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THE FOUR EVANGELISTS AND THE NATIVITY
OF CHRIST
Over the past few weeks we looked at the progress
and history of the Jewish nation as the chosen people of God through the
Old Testament. But we began our journey with the New Testament and first
saw the Genealogy of Christ which took us right back to the beginning with
the creation of the first man Adam and his wife Eve. Everything began with
this first couple who were created in the image and likeness of God, with
logic and freewill and also immortality as long as they lived according to
the will of God. In fact everything we talk about in the Church,
everything that has to do with religion and Christianity always finds its
way back to the story of Adam and Eve. Everything we suffer today: cold,
hunger, illnesses, pain, ageing bodies and death, has its root in that
first sin of Adam which distorted the image of God in man and as a
consequence resulted in man losing the immortality of his body, but he
also died a spiritual death because his soul, even though still immortal,
was not in communion with the source of life, was not in communion with
God and therefore in darkness not capable of experiencing the divine light
for which he was originally created for. Our talk today is not going to be
on Adam who we have talked about before on several occasions, but to see
the fulfilment of that promise God made to mankind after the fall. The
promise that would raise him up again, not only to the place where Adam
was before the fall, but to a height that Adam should have reached if he
had not fallen, a spiritual level which the fathers call Theosis meaning
deification becoming one with God, becoming a god through the grace of
God.
Our journey
took us to the great patriarchs of the Old Testament and we saw the
promise God made with Abraham and then his seed after him, with Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David and eventually we finished last week with the
prophets and saw through their prophecies God’s promise to send the
Messiah who would renew mankind and open the way for man’s salvation. The
Jewish nation with whom God had made his covenant waited in anticipation
of this Messiah and had at their disposal all the law and the prophets to
help them recognize him when the time came. So why then didn’t they
recognize him? Well this is not actually correct, they did recognize him
or at least a great many who were sincerely searching the scriptures and
lived with the expectation of the Messiah recognized him when he came.
Let’s not forget that the first followers of Christ were Jews and even
those Jews the Scribes, the Pharisees and the High priests who rejected
him and sought to kill him, also recognized him but had their reasons for
not accepting him. They had taken advantage of their positions and made
the priesthood not as Moses wrote in the law but for their own wealth and
glory among men. They knew that the Messiah would judge them for their
hypocritical dealings, but they were not ready to give it all up even for
the Messiah. Jesus himself tells us that they recognized him in the
parable of the man who plated a vineyard. He told the Jews that
“A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth
to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the
season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of
the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away
empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and
entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a
third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of
the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they
will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him,
they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us
kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the
vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do
unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the
vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.” (Luke
20: 9-16) When Jesus says in the parable that they said
“This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the
inheritance may be ours” he shows that they recognized him, but
they think by killing him they would not have to give an account of
themselves and at the same time it would guarantee their power over the
Jewish synagogue.
But as we are
approaching Christmas, let’s take the coming of the Messiah from the
beginning because Christmas is the fulfilment of that expectation which
God promised mankind after the fall of Adam and continually thereafter to
his chosen people. The fulfilment of this promise is found in the books of
the New Testament and especially the first four books which we call the
Gospels. The Greek word Ευαγγέλιον means a good message a joyous message.
The English word Gospel means the same. It comes from an old English word
godspell, the god coming from the word good and spell meaning speech thus
giving us good speech or good message. Christ used this word to describe
his own preaching “The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:
18) and “this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world” (Matth. 24: 14) But the apostles also
called their preaching the good message because they knew that there never
was and never shall be for the human race a more joyous and saving message
than the one that presents the incarnate God upon earth for the salvation
of mankind. Truly the writings of the Evangelists portray the history of
the Incarnation of the Saviour Jesus Christ, his divine teaching, his
miracles, his holy life, his sacrifice on the cross, his glorious
resurrection, his ascension and all of these things are manifestations of
the immensity of God’s love for mankind and presuppositions for man’s
salvation. Everything therefore that has to do with the Saviour Christ and
our salvation is called the Good Message or Good News whether we received
this Good news directly from the mouth of the Lord and his Apostles or
through Sacred Scripture and Tradition.
Before we
enter the Gospels we should say something about the Four Evangelists
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Matthew wrote the first of the Gospels. He
was one of the Twelve Apostles and was also known by the name Levi. His
name is mentioned in the list of the Apostles found in the first three
Gospels. In Mark and Luke he is just called Matthew but in his own book he
calls himself Matthew the Publican, in other words the tax collector.
