Information about Nativity Of Jesus

Nativity story redirects here. For the 2006 film, see The Nativity Story.

The Nativity of Jesus, or simply the Nativity, is the story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

For Christians, the authoritative accounts are those given in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke that form part of the New Testament of the Bible. More elaborate accounts of the events relating to the birth of Jesus have also been preserved, but they have not been included in the Christian canon of the Bible. The Gospel of Mark, arguably the earliest of the canonical gospels, is silent on the nativity.^[1]

The birth narratives of Matthew and Luke relate that the mother of Jesus of Nazareth was Mary, at the time of his conception the betrothed wife of Joseph of the House of David, and that she conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit rather than by Joseph.^[2]

The remembrance, representation and re-enactment of the Nativity scene are at the heart of the Christian celebration of Christmas, the name "Christmas" for the festival signifying the Christian belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ promised in the Old Testament of the Bible. In the Roman Catholic Church, and among other Christian groups, the main religious celebration of Christmas is the Church service at midnight ("Heilige Nacht", "Midnight Mass") or in the morning of "Christmas Day", which is always kept on the 25 December. During the forty days leading up to Christmas, the Eastern Orthodox Church practices the Nativity Fast, while four Sundays before Christmas, the Roman Catholic Church begins observing the liturgical season of Advent – both are times of spiritual cleansing, recollection and renewal, in order to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

Many modern scholars point out that the two Gospel accounts appear to present two different and conflicting narratives, and consider both stories essentially to be pious fictions:^[3] E. P. Sanders describes them as "the clearest cases of invention in the Gospels".^[4]

Biblical narratives

Major events in Jesus' life in the Gospels

Nativity Baptism Temptation Ministry Commission of Disciples & Apostles Sermon on the Mount Miracles Transfiguration Entering Jerusalem Temple Incident The Fig Tree Great Commandment Anointing Last Supper Promise of the Paraclete Passion Arrest Before the High Priest Before Pilate Crucifixion Entombment Empty Tomb Resurrection Appearances Great Commission Ascension Second Coming Prophecy This box:  •  • [ edit]

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke states that Mary learned from the angel Gabriel that the Holy Spirit would cause her to be with child.^[5] Mary pointed out that she was a virgin and the angel responded that "nothing will be impossible with God".^[6] "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word," Mary responded.^[7]

When Mary was heavily pregnant, she and her husband Joseph traveled from their home in Nazareth about 150 kilometres (90 miles) south to Joseph's ancestral home, Bethlehem, in order to register in a census ordered by Emperor Augustus,^[8] also known as the Census of Quirinius . Having found no place for themselves in the inn, they lodged in a stable or cave where animals used to be kept.^[9] There Mary gave birth to Jesus.^[9]

An angel of the Lord visited the shepherds that were guarding their flocks in fields nearby and brought them the "good news of great joy"^[10] that "to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord".^[11] The angel told them they would find, "a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."^[12] A "heavenly host" joined the angel and said, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"^[13] The shepherds hurried to the manger in Bethlehem where they found Mary, Joseph and Jesus. They repeated what they were told by the angel, and then returned to their flocks.^[14]

Gospel of Matthew

In the Gospel of Matthew, the impending birth is announced to Joseph in a dream. A star reveals the birth of Jesus to a group of "wise men" (Koine Greek magi) who travel to Jerusalem from an unspecified country "in the east":

Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.

Matthew's use of the word "magi" connects the visiters to the magi of Babylon who selected Daniel their chief, according to the Book of Daniel.^[15] The magi in Daniel interpreted dreams and other portents. The book was well-known in ancient times for a prophecy concerning the Messiah,^[16] an "anointed one" sent by God to lead the Jewish people. Messiah is a Hebrew word equivalent to "Christ", which is derived from Greek.



