Matthew vs Luke

The Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus, which relates back to Abraham, the father of the Jews. Many of the individuals included in the genealogy are important figures in Jewish Scripture such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, Solomon and others. At the end of the genealogy, in verse 16, an interesting problem presents itself: this is the genealogy of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Matthew 1:18-25 states that Joseph was engag

ed to Mary when she was found to be pregnant. Joseph planned on dismissing Mary, but an angel came to Joseph and told him to marry Mary as she had conceived from the Holy Spirit as a fulfillment of prophesy. In this way, Joseph took Mary as his wife and became the "adoptive father" of her son Jesus. The inclusion of Joseph’s (Jesus’) genealogy in Matthew makes an interesting statement: even though Joseph is not biologically related to Jesus, Joseph is related to him as an "adoptive father." Jesus therefore has Jewish heritage due to Joseph and his lineage of important figures in the nation of Israel. Continuing in Matthew, 1:17 states the following: "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations." Although historically inaccurate, this "fourteen generation" rule in Matthew is used as further evidence that the birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. Matthew blatantly portrays Jesus as the Jewish messiah in accordance with a divine plan (Ehrman 86).

Some fundamental similarities can be found in the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke. In both, Jesus is born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary who is betrothed to Joseph (Ehrman 108). However, the similarities essentially end here. As I have shown, Matthew gives a genealogy of Jesus and the story of his birth whereas Luke tells the stories of the births of both Jesus and his predecessor, John. Matthew does not even mention John in the first two chapters. When comparing the stories of Jesus’ birth in Matthew and Luke, it becomes obvious that the Christian Christmas story is a compilation of both Matthew and Luke. For example, both shepherds and magi are included in the Christian Christmas story. Matthew 2:1-12 describes the wise men’s journey to find the infant Messiah and their betrayal of Herod. Luke does not mention any magi, but in 2:8-20 tells the story of an angel appearing to shepherds and their trip to Bethlehem to see the Christ. Matthew never mentions any shepherds visiting Jesus. In Matthew 2:13, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because Herod was about to search for the new messiah and kill him. Matthew continues in 2:13-22 describing Joseph’s departure into Egypt with Mary and Jesus as a fulfillment of the prophecy, "Out of Egypt I have called my son." Herod is angered by the deception of the wise men and begins to kill all the children under two in and around Bethlehem. Once again, a prophecy is fulfilled when Herod dies and Joseph is told by an angel in a dream to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel. However, when Joseph finds out Herod’s son is ruling in Judea, he decides not to go back and instead travels to Galilee. The second chapter of Matthew ends in verse 23 with the family in Nazareth as a fulfillment of prophecy: "He will be called a Nazorean." In contrast, the first two chapters of Luke do not contain this story of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fleeing to Egypt from Herod. In fact, Luke does not even mention Ki

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