ Joseph is of Davidic descent (MATT. 1:16,20; LK. 1:27,32; 2:4).
+ There is an angelic announcement of the forthcoming birth of the child (MATT. 1:20-23; LK. 1:30-35).
+ The conception of the child by Mary is not through intercourse with her husband (MATT. 1:20, 23,25; LK. 1:34).
+ The conception is through the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18,20; Lk. 1:35
+ There is a directive from the angel that the child is to be named Jesus (MATT. 1:21;LK. 1:31)
+ An angel states that Jesus is to be Savior (MATT. 1:21; LK. 2:11).
+ The birth of the child takes place after the parents have come to live together (MATT. 1:24-25; LK. 2:5-6).
+ The birth takes place at Bethlehem (MATT. 2:1; LK. 2:4-6)
+ The birth is chronologically related to the reign (days) of Herod the Great (MATT. 2:1; LK. 1:5).
+ The child is reared at Nazareth (MATT. 2:23; LK. 2:39).
From The Birth of the Messiah, by Raymond Brown, p. 34-35