Neither the names of the magi nor their number are specified in the Bible, but – owing to the fact that three gifts are mentioned – tradition tells us there were three: Balthasar, Melchior, and Caspar. Balthasar is a Greek version of the Babylonian name Belshazzar, meaning "May Bel protect his life". This was the name given to Daniel by the chief eunuch of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,^[17] as well as to a king of Babylon.^[18] Melchior means "The king is my light" in Aramaic. Caspar is a Latinized version of Gondophares, a Parthian (i.e. Persian) name. In free retellings of the Nativity events, the magi are sometimes called "kings" because of prophecies that kings will pay homage to the Messiah.^[19]

The statement that Herod was "frightened"^[20] by the magi's words is sometimes taken to mean that he did not know of the magi's star, often referred to as the Star of Bethlehem, before they arrived. The text suggests that it was the birth of the Messiah that frightened Herod, not the star, which he may or may not have known about earlier. Herod must have understood the phrase "king of the Jews" as a reference to the Messiah, since he asked his advisors where the Messiah could be born.^[21] They answered Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, and quoted the prophet Micah.^[22] "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage," a deceitful Herod told the magi.^[23]

As they traveled to Bethlehem, the star "went before" the magi and led them to a house where they found Jesus.^[24] Thus Jesus was no longer in the manger described by Luke. He was a child (paidion), not an infant (brephos).^[25] The magi presented Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.^[26] In a dream, the magi received a divine warning of Herod's intent to kill the child, whom he saw as a rival.^[27] Consequently, they returned to their own country without telling Herod the result of their mission.^[27] An angel told Joseph to flee with his family to Egypt.^[28] Meanwhile, Herod ordered that all male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2 be killed,^[29] the so-called "Massacre of the Innocents". After Herod's death, the holy family settled in Nazareth, fulfilling the prophecy, "He will be called a Nazorean."^[30] Here "Nazorean" means both a resident of Nazareth and a "branch," or descendant (of David).^[31]

Gospel of John

Although very brief, some have informally referred to John 1:14a as an account of Christ's birth. However, as this passage lacks any of the details in Matthew's or Luke's gospels, it is rarely associated with the nativity story.

Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.

Relationship among the Gospels

The task of defining the relationship between Matthew, Luke, and the Gospel of Mark, called the Synoptic problem, has attracted a great deal of scholarship over the centuries. In the traditional view, expressed by Augustine and other church fathers, Matthew was written first and Mark was redacted from Matthew (see Augustinian hypothesis), although this is not the majority view today. Many modern scholars emphasize the divergences among these gospels. In Matthew, for example, the Holy Family intended to return to Bethlehem after the flight to Egypt, i.e. they are residents of Bethlehem.^[32] But since the nativity narrative in Luke does not mention the flight to Egypt or Joseph's deliberations over their safety on their return, most scholars infer that the family resided originally in Nazareth, and went to Bethlehem purely because of the census.^[33] Such apparent inconsistencies have led textual critics to talk in terms of an "M source" for the material in Matthew which diverges from Luke and Mark, and an "L source" for divergent material in Luke. Under the theory of Markan Priority, the material that Matthew and Luke have in common is derived from the Gospel of Mark or from the hypothetical Q document.^[34] As the nativity narratives are not part of this common gospel material, they are thought to represent later elaborations; moreover, neither Mark nor the Gospel of John includes a nativity narrative.

Date of Birth

See also:  and

The nativity accounts in the New Testament gospels of Matthew and Luke do not mention a date or time of year for the birth of Jesus. In Western Christianity, it has been traditionally celebrated on December 25 as Christmas (in the liturgical season of Christmastide), a date that can be traced as early as 330 among Roman Christians. Before then, and still today in Eastern Christianity, Jesus' birth was generally celebrated on January 6 as part of the feast of Theophany,^[35] also known as Epiphany, which commemorated not only Jesus' birth but also his baptism by John in the Jordan River and possibly additional events in Jesus' life. Some scholars have speculated that the date of the celebration was moved by in an attempt to replace the Roman festival of Saturnalia.^[36] Some scholars note that Luke's descriptions of shepherds' activities at the time of Jesus' birth suggest a spring or summer date.^[37] The theory that December 25 was the birthdate of Jesus was popularized by Sextus Julius Africanus in Chronographiai (AD 221).

