The Birth Of Jesus Essays - Gospel Of Luke, Gospel Of Matthew

The Birth Of Jesus The Birth of Jesus 2. Why did Mary gowith hasteto visit Elizabeth? At that time I believe that Mary had just been engaged but not married to Joseph yet. The time frame was really close to the appearance of the angel to Mary and Joseph. Mary was already pregnant at the time. Probably Mary went to see Elizabeth to talk about her situation. But in a deeper sense the meeting with Elizabeth was to encourage Marys faith, she was given the sign that her kinswoman, Elizabeth, was also the object of Gods grace in the gift of a miraculously conceived son (Layman 28). 3. What is Mary asking for with her question in Luke 1:34? Marys complete question was: How will this be, since I am a virgin?Her question implies two things. The first a simple how, she is asking how could she have had a child when she knows no man before. The second implication of her question was deeper and contains more complication. The announcement made to her could well have had frightful social consequences. In Jewish custom of that day, an engagement was as binding as a marriage. To be Gods servant, Mary had to expose herself to Josephs misunderstanding, to the possible loss of her reputation and the curse of being a sinful woman and to possible death by stoning (Balmer, 29). If she is marrying Joseph, wouldnt having a child sometime in the future be a very normal expectation? The problem was that the angel said that she would have a child, and at that time she was not married to Joseph yet. This would lead to misunderstandings by the society that she was unfaithful. What happened to her is something that cannot be explained in human understanding. And no one would believe her. Mary however surrendered to God. In Luke 1:38 she said I am the Lords servant. This statement was a full surrender to Gods will even though there can be many misunderstandings and even possible persecution. The women in Matthews genealogy were: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth. Each of these women either had kept the covenant or had entered into the covenant by an act of faith. Their names remind us also that the covenant is a covenant of grace. Theyre not moral saints but forgiven sinners (Balmer 171). Furthermore the angel made obvious reverence to the gracious act of the gift of a son to Sarah; this was not only to encourage Marys faith but to indicate that her child was to be the final fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham, that by him all the families of the earth will be blessed(Gen 12:3). Jesus is the culmination of all that God has been doing since the days of Abraham (Layman). BorgWright discussion N.T. Wright says: One can be justified by faith with no knowledge of it. The God of the bible is not a normally absent God who sometimes intervenes. This God is always present and active, often surprisingly so. Likewise if one believes that the bible is true, then the story of the birth is true (Wright). Wrights argument develops in three stages: o What matters is the powerful, mysterious presence of the God of Israel, the creator God, bringing the story of creation to its height by new creation from the womb of the old. o There is no pre-Christian Jewish tradition suggesting that the messiah would be born of a virgin. So why would Matthew and Luke invent the theory and take a risk of having many arguments. o If the evangelist believed them to be true, when and by whom were they invented? Why two different but compatible stories were in circulation While Marcus Borg started by saying: They are not history remembered but rather metaphorical narratives using ancient religious imagery to express central truths about Jesus significance. Borg was arguing by analyzing contradictions in the bible. His arguments were: 1. In Matthews, Jesus origins came from King David to Solomon while in Luke it came from King David to the prophet Nathan. 2. In Luke, Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem to participate in a census when Jesus was born. In Matthew The whole family actually live in Bethlehem. 3. The two different worshippers, shepherds versus the wise men. Many