Matthew lived in Capernaum which was in Herod’s jurisdiction so Matthew
must have been employed by Herod and not the Romans to collect the taxes
from Capernaum and the surrounding area. We have seen who these publicans
were before during our talk on the preparation for lent last year. They
were hated and held in contempt as being the lowest of all men. It would
seem that Mark and Luke, out of respect for Matthew tried to hide the fact
that Matthew was a tax collector before becoming an apostle. Matthew
writing of his calling to the apostolic dignity says
“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew,
sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he
arose, and followed him.” (Matth. 9:9) The other Evangelists,
describing the same event again try to hide Matthew’s Christian name and
call him Levi, the name he was known as before his calling. It was not
unusual for the Jews to have two or even three names. But some of the
Apostles were given new names by Christ like Simon who was later called
Peter. The name Matthew must have been given to Levi after his calling
because it means Θεόδωρος, Granted by God and probably refers to him being
granted by God to the apostolic rank.
In the Gospels
we also read of the great feast Matthew made at his house in honour of
Christ. Among those invited were other tax collectors and sinners.
“When the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his
disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when
Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick.” (Matth. 9:10-12) After the
Resurrection of the Lord, Matthew is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles
which shows that he remained in Jerusalem, like all the Apostles till
after the death of the first martyr Stephen. We don’t have a lot more
information on Matthew but tradition says that he lived a very ascetical
life eating only fruit and vegetables. After preaching in Palestine, he
probably went and preached to the Parthians and then to the Ethiopians
where he received a martyr’s death. The authenticity of his book has never
been in question and Christian writers from the first centuries often
quoted him. When did Matthew write the Gospel? It is the oldest of the
Four Gospels and many have the opinion that it was written before he left
Palestine around the year 42AD while others place the writing of the
Gospel around the year 62AD. Whichever date is correct, it was definitely
written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, an event of the
utmost importance and something that Matthew, being of Jewish descent,
would have mentioned.
Matthew
addresses himself chiefly to the Jewish Christians as can be clearly seen
by the content of the Gospel. His purpose is to prove that Jesus Christ is
the expected Messiah who descended from their race. He proves this by
firstly showing them Christ’s genealogy going back to David the King and
then back to Abraham who is considered the father of the Jewish nation. He
then proceeds to show that Christ is the Messiah that is mentioned by the
Prophets. He compares and puts side by side the verses from the prophets
which make mention of the various episodes in Christ’s life and repeatedly
says: “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet.” In a masterly way he connects and ties together the Old
Testament with the New and in spite of the fact that Matthew directs
himself to the Jews, he doesn’t restrict God’s grace only within the tight
boundaries of the Jewish nation and Jewish understanding, but ends the
Gospel with “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost:” (Matth. 28: 19) thereby accepting the universality of the
Christian faith. There is an important testimony from Papius the bishop of
Hierapolis who died in 140AD and was a disciple of St. John the
Evangelist. He says that Matthew wrote the Gospel in Aramaic the spoken
Hebrew dialect of that time. The Greek text we have today doesn’t seem to
come from a translation from the Aramaic and therefore the opinion
prevails that after Matthew wrote the Gospel first in Aramaic for the
Jews, he then wrote it again for the Greek speaking Jews and the
Christians from the gentiles.
The Second
Evangelist is Mark. Of Mark we know that he was the son of a widow called
Maria and lived in Jerusalem in the house which gave host to Jesus and
where he ate the Mystical (Last) Supper. Fifty days after the Resurrection
the descent of the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire also took place in this
house. Later the same house was used for meetings of the first Christians.
The Gospels don’t mention him directly, but it is traditionally believed
that he is the man bearing a pitcher of water mentioned in the Gospels
according to Mark and Luke. When Jesus was to eat the Passover with his
disciples, he sent two of them to prepare and said to them
“Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man
bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in,
say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the
guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he
will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready
for us.” (Mark 14: 13-15). Another place which is only mentioned by
Mark and is believed he was talking of himself is during the arrest of
Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. He mentions that everyone forsook him,
and fled. “And there followed him a certain young
man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men
laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.”