Both Luke and Matthew place Jesus' birth under the reign of Herod the Great. Herod’s death (and thus the end of his reign) occurred after an eclipse that is usually dated to 13 March 4 B.C. Matthew also recorded that Herod had all the male children in Bethlehem two years old and younger executed (Matthew 2:16, see Slaughter of the Innocents), based on a prophecy relayed to him by the magi that a new King of the Jews had been born in the town. The order's instruction of "two and under", along with the inference that it took Herod time to realize that the magi were not about to deliver the child to him, implies a date of 6-4 B.C. as the latest possible dating. Luke also described the birth as occurring during a census and associated this with the governing of Quirinius. However, Josephus, a Romano-Jewish historian, stated that Quirinius was sent to govern Syria, and instructed to carry out a census of Judea, in AD 6, long after the death of Herod the Great in 4 B. C. Though most scholars consider Luke to be mistaken, some have attempted to reconcile his account with the details given by Josephus ^[38] — see Census of Quirinius.

Location

Both Matthew and Luke stated that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4). According to Luke, Joseph and Mary had traveled to the town of Joseph’s ancestors, the town of David (Bethlehem), due to the aforementioned census. Luke also stated the Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger “because there was no place for them in the inn (έν τωι καταλύματι).” The Greek word “καταλυμα” may be translated as either “inn” or “guestroom”, and some scholars have speculated that Joseph and Mary may have sought to stay with relatives, rather than in an inn, only to find the house full (whereupon they resorted to the shelter of a manger). Although the manger is usually depicted as taking place in a man-made free standing structure, many biblical scholars conjecture that the manger was probably positioned in a cave carved in the side of a hill - as this was the typical location of stables in classical Palestine. In the second century, both the Protoevangelium of James and Justin Martyr stated specifically that Jesus had been born in a cave.^[39] The Church of the Nativity, built by St. Helena, contains the cave-manger site traditionally venerated as the birthplace of Jesus.

Paternity

In first century Judea, the period of betrothal occurred after the main marriage ceremony had taken place and the marriage contracts had been signed, and was very much a till death do us part affair, at least until a formal divorce was granted. In general the betrothal ceremony took place when the woman was still very young, generally around age twelve or thirteen, and after the ceremony she would remain in their father's house for around a year. After this point the husband would take the bride into his own home - which most scholars think is the meaning of Mary being pregnant before they came together; Mary being pregnant before the two shared a home, rather than stating that she became pregnant before the two had had sex, although it could be interpreted this way.

Matthew is, however, quite explicit that Mary and Joseph had not had sex before Jesus was born.^[40] This is frequently extrapolated by supporters of the concept of a Virgin Birth of Jesus to imply that not only had Mary not had sex with Joseph before Jesus was born, but that she had also had sex with no-one else, i.e. was a virgin. Older and more puritanical translations often bowdlerized this passage using more euphemistic wording, though modern versions are much more explicit about the lack of sex. Many Protestants take the verse to imply that Mary and Joseph had sex after Jesus was born, but other groups, particularly the Roman Catholics, argue that the passage is far vaguer in the original Greek than it is in English, and support the idea that Mary permanently remained a virgin. David Hill, a Presbyterian, acknowledges that the wording does not absolutely deny perpetual virginity, but argues that if the idea had been current at the time, then Matthew would have been more explicit about it. The Genealogy of Jesus in the oldest surviving copy of the Gospel of Matthew - the Codex Sinaiticus - is often interpreted as implying that Joseph was the father of Jesus.

Joseph's attitude

The exact meaning of why Matthew describes Joseph as a "just man" is much discussed; the Greek term is dikaios, and it has variously been translated as just, righteous, upright, and of good character. Most of the ancient commentators of the Bible interpreted it as meaning that Joseph was law abiding, and as such decided to divorce Mary in keeping with Mosaic Law when he found her pregnant by another, but, tempering righteousness by mercy, he kept the affair private. A second view, first put forward by Clement of Alexandria, and held by most modern Christians is that Joseph's righteousness is his mercy itself, with the decision to ensure Mary was not shamed being proof of his righteousness rather than an exception to it. A third view is based on the idea that Joseph already knew the origin of Mary's pregnancy, which is more in keeping with the Gospel of Luke, leading to the view that Joseph's righteousness is pious acceptance of Mary's story.

