Review of The Birth of Jesus (original) (raw)
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The infancy narratives of the canonical Gospels, found only in Matthew and Luke, relate the stories of Jesus' birth (Luke also narrates the birth of John the Baptist). With regard to Jesus' birth, Matthew and Luke's renderings differ from each other on nearly every detail, save for a few points of agreement. These points are: Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, the virginal conception, the identity of Jesus' parents as Mary and Joseph, and the place of Jesus' rearing/home town as Nazareth. 1 The narratives present more of a theological interpretation than they do historical information. 2 They function as prologues to the main Gospels of Matthew and Luke. 3 The main theological point that both evangelists present in their infancy narratives -as relates to Jesus since he is the focus -run throughout the rest of their Gospels: Jesus was divine, and, the purpose of his life was to offer salvation to Israel and all humanity. 4 It is estimated that Matthew's Gospel was written sometime between AD 80 and 90 (plus or minus a decade in either direction), and Luke's Gospel was written circa AD 85, with a five to ten year window in both directions. 5
The Role of Mary in the Infancy Narrative of Luke
Only in the infancy narrative of Luke, Mary emerges in the canonical writings of the New Testament with a literary voice of her own and an extensive role to play. The Pauline corpus does not even mention her by her name and Mark, being first to provide her name, does not speak of her much more. 1 Even though Matthew's gospel contains its own infancy narrative, the mother of Jesus plays there only a role of the virginal fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy and is more of an object than an actor. 2 In comparison with that, the first two chapters of Luke provide us with an abundance of material for study. Approaching this richness, I would like to focus on the specific question of the role which Mary plays in the infancy story in the context of the overall narrative of Luke-Acts and on how this bears upon the shaping of the early tradition regarding Mary.
The Genealogy as the Key to the Gospel according to Matthew
Journal of Biblical Literature, 1976
T HE uniqueness of Matthew's composition is accentuated by its unusual introduction; it is the only writing in the New Testament or in early Christian literature which begins with a table of ancestry. Certain features distinguish this register of names as a novel presentation of a family tree. In contrast to Luke 3:23-38 (the only other genealogy of Jesus in the NT), which delineates Jesus' forefathers in reverse order from his "father" Joseph back to Adam, a listing is offered which traces his ancestors from Abraham in a forward movement to Jesus himself. The verb iytvvr)otv ("he became the father of") is used 39 times to connect father and son pairs, but the rather monotonous progression is unexpectedly broken at the very end. Instead of a fortieth instance of the verb and therefore of a father-son relationship, the genealogy introduces Joseph as "the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus who is called the Christ" (1:16). Moreover, several women of different reputations have been included previously among the male descendants through whom the family line moves, even though they are not to be counted separately as individual generations. 1 Also in contrast to Luke's presentation -and most others -Matthew's genealogy is numerically structured according to a pattern which seems to demarcate three divisions each consisting of fourteen names: "Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David (are) fourteen generations and from David to the Babylonian Captivity fourteen generations and from the Babylonian Captivity to the Christ fourteen generations" (1:17).
THE FOUR OT WOMEN IN MATTHEW'S GENEALOGY OF JESUS
Matthew and Luke give an account of the conception, birth and infancy of Jesus (cf. Matt 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-52). This information provides materials for reflection on the person and mission of Jesus himself as God and man. The evangelists enhance their message on the humanity of Jesus by tracing his ancestry to historical figures and events prior to him in the genealogy (Matt 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). Jesus is identified in the two genealogies as historically belonging to a family of men and women. The two genealogies are modelled on OT genealogies in Genesis, Numbers, Ezra and Ruth among others. Female names are generally rare in OT genealogies (see Gen 5; 11:10-32). Matthew on the other hand and in contrast to Luke mentions four women apart from Mary in his genealogy. They are Tamar (1:3), Rahab (1:5a), Ruth (1:5b) and the wife of Uriah (Matt 1:6; Bathsheba). The inclusion is in this perspective catchy. This article studies the four women and their stories in the OT in view of establishing the evangelist’s probable reason for mentioning them. They are a clue to the novelty and import of the Matthean genealogy.
Review of: Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus
RBL, 2020
In this work, Patrick Schreiner wishes to present certain elements of Matthew’s theology and narrative in an accessible manner aimed at both the academy and the pew (ix). Schreiner argues that a crucial part of Matthew’s narrative and theology is its foundational link to the Jewish Scriptures, which makes the author of Matthew “a discipled scribe who learned to bring out treasures old and new from his teacher of wisdom."
Authorship, date and place of writing, and audience of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew is placed as the first book of New Testament among the first four Gospels, because it was the most widely used and read Gospel in the ancient church, and has been called “the ecclesiastical Gospel.” The early Church fathers mostly quoted Gospel of Matthew and it was frequently used in the liturgy of the church. It was the favourite Gospel because it is the most comprehensive one, inclusive of the sayings and teachings of Jesus. The genealogy, with which he begins the gospel, is a bridge between the Old Testament story of salvation and the New testament message act of God in Jesus Christ. Mathew’s Gospel has two main interests, which distinguish him from the other evangelists, that is, the messianic function of Jesus and his eschatology. Matthew alone employs the word “church” ἐκκλησία (Mt. 16:18), and its emphasis on the life of the Christian community has made it as a valuable resource throughout the centuries. In general, Matthew writes his Gospel to keep persecution of the church from confusing evangelism. He reminds the disciples of Jesus their responsibilities to obey Christ’s law and make it known even in the time of their persecution. He warns false disciples and those tempted to follow their antinomian course of least resistance that everlasting torment awaits the disobedient. In this paper the information about the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew, its date, the place of writing and to whom it was written (audience) will be briefly brought in.
