This past October, my best friend, who doubles as my wife, we went to Crater Lake to photograph the lake. Okay. Okay, let me be perfectly honest. I went to photograph the lake. She went to keep me safe and from not falling off of cliffs. All right. The first day we went, It was cold and it was rainy. We got to the south end of the rim where the lodge is, and you could not even see that there was a lake there. It was just nothing but clouds. Well. I'm not gonna waste an opportunity, things change with weather. So we went into the lodge, sat by the fire for some time, and eventually the clouds started to lift a little bit. So we jumped in the car and we went on the east rim of the lake and I shot and we hiked and we had a wonderful time. Day two, the weather was completely different. Wind had kicked up, and we were there at sunrise, and there was not a cloud in the sky. And we said, well, we're going to go on the west rim. And we hiked, and we took pictures, and had a wonderful time. If you were to look at the photos that I took of our trip there at Crater Lake, and I've got many, you would see two very different kinds of photographs. from the first day, you would find pictures like this that are in black and white. The second day, bright, clear, the blues of the lake, the mountains on the horizon were very evident. And if you've never been to Crater Lake, even though these two pictures that I just showed you are but just a handful of miles apart, You might think this is in two different locations. The first one, with all of the clouds and the darkness, lent itself to black and white photography. And it lent itself very well while we were on the east side of the lake to focus on Phantom Ship, the island that's on the east side of the lake. In contrast, when we were on the other side, bright, clear, it just fit that we would be in full color and we would be focusing on Wizard Island. Now, these two kinds of pictures are analogous to what we find in the Gospels. The Gospel writers tell one and the same story, as if they were photographing one lake, but the pictures that come forth were very different. We call the first three books in the New Testament the synoptic Gospels from Greek word meaning similar. John's gospel, the fourth gospel, that we've been studying for a couple years now, that particular gospel is called the supplemental gospel because the amount of material that John brings to the table that's unique is about 80%, 700 verses in John's gospel are unique. to his gospel. The words of Christ, the activity of Christ that John mentions, 80% of it in his gospel is not found in the other gospel writers. Now in contrast, you find in Mark's gospel just 4%, only 25 verses that are not found in the other two synoptic gospels. Now, this observation has led many modern scholars to surmise that Mark's gospel was written first. Matthew and Luke used that material as the basis, the bulk of their own gospel account, and then Matthew and Luke added their own sources to come up with what we have in the Scriptures. Now, they have one subject. They're telling the story of Christ. But they're writing from different vantage points, as if there's different weather patterns, if you will. Or maybe they're using a different lens on their camera. certainly the gospel writers had different audiences in mind. This morning we're going to talk about the two gospel records that include details of the birth of Christ. Matthew's gospel and Luke's gospel. Mark doesn't say anything. John doesn't say anything about the birth of Christ and all that surrounds it. And you're familiar with the birth narratives in those two books. They're very different. And there are some that are critical of the authenticity of those books because they are different. Think with me about Matthew and then about Luke for just a moment. Matthew was a former IRS agent, that is, Israeli Revenue Service, and then he met Jesus. And his life was completely changed, transformed. He was a completely different man because of Jesus. He was burdened for his people. He was a Jew, though his countrymen would have disowned him as a traitor. He was a Jew, burdened for his fellow countrymen. So his writing, his gospel record, reflects that burden for his own people. Archie France, in his commentary on Matthew, says this. The United Bible Society Greek New Testament lists 54 direct citations of the Old Testament in Matthew's Gospel and a further 262 allusions and verbal parallels that is a conservative figure based only on the most widely recognized allusions. In other words, when Matthew wrote his gospel record, intentionally did he include many Old Testament prophecies and many allusions to the Old Testament in the hundreds. Why? Because of his audience. He was burdened for his fellow Jews. And so he wanted to show that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. So he brings in many passages of Scripture, prophetic statements from the Old Testament to prove Jesus is the one for whom we have been waiting. It is by intention that the gospel of Matthew comes first in the New Testament, because he's the bridge. Bridging the Old Testament and the New Testament, Matthew, burdened for his people, is interested in making that connection perfectly clear. Okay, what about Luke? Luke, we know, was a physician, a highly educated man, and, most notably, a Gentile. Now, sidebar, if Paul did not write the book of Hebrews, if he did not write that book, and there's a debate on that. I'm