Joseph's original intent, though, was to divorce Mary once he had discovered her pregnancy, though some scholars and most older translations have expressed this more euphemistically since Joseph, a man having just been described as righteous, undergoing divorce would imply that divorce was righteous. Especially in the nineteenth century a number of scholars tried to read alternate meanings into the term, with one proposal being that it merely meant that the couple would split while legally remaining married. However recent discoveries have found that legal avenues for divorce certainly existed at the time in question. One of the clearest pieces of evidence is a divorce record from 111, entirely coincidentally between a couple named Mary and Joseph, which was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Greek word here translated as divorce is aphiemi, and the only other time it appears is in 1 Corinthians^[41] where Paul uses it to describe the legal separation of a man and wife, and thus almost all modern translators today feel that divorce is what is being described, although doctrinal reasons cause some to use other wording.

Rabbinic law from the period allows two different options for divorce that is due to adultery:

• Bring the matter to the village council, which would hold a hearing and, if the allegations were proved, grant a divorce.
• Have the evidence presented and approved by two witnesses who would then certify the divorce (Gundry argues that the witnesses were necessary mainly to prevent a woman denying that the divorce had actually taken place.).

Joseph is explained as choosing to put Mary away privately rather than publicly divorce her, which most scholars believe means that Joseph had taken the second of the two divorce options.

In the first of several dream sequences in Matthew, an angel visits Joseph to dissuade him, and explain what has happened. The angel is described in a manner much more like early Jewish descriptions, as in the pentateuch, merely as a pure functionary with no individuality, unlike the more esoteric descriptions that arose nearer Matthew's own time, under Hellenic influence, such as described in the Book of Enoch. Joseph carries out the angel's instructions exactly, rather than arguing with them, which appears to be a common theme in the Gospel - rapid and unquestioning obedience is treated by Matthew as an important virtue.

Matthew merely glosses over how Mary came to be pregnant, which Schweizer thinks implies that Matthew's audience were already well aware of the story of the Virgin Birth - there were several virgin birth stories in the Jewish tradition and so the idea of virgin births was generally accepted by the population. Matthew mentions the paternity of the Holy Ghost very quickly, even before any of the characters in his narrative are aware of this fact, which Brown argues is because Matthew does not want the reader to ever consider alternate scenarios as to how Mary could have become pregnant.

Visitors

The Magi bear gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Though wise men or kings is the traditional understanding, the Bible actually refers to magoi. Three is a traditional number, derived from the three gifts. Furthermore, the Bible describes the men as having arrived about two years after the birth of Jesus to inquire of Herod.

The men were said to be following a mysterious star, commonly known as the Star of Bethlehem, that had suddenly appeared in the sky, believing it to be the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, or king of the Jews.

On the other hand, Luke's account does not mention the Magi, instead having Jesus being visited by local shepherds, who had been informed in the night by an angel (herald) who said "Don't be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people, for there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes (strips of cloth), lying in a manger (feeding trough)." After this an innumerable company of angels appeared with the herald saying "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men." (see The First Noël). The shepherds went quickly to Bethlehem, finding the sign to be as the angel foretold, and subsequently publicised what they had witnessed throughout the area.

Emmanuel

In Matthew "an angel of the Lord" appears to Mary's betrothed husband Joseph in a dream and tells him: "she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins". The text continues with the comment: "All this happened to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 'Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us'".^[42]. Some 5-6th century manuscripts of the Gospel according to Matthew read "Isaiah the prophet" instead of merely "the prophet" (e.g. D, but as it does not have the support of other important witnesses (see Nestle²⁶), its motives require very careful consideration outside the competence of non-text critics). Rather than using the Masoretic text which forms the basis of most modern Christian Old Testament translations, Matthew's quotation is taken from the Septuagint. The verb кαλεω kaleō (to call) is used by both Isaiah and Gabriel; but whilst the former employs the third person plural (they shall call), the latter has the second person singular you shall call. Gabriel himself therefore is not applying Isaiah's prophecy to Joseph, but his purpose is to invite him to assume legal paternity of the son to be born of Mary by naming him. It is the following comment that explains Mary's conception by the Holy Spirit, Joseph's vocation as the child's legal father, and the child's own vocation as the Saviour of his people as indicated by the name Jesus, in the light of Isaiah's prophecy that henceforth "God is with us". Howewer, this understanding of this passage tends to be regarded as Christian apologetics, because almost all Jewish sources are certain that "Immanuel" was intended as a name, not a mere title.

