| This text parallels the opening of Matthew's gospel. Both texts are about the infancy of Jesus. They could be described as "child" sections and in that way compare with the "child" section which is Mark's Section C. |
The "child" sections do not appear to have structured paragraph patterns like the rest of Mark or Matthew. So it is to be expected that an outline of Luke's infancy narratives would also have fairly "loose" or "fluid" headings. Even so Luke is deliberately making some distinctions between his infancy narratives and the infancy narratives in Matthew. Consider some of these distinctions. |
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The Birth of John the Baptist Luke begins his account by addressing a Greek person called Theophilus. He assures Theophilus that he is investigating the source of everything he writes so that his account will be historically accurate. (Interesting though that he must have allowed himself some "writer's licence" given that the places Jesus went to in Luke's Section B formed a parallel paragraph pattern). Luke starts with an account of the Jewish priest Zacharias who is told by the angel Gabriel his elderly wife Elisabeth will conceive a son. |
About six months later Gabriel was sent to Nazareth to Elizabeth's cousin Mary who was betrothed to a man called Joseph. Mary was told she would conceive a son by the Holy Spirit.
He would inherit the throne of David and his kingdom would have no end.
Mary then went to stay with her cousin for three months. When she arrived Elizabeth exclaimed that with the sound of her voice the child in her womb leapt with joy. Elizabeth's child was born and he was called John. His father Zacharias who had been dumb during the pregnancy insisted on this. And then he was able to speak again. People in the hill country of Judea realised there was something special about this child and he would guide his people towards peace. |
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The Birth of Jesus At that time the Roman Emperor Augustus required that everyone in the known world was to be registered. So each man had to return to his original city. Joseph therefore went to his ancestral town of Bethlehem and he took Mary with him. It was in Bethlehem that Mary gave birth. Nearby there were shepherds and suddenly angels appeared to them to tell of a great joy for all people because a Saviour has been born. The angels sang about peace amongst people of good will. Eight days later the child was circumcised and called Jesus. When the child was taken according to custom to the Temple a prophet called Simeon took him in his arms blessing God and saying his eyes had now seen the salvation prepared for all people. He called the child a light of revelation for the nations and a glory of the people of Israel (These were Jesus' own people). Simeon also warned Mary that a sword would pierce her own soul. At the Temple there was also a prophetess called Anna who recognised Jesus as the answer to those hoping for leadership in the future. The family returned to Nazareth. Every year the parents came to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. |
When Jesus was twelve he also went with them. But when the parents were returning Jesus stayed on in the Temple. After a day's journey they found he was missing and returned and searched for him for three days before finding him amongst the Temple teachers, listening and asking them questions. The teachers were astonished at his intelligence and understanding. When the parents challenged him he said he had been about his father's business.
Years slipped by. Then John, son of Zacharias began preaching a baptism of repentance. People wondered if he was the promised Christ. But John said someone was coming who was stronger than hismself. John challenged King Herod about his evil deeds and was imprisoned. Prior to this Jesus was also baptized by John. While he was praying, the Holy Spirit came down in the bodily form of a dove. A voice from heaven said "You are beloved Son in you I have been well pleased." At that time Jesus was thirty years of age. Luke provided a list of the ancestors of Jesus and traced these, through Joseph back to to Adam, the first human. |
What are some distinctions so far?
Luke is addressing his text to Theophilus, a Greek from a world much wider than that of the
Jewish people.
Zacharias is told his son will "be a leader for the Jewish people". But the angels say Jesus will be a joy for all people (including non-Jews).
The angels then prayed for peace amongst people of good will, which again includes people beyond the boundaries of Judaism.
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Then Simeon blesses God for the salvation prepared for all people. He calls Jesus a light of revelation for the nations. At that
time (as shown in various places in the text) "the nations" was a phrase that was used to describe non-Jews.
As in Matthew's gospel there is a list of ancestors tracing back the origins of Jesus. In the case of Matthew this starts with Abraham and finishes with Joseph, Mary's husband. In the case of Luke this starts with Joseph and
goes back to Adam. That is the lineage goes back to the first human and not just the Abraham, father of the Jewish race.
Luke is establishing that Jesus is not just a child of the Jewish people. He is a child of the wider world.
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