not gonna get into that. Then Luke, in his compendium of Luke Acts, he wrote more of the New Testament than anybody else in terms of raw verses. A Gentile contributed more to the New Testament than any Jew did. Isn't that interesting? Now, Luke was concerned for the Gentile reader. Along with Paul, he was Paul's helper, confidant, physician. Along with Paul, they spent the bulk of their ministry ministering to Gentiles. Luke's gospel is sometimes called the gospel for women, because he is very concerned about that group of society that had been disenfranchised by the patriarchal cultures that surrounded the Mediterranean world. So, we just simply make this notation. Matthew, records that Joseph is the one who was the recipient of divine revelation regarding the birth of Jesus. Luke, on the other hand, marks that Mary is the recipient of the divine revelation regarding the birth of Jesus. Matthew includes the visit by the magi, the wise men. Luke records the visit of the shepherds. Now, is one right and the other wrong? Skeptics will say that the Bible, particularly here at this point when we're talking about the birth narratives, the Bible is full of contradictions. Now wait a minute. Let's not go too hasty here. If we demand that Matthew and Luke have the same exact stories and records, then one of them is guilty of plagiarism, or both of them are guilty of collusion, trying to convince us that something false is true. In no other arena would we deny that two authors have the literary right to include or exclude whatever portions they might want to include or exclude in order to tell their story. Now this is one story about Jesus. But can we not give these authors the freedom to express the story in their way, to include or exclude varieties of different stories? In John's gospel toward the end, chapter 20, John says this. Many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in his name. There's lots of additional stories, lots of additional miracles, lots of additional sayings, teachings, encounters that Jesus had with other people. The gospel writers all were selective. So here's my question for the morning. Can we harmonize what Matthew and Luke provide for us in terms of the birth narrative of Jesus of Nazareth? Second page of your notes. I believe there is, and I believe that those skeptics who would claim that the Bible is contradictory at this point are merely making an excuse or attempting to escape the fact that God is the author and the authority in their life. All right, so we're gonna begin in Matthew's gospel, and I encourage you to turn there with me to the first chapter of the gospel according to Matthew. It begins with a genealogical record of Jesus. And you'll notice that it traces the line through Joseph. Now, Joseph is not the biological father of Jesus. He was presumed to be. But remember, Matthew's audience. He was interested in reaching his fellow Jews. And so, speaking in that patriarchal society, Matthew focuses and selects those pieces of information having to do with Joseph. Following the genealogical record, read with me at verse 18. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. when his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now, all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means God with us. And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. You see how many times Joseph is at the foreground of all of the photographs Matthew includes for us in this paragraph. Joseph is the one who receives a visit from an angel. And by way of divine revelation, He finds out not only that she's pregnant, but she's pregnant not by another guy, but by the Holy Spirit. Don't be afraid of this, Joseph. She's going to bear a son, and you're going to call him Jesus. This is in fulfillment of prophecy, verse 23. So Joseph, he awakes, he does as the Lord commands him, he takes Mary to be his wife, and he keeps her a virgin. Doesn't consummate the marriage. And he is the one who calls Jesus, the baby, calls the baby Jesus. All right? Let's turn over to Luke's gospel. In Luke chapter 1, we find that an angel comes to Mary. Does that mean that there's a contradiction? No, it means that the angel spoke twice. Once to Joseph, and now another time to Mary, right? It doesn't have to be that one is right and the other is wrong. They can both be true. It's not difficult to harmonize the gospel record. So the angel comes and speaks to her, verse 30 of Luke chapter 1. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. Is there a contradiction? Because the angels told Joseph, you will name him Jesus. And now the angel tells Mary, you will name him Jesus. No, absolutely not. It's just that mom and dad are not going to argue over what the kid's name is going to be. Chapter 2 of Luke's Gospel. Remember, who is Luke's audience? He's looking to address Gentiles. And that's why he includes some of the material at the beginning of chapter 2 regarding the birth narrative. Now, in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths, laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Now, why is it that Luke gives us this political timeline to give us a setting for the birth of Jesus? because his Gentile audience would not only know about this census, but would be very keenly aware of how it fits in the whole scope of Roman world, Roman life. Now, scholars will tell us that Quirinius served as governor of Syria from AD 6 to AD 9. And immediately, there's a flag that flies, and the