Christ, Jesus, 02: Birth and Infancy Narratives
Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online, 2018
Only limited information about the birth and childhood of Jesus can be historically verified, and the earliest narratives have been embellished with elements from the Old Testament and contemporary Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions about events surrounding the birth of famous figures. The oldest references to and narratives of Jesus' birth and childhood are in the New Testament: in Paul's Letter to the Galatians; the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John; the Letter to the Hebrews; and Revelation (all 1st cent. CE). These narratives are extensively developed on in later sources, particularly the Protevangelium of James and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (both 2nd cent. CE). These infancy gospels are key manifestations within early Christianity of the growing interest in Christ's birth, early years, and family life. Together with the New Testament narratives, they served as reservoirs and models for a number of similar stories from late antiquity and the Middle Ages, and in numerous languages. In later history and until the present, the birth and infancy of Christ and the early Christian narratives about it have continuously served as inspiration for popular legend and piety, Christian theology and doctrine, liturgy, literature, drama, pictorial art of a variety of kinds, and scientific inquiry. Sometimes motifs from birth and childhood narratives occur earlier in art than in the (preserved) texts; this indicates that there could be mutual interchanges between texts and other media, in which new elements were first introduced for example in pictures or liturgy, and only later were put into words.
Reading Acts, 2020
In The First Biography of Jesus Bond argues the Gospel of Mark is a very specific reception of earlier Jesus tradition. The Gospel of Mark is an ancient biography and as such, the author actively re-appropriated and reconfigured selected material in circulation at the time into a formal literary creation (5). By imposing a biographical structure on this tradition, Mark extended the Christian gospel beyond the death and resurrection of Jesus, so it now included his ministry as well.
Studies in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke
2024
Table of Contents "Matthew’s Theology" (pp. 2–14); Previously unpublished. "On Interpreting Matthew’s Editorial Comments" (pp. 15–24); Previously published in Westminster Theological Journal 47 (1985), 319–328. "Salvation in Matthew" (pp. 25–31); Previously published in Society of Biblical Literature 2000 Seminar Papers (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2000), 402–414. "A Response to John Heil’s Response to My 'Salvation in Matthew'” (pp. 32–35); Previously unpublished. "A Responsive Evaluation of the Social History of the Matthean Community in Roman Syria" (pp. 36–38); Previously published in The Social History of the Matthean Community in Roman Syria, ed. David L. Balch (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991), 62–67. "In Defense of the Church in Matthew as a Corpus Mixtum" (pp. 39–51); Previously published in Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 91 (2000), 153–165. "Review of Matthew’s Advice to a Divided Community: Mt. 17:22–18, 35, by William G. Thompson" (pp. 52); Previously published in Interpretation 26 (1972), 99–100. "Review of Wisdom, Christology, and Law in Matthew’s Gospel, by M. Jack Suggs" (pp. 53); Previously published in Interpretation 27 (1973), 369. "H. D. Betz’s Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount" (pp. 54–77); Previously published in Critical Review of Books in Religion 1997 10 (1997), 39–57. "A Response to 'Matthew and Midrash'” (pp. 78–93); Previously published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26 (1983), 41–56. "A Surrejoinder to Douglas J. Moo" (pp. 94–109); Previously published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26 (1983), 71–86. "A Response to 'Methodological Unorthodoxy'” (pp. 110–115); Previously published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26 (1983), 95–100. "A Surrejoinder to Norman L. Geisler" (pp. 116–122); Previously published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26 (1983), 109–115. "A Response to Some Criticisms of Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art" (pp. 123–175) [presented at an annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society]; Appendix I: A Response to Royce Gruenler’s “Observations on Matthew”: New Approaches to Jesus and the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1982) 245–51); Appendix II: Corrections to Be Made in Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art; Postscript on Criticisms by Douglas J. Moo; Previously unpublished. "On True and False Disciples in Matthew 8:18–22" (pp. 176–184); Previously published in New Testament Studies 40 (1994), 433–441. "Matthew’s Peter, a False Disciple and Apostate: Questions and Answers" (pp. 185–194); Previously published in Expository Times 127/9 (June, 2016), 441–444. "The Narrative Framework of Matthew 16:17–19" (pp. 195–203); Previously published in Novum Testamentum 7 (1964), 1–9. "Spinning the Lilies and Unravelling the Ravens: An Alternative Reading of Q 12:22b–31 and P. Oxy. 655" (pp. 204–225); Previously published in New Testament Studies 48 (2002), 159–180. "The Refusal of Matthean Foreign Bodies to Be Exorcised from Luke 9:22, 10:25–28" (pp. 226–235); Previously published in Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 75 (1999), 104–122. "Matthean Foreign Bodies in Agreement of Luke with Matthew against Mark: Evidence that Luke Used Matthew" (pp. 236–264); Previously published in The Four Gospels 1992: Festschrift Frans Neirynck, ed. F. Van Segbroeck et al., Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 100 (Leuven: Leuven University Press/Peeters, 1992), 1467–1495. "A Rejoinder on Matthean Foreign Bodies in Luke 10:25–28" (pp. 265–276); Previously published in Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 71 (1995), 139–150.