(Mark 14: 51-52)
Mark
was the Nephew of the Apostle Barnabas and was also known by the name
John. He wasn’t one of the Twelve Apostles neither was he one of the wider
circle of the 70 Apostles. He hadn’t heard the preaching of Christ
directly, but heard of him through his devout mother and Uncle Barnabas
and came to believe in him and dedicated himself to the work of the
Gospel. In the beginning he accompanied the Apostles Paul and Barnabas
during their first apostolic journey and later on we find him again in
Rome with Paul. But he was also a companion of the Apostle Peter and he
appears to be a very important co-worker of his that it is said that he
was called Peter’s interpreter. The Tradition of the Church and the bishop
of Hierapolis Papius who we mentioned earlier accept that Mark interpreted
everything Peter did and whatever Peter remembered and told him of what
Jesus did and said, Mark wrote it down exactly. So within the pages of the
Gospel, Mark conveys the preaching of Peter who was the most important and
closest of Christ’s disciples. According to tradition, Mark founded the
Church of Alexandria where he was also martyred. His relics were
transferred to Venice in the year 828AD. Like Matthew’s, the authenticity
of Mark’s Gospel has never been in question. It was well known in the
ancient Church that Mark accompanied Peter and was so loyal to him that
Peter calls him his Son. (1 Peter 5: 13) Those who have studied Peter and
his preaching are in agreement that it is Peter that is speaking through
the Gospel according to St. Mark. The Gospel was written before 70AD
probably between the years 65 – 70AD. The purpose of the Gospel was to
teach that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and Saviour of mankind, but
Mark doesn’t refer to the Prophets like Matthew. He wrote the Gospel in
Greek and addressed it mainly to the gentiles who had no knowledge of the
prophets and their writings and would have been pointless to mention them.
The third
Evangelist in line is Luke. He is the only Evangelist that was not of
Jewish descent. He was a Syrian from Antioch or according to some a Greek
from Philippi of Macedonia. In Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians he
mentions that Luke was a doctor by profession enlightened in the Greek
medical arts but tradition also recognizes him as an accomplished artist
and it is said that he painted an Icon of Christ and Icons of the Mother
of God. It is said that the Mother of God, on seeing her Icon as the
Hodegitria said: “My blessing will remain always
with this Icon” and for another Icon said:
“From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” and the
words, “With this image is my grace and power”.
Luke was one the Seventy Apostles and was sent with others to preach the
kingdom of God while Christ was still himself preaching in the world.
After the Resurrection Luke mentions the story where Christ appeared and
talked with two apostles on their way to Emmaus. He names the one as
Cleopas, but doesn’t mention the name of the other because the other was
himself.
After
this we see him accompany Paul on his second journey and remained with him
until the death of the Great Apostle to the Gentiles when all his other
co-workers whether voluntary or involuntary abandoned him. He most
certainly must have offered his services as a doctor to Paul who was his
teacher and spiritual enlightener. Luke was an inseparable companion and
co-worker of Paul and wrote down in a diary every movement, action and
suffering that Paul encountered. Tradition says that he then preached the
Gospel in France, Dalmatian, Italy, Macedonia, Achaia and then in
Alexandria and Africa. There is also the source that says he went the
Thebes where he received a martyr’s death hanging from an olive tree. Luke
is credited with also writing the Acts of the Apostles. Firstly because
they are both addressed to a certain Theophilus, and also because the same
words and phrases are encountered in both the Gospel and the Acts and in
general have the same style and language which makes it clear that the
writer is one and the same in both books. Also these two books stress the
same meanings and teachings found in the letters of St. Paul. This proves
that the writer of the Gospel and the Acts was none other that Paul’s
companion Luke the Physician. Luke’s Gospel was written before the
destruction of Jerusalem and also before the death of his teacher Paul in
64AD. Many date it between 56-60AD. The rich material found in Luke’s
Gospel comes mainly from Paul’s preaching. Paul preached and Luke wrote
and St. John Chrysostom who interpreted the Epistles of St. Paul says that
when St. Paul said in the Letter to the Corinthians
“the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received,”(1 Cor.
15:1) he was referring to the Gospel written by St. Luke.
But Luke
didn’t only write what he heard from Paul. He carefully investigated all
the facts concerning Christ and came into contact with other disciples and
relatives of St. John the Baptist and of Christ, especially the Mother of
God. He is the only Evangelist who writes about the birth of St. John, the
Annunciation, the angels and shepherds at the Nativity of Christ, the
details of Christ
Circumcision, his Presentation at the temple
40 days after his birth, and the appearance of the 12 year old Christ in
the temple and is the only Evangelist,
apart
from Mark, who writes about the Ascension. Most of
this information he must have received directly from the Mother of God.