skeptic says, wait a minute. Herod is supposed to be alive at this point, right? Well, if we were to continue in the next verse in Matthew's gospel, we would see that Herod is very much alive. We're talking about Herod the Great here. But Herod the Great had been dead and buried for many years by the time Quirinius is governor of Syria in 6 AD. So the skeptic says, see, there's another contradiction. timeout, not so fast. In 1764, a stone was found with an inscription on it in the city of Tivoli, Italy. Okay, now I have to pause here for just a moment, because with a last name Marottini, you would expect me to do a little bit better with a pronunciation of an Italian city. Okay, in Tivoli, Italia, there was found this stone, and on this stone, it noted that the governor of Syria served twice. first time was from 12 BC to 3 BC, when Herod was alive. And in both terms of Quirinius' service, he was charged by Rome to conduct a census. And so with purpose, intention, and specificity, Luke informs us that this was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. Not the second census, the first census. Contradiction? Absolutely not. No, there is perfect harmony in these details of the gospel record. Now, Luke includes this for the sake of his Gentile audience, and he continues in including, excluding certain pieces of information for the benefit of his Gentile audience. Verse 8. In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel of the Lord said to them, Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David, There has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in claws and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. When the angels had gone away, gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, let's go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing which has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry and they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about the child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. Mary treasured all of these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying, praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it has been told them." Here in this paragraph, We find Luke emphasizing Mary as the mom caring for her little one. She's wrapped him in claws, placed him in a manger. She's treasuring all these things in her heart that she has been hearing and experiencing. And then the angels speak to shepherds. Now, we kind of glorify shepherds in our day because of the whole Christmas event. But in the first century world, even before that, even after that, shepherds were the societal lowlifes. They were the nobodies. You didn't want to be a shepherd. You didn't aspire to be a shepherd. Like, I want to be a doctor. I want to be an engineer. No, you did not aspire to be a shepherd. That's something that Daddy said you had to do, as was the case with David as he grew. So why include these kinds of details? Remember, who's Luke's audience? Gentiles. So who does he focus on? Mary, women, He focuses on shepherds, these groups of people that were the disenfranchised, the nobodies. In the eyes of a Jew, Gentiles were nobodies. They were disenfranchised. They didn't have a place. And with intention and purpose, Luke includes them to say, no, they do have a place. The nobodies in this world have a place. It's here in Luke's gospel, chapter 2. Verse 21, we find Jesus is circumcised on the eighth day. Forty days after his birth, he is officially named such that his name is now recorded in the temple registry, according to Leviticus chapter 12. And then, beginning at verse 25, We have this old guy showing up, holding Jesus in his arms, and he utters a word of prophecy. Simeon is his name, and he says in verse 32 that this one, this one that he's holding in his arms, will be a light of revelation to whom? Verse 32, what does it say? to the Gentiles. Only Luke records this. Matthew doesn't say anything. Mark doesn't say anything. John doesn't say anything about this. But it's important to Luke because he wants his readers to understand that this Jesus is going to bless all kinds of people. Jews, certainly. Gentiles, absolutely. Back in Matthew's gospel, we have a visit by another group of people. Matthew chapter 2, we read this. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled. and all Jerusalem with him, gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. And they said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet, and you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel. Then Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the child. And when you have found him, report to me so that I too may come and worship him. You lion dog. I don't believe that's in the text, by the way. Verse 9, and after hearing the king, they went their way. And the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And after coming into the house, take note, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell to the ground and worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the Magi left for their own country by another way." Who are these guys? The Magi, the wise men, are historically a group of pagan astrologers, stargazers, that were noted to be the kingmakers. These were uberly smart, well-financed kind of pagans, though there's many that would argue that these guys were genuinely saved. Let's leave that discussion and debate aside for just a moment. They were feared by all the kingdoms that surrounded