Scholars have other concerns with Matthew's reference to Isaiah. France, for instance, believes that it is far more likely that Isaiah is referring to the far more immediate future, particularly as the text can be considered to be past tense - implying that the saviour in question was already conceived when Isaiah was writing. Matthew also appears to have adjusted the meaning slightly, but in a significant way -although Matthew uses the Greek term parthenos, usually translated virgin, Isaiah uses the Hebrew word almah, which more accurately translates as young woman.

The purpose of the quote is better understood by looking at the context in which it is used in Isaiah. Isaiah is in the process of promising that God can save Israel from the immediate threat of the Assyrians, but that if the Jews continue to sin, the Assyrian empire will be the instrument of God's vengeance. Hence, in the eyes of scholars such as Carter, Matthew is using the situation as an allegory for the time in which he was writing; if followed, Immanuel would lead to salvation from the Roman empire, but if rebuffed, Rome will be the instrument of punishment against the Jewish people.

Art

In Insular art Gospel Books (i.e. copies of the Gospels produced in Britain under Celtic Christianity), the first verse of Matthew's nativity narrative^[43] was treated as if it began a whole new book of the Bible. In mediaeval typography, the Greek word Christ was sometimes abbreviated as Χρι (the Greek letters Chi-Rho-Iota); the first three letters of the word Christ in the Greek alphabet), and so the Χρι which begin this verse was given an elaborate decorative treatment by such scribes, who had a similar tradition for the opening few words of each of the Gospels. This trend culminated in the Book of Kells, where the monogram has taken over the entire page. Although later scribes (such as those of the Carolingian Renaissance) followed the Insular tradition of giving elaborate decorative treatments to the opening words of texts, including the Gospels, they did not follow the tradition of decoration of this verse.

See also

• Adoration of the Shepherds
• Biblical Magi
• Nativity scene
• The Miller's Tale

References

Further reading

• Albright, W.F. and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." The Anchor Bible Series. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.
• Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke. London: G. Chapman, 1977.
• Calkins, Robert G. Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1983.
• Carter, Warren. Matthew and Empire. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001.
• France, R.T. The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985.
• Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
• Gundry, Robert H. "Salvation in Matthew." Society of Biblical Literature - 2000 Seminar Papers. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2000.
• Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981
• Jones, Alexander. The Gospel According to St. Matthew. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1965.
• Levine, Amy-Jill. "Matthew." Women's Bible Commentary. Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe, eds. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
• Schaberg, Jane. Illegitimacy of Jesus: A Feminist Theological Interpretation of the Infancy Narratives (Biblical Seminar Series, No 28) Sheffield Academic Press (March 1995) ISBN 1-85075-533-7
• Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975
• Vermes, Geza "The Nativity: History and Legend". Penguin (2006) ISBN 0-14-102446-1

External links

• Icons of the Nativity (mostly Russian)
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Jesus: Legends Concerning His Birth
• Bernard Orchard, The Betrothal and Marriage of Mary to Joseph, Part 1; Part 2
• Review of The Nativity: History and Legend by Geza Vermes, reviewed by Peter Ackroyd in The Times - December 23, 2006.

•  • [ e] Christmas
Main	History • The Nativity • Bringers of gifts • Decorations • Economics • Customs • Arts and media
Christianity	Nativity of Jesus • Nativity scene • Jesus • Mary • Joseph • Archangel Gabriel • Three Wise Men • Adoration of the shepherds • Star of Bethlehem • King Herod • Massacre of the Innocents • Saint Nicholas Day • Twelfth Night • Epiphany (Christian) • Advent • Christmastide
Folklore	Father Christmas • Saint Nicholas • Santa Claus • Mrs. Claus • Santa Claus' reindeer • Rudolph • Elves • North Pole • Lapland • Rovaniemi • Frosty the Snowman • How The Grinch Stole Christmas • Ebenezer Scrooge •
	Twelve Days of Christmas • Christmas tree • Wassailing • Yule log • Stockings • Ornaments • Lights • Christmas markets • • • • • : Philippine, Polish, Worldwide
	• • • : , • : , Hit singles and tracks, ,
Society	Christmas controversy • Christmas creep • Christmas truce • • Black Friday • White Christmas • Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 • • List of winter festivals