Luke probably wrote the Gospel in Rome but some say that he wrote it in
Achaia. We have already seen that he addressed the Gospel to someone who
he calls “most excellent Theophilus” but that
doesn’t mean that it was for his personal use. Theophilus must have been
an important person among the Christian Gentiles and it was sent to him
with the knowledge that he would make it available to other Christian
gentiles to strengthen their faith. That Luke’s Gospel is directed to the
Gentiles is clearly seen in a great many verses. Where the other
Evangelists use Hebrew words, Luke uses Greek e.g instead of Golgotha he
says “Place of a skull” instead of Rabbi he
says “Master” instead of Amen he says
“Truly”. He sparingly quotes from the
Prophets and doesn’t use expressions that might offend the Gentiles. He
keeps silent on the words of the Saviour used by the other Evangelist
where he said “don’t go into the Gentiles”
and “Do not even the Gentiles do the same”
Instead of writing “Ye shall be hated by all the
Nations” he writes “Ye shall be hated by
all.” He doesn’t end Christ’s genealogy with Abraham as did Matthew
who wanted to show that Jesus Christ was the expected Messiah who
descended from their Hebrew race, but goes back as far as Adam to show
that Christ is not only for the glory of Israel but for all nations. He
writes about the Good Samaritan and the conduct of the grateful Samaritan
leper and in general does not confine the Messiah within the tight
boundaries of the Jews. He writes of a Saviour for everyone as Paul the
Apostle of the Gentiles taught him.
The last of
the four Gospels is that according to St. John the Theologian, the
disciple whom Jesus loved and who leaned on his breast at supper. John was
the son of Zebedee and Salome, a daughter of St Joseph the Betrothed.
Christ then is John’s uncle for Salome was his step sister. John was at
first a disciple of St. John the Baptist. Jesus found him and his brother
James by the Sea of Galilee mending their fishing nets and called then to
follow him and he would make them fishers of men. Among the 12 disciples,
John, James and Peter held a special position and made up the triad of
elite disciples closest to Jesus. We see them as witnesses at the raising
of Jairus’s daughter, at the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Thabor
and again during the Lord’s Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. During the
Last Supper, John sat next to the Lord, and laid his head upon His breast.
Only John and Peter followed after the Lord when he was bound and led to
the court of the High Priests Annas and Caiphas. And only he was present
during the interrogations of his Master and followed him through all his
sufferings, himself also suffering in his heart at the cruelty shown to
his beloved teacher. He then follows Christ on the way to Golgotha and is
the only one of the disciples who is present at the Crucifixion. As he
stood at the foot of the Cross, Christ bestows upon him the greatest
honour by asking him to undertake the protection of the Mother of God. He
heard Christ say: “Woman, behold Thy son.” Then the
Lord said to him, “Behold thy Mother” (John 19:26-27). From that
moment John took the Mother of God into his own home and she was like a
mother to him and he like a son. This event is proof that the Virgin
didn’t have other children because they would have taken the
responsibility of looking after their mother and Christ would not have
needed to make arrangements for her. Of all the disciples John was the
most appropriate to take on this responsibility because the Virgin was by
law his grandmother. Straight away after the Resurrection, John was of the
first to hear of it and run ahead of Peter to the sepulchre and later had
repeated opportunities to see the risen Christ.
John began his
apostolic preaching at Jerusalem and with Peter are the first to be
arrested. Before being released they are commanded by the High Priests not
to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. They answered
“Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken
unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things
which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4: 19-20) John remains in
Jerusalem until the Dormition of the Mother of God. After this John went
off with his disciple Prochorus to preach the Gospel in Asia Minor and
lived and worked mainly in Ephesus. By his preaching and miracles he
brought many of the pagans to the Christian faith. This vexed the leaders
of the Pagans and had him bound and sent to Rome to the Emperor Domitian
who at that time persecuted the Christians. He was tortured and flogged
before the Emperor, but when he was unharmed by the strong poison he was
given to drink and the boiling oil into which he was put, the
Emperor was afraid and thinking he was immortal, sent him into exile on
the island of Patmos. On the island, John brought many to Christianity by
his words and miracles. He cast out many devils from the pagan temples and
healed a great multitude of the sick. John with his disciple Prochorus
then withdrew to a cave where he wrote the Book of Revelation known also
as the “Apocalypse”.
After
the death of the Emperor Domitian, John returns to Ephesus and continues
his work of instructing Christians. In Ephesus he writes his Gospel and
his 3 Epistles and died there at the age of 104. Traditions says that when
it was time for the departure of the Apostle John, he went out beyond the
city limits of Ephesus with the families of his disciples. He told them to
prepare for him a cross-shaped grave, in which he lay, telling his
disciples that they should cover him over with the soil. The disciples
tearfully kissed their beloved teacher, but not wanting to be disobedient,
they fulfilled his bidding. They covered the face of the saint with a
cloth and filled in the grave. Learning of this, other disciples of St
John came to the place of his burial. When they opened the grave, they
found it empty. Each year from the grave of the holy Apostle John on May 8
came forth a fine dust, which believers gathered up and were healed of
sicknesses by it.
John wrote the
Gospel sometime between the years 85- 95AD. He was aware of the three
other Gospels already written by the other Evangelist so what was the
purpose of writing another Gospel. Two main reasons are given. The first
is given to us by John himself towards the end of the Gospel
“these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name.” (John 20:31) The second reason was to supplement
the narration of the other three synoptic Gospels, As a disciple who was
close enough to be with Christ at all times, he heard and saw a great many
more things than the other Evangelist. His teaching concentrated more on
the Divine nature and the Holy Spirit something not found in the synoptic
Gospels and his friends and other Bishops and Priests of Asia Minor
pressured him to write about the things they only heard from him. It would
have been impossible to mention everything the Lord said or did so he left
out events covered by the others or supplemented where he felt was
necessary. This gave him room to concentrate his Gospel on a higher
spiritual level and write of the Divinity of Christ, which he did from the
very first chapter, and on the Holy Spirit.
Having then
seen who the Evangelists were, we can now proceed to what they tell us of
the Messiah. The New Testament gives us two accounts of the Nativity of
Jesus Christ: One in the Gospel of St. Matthew and the other in the Gospel
of St. Luke. The two accounts are very different but at the same time
supplement each other. Matthew deals more with the law and Prophets while
Luke portrays the more personal and humane side of the Nativity which he
must have heard directly from the lips of the Mother of God. Matthew says:
“When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a
publick example, was minded to put her away privily.” This was his
right according to the law and as a righteous person that he was he would
have obeyed the law to the letter if the angel had not appeared to him in
a dream and explained to him that the child Mary was expecting was not the
result of adultery but of the Holy Spirit. Of the same event Luke goes
into detail of how the angel appeared to Mary and told her that she would
miraculously conceive in her womb the Son of God.
“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a
man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God.”(Luke 1: 34-35)
Matthew
next takes us immediately to the Prophets to prove that Jesus is the
expected Messiah. We saw these prophecies last week so we won’t look at
them again today. What we will look at is the star and the wise men that
Matthew mentions. The wise men or magi were men from the east probably
Persia. They must have been very important people for Herod to have
noticed them. Some say they were Kings while others High Priests. They
were very educated men and were well learned in astrology which they
probably used in their religious practices. They observed a star which was
very different from anything else they had seen before and come to the
conclusion that it meant the birth of the King of the Jews and decided to
come to Jerusalem to worship him. This on it own doesn’t make sense. There
was already a king on the throne of Israel but they didn’t think of
travelling all the way from Persia to worship him. At the most they would
have paid their respects to the king of another nation but not go to all
that trouble to worship him. This tells us they recognized the newborn
king as being divine, someone completely new for mankind in the same way
the star was something new and had never been seen before. Their presents,
which were Arabian gifts, also denote that they were coming to worship a
God. Incense is what you offer to God and Myrrh, a fragrant oil, was again
used as incense or as a perfume and was used to perfume the dead before
their burial and gold is the gift for Kings. Tradition says that Mary
saved this myrrh for Christ’s burial.
It
says of the star that it appeared in the East so how did the wise men know
to come to Jerusalem. It’s very probable that the star guided them until
they were outside of Jerusalem and then disappeared. We can deduct that
they didn’t see the star whilst in Jerusalem because it tells us that
after leaving Herod the star which they saw in the east appeared again and
went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
This is a very strange star. It appears, disappears, moves in various
directions and can stop whenever it wants to and shine down on what it
wants. Its brightness can even be seen in the daytime and is not dimmed by
the brightness of the sun. This is definitely not a comet or a nova as
some suppose. It is telling the wise men where to go and where to look for
the God that has been born a human being. The star is not only a cosmic
phenomenon, it is a heavenly messenger, an angel sent by God to proclaim
the glad tidings of the incarnation of the Son of God.
The
story of the wise men is part of the nativity story, but that doesn’t mean
that they saw Jesus on the day he was born or for that matter during the
next two or three months. Luke tells us the birth took place in a stable
because there was a census for tax reasons and Bethlehem was so full of
people there was no more room in the inn. The stable was in fact a cave
where animals were kept. Matthew tells us that the wise men came into the
house where the young child was with his mother. This is logical. After
the census there must have been plenty of room in Bethlehem when everyone
returned to their homes and Mary and child moved out of the cave and took
loggings in a house. The time of the appearance of the star as told by the
wise men to Herod also tells us that the wise men’s visit was some time
after the birth. Herod killed all the male children from two years old and
under according to this information. If we assume that the star appeared
not at the birth of Jesus but at his conception nine months earlier and if
Herod