the Middle East, because they would bring a great deal of instability to an existing monarchy or governmental system, because they would come in and they would anoint the next king. Well, Herod was understandably nervous when these guys walk into town and said, hey, where's the king that was born? Herod is not happy. Wait a minute, I'm the king, he's thinking. We don't know a whole lot that we would like to know about these Magi. But they come to worship, and they do so, they present gifts to the royal family. Why does Matthew include this detail? Well, remember who his audience is. He's here to convince his fellow Jews, Matthew's writing, to convince his fellow Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. That is the one who is in line with King David. So he is going to include those pieces of information having to do with Jesus being the King. and having the magi, the kingmakers, recognize that this is the one is an integral part of Matthew's story. Now, it makes sense that we would include, or that we would understand, rather, that these three gifts, cold frankincense and myrrh, do not necessarily mean there were three magi. There at least were two, but there could have been a dozen of them. This is how the trip was financed for Joseph, Mary, and the child to go to Egypt, which is what's in the next section. As Herod, feeling threatened, wants to get rid of the potential king that has been born, he exterminates all of the babies in and around Bethlehem. And how old were those that he sought to have executed? You remember, two years, two years and younger. So it's easily for us to see that it could be, we don't know this for sure, but it could be that Jesus might have been a year old by the time the Magi show up. which is one reason why if you have a nativity set at your house, like I have insisted at my house, you can't have the wise men right next to the shepherds. All right. So it could be that Jesus was a year old because he was now in a house. He wasn't in a barn. It could have been that Joseph, being a carpenter, found work there in Bethlehem, maybe with some relatives. He's off to Egypt as soon as the angel informs him of Herod's murderous plot, and it's quite possible that Jesus was there in Egypt for maybe another year before he returned. So when we talk about all of these details surrounding the birth of Christ, they harmonize really very nicely. We're looking at one thing that we're gonna photograph, like Crater Lake. But depending on what we're gonna see, what we're gonna include, what we're gonna exclude, we could be just a short few miles away from each other, but the pictures that we take, given the circumstances that we're dealing with, those pictures could be quite different. And so it is certainly within the realm of possibility that we find Matthew's and Luke's accounts perfectly coming together. But by way of conclusion, I can't let us think that the The two accounts here in Matthew's and Luke's gospel records is plausible or is reasonable or it makes sense. It's more than all that. It's true. And it demands a response on our part. I want to leave you with a few passages of Scripture for you to think about. Now, if you know the Lord Jesus personally, if you have repented and believed on Him, submitted your life to Him, this is all review. But if you haven't come to that point, I want you to take a very careful listen. Now, all the scripture references I'm gonna read, and I've just printed them on my three-by-five card here, so I wouldn't have to be turning back and forth. I printed all of those references on the second page of your notes so that you could look at those later. God, in all of his holiness, cannot bear sin. That's why Jesus had to come. Now, listen to this. Hebrews 9, it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment. 2 Corinthians 5, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Romans 14. Each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Acts 17, God the Father has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through Christ Jesus, whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead. Hebrews 10. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And this is where Jesus comes in. He is our rescuer from God's wrath. Listen, Jesus says of himself, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into the life. 1 Timothy 2, there is one God. and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. 1 John chapter 5. The testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son holds on to the Son, possesses the Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. Acts chapter 4, there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. There is only one hope. And that hope is in Jesus. I read earlier this statement from the angel to Joseph, Matthew chapter 1, verse 21. Mary will bear a son. And you, Joseph, shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Pray with me. Lord God Almighty, we humbly come into your presence knowing full well that we are unworthy of any kindness any grace, any mercy on your part. We have deserved, we have earned the unmitigated, full fury of your wrath. For you are flawlessly perfect, holy, righteous in every way, and we are not. And I pray that You would be merciful to those in my hearing, that Your Holy Spirit would go ahead of me, convict us of sin, of our need for righteousness, of Your coming judgment. Cause us to turn to Christ, to trust Him, believe on Him, He alone. is the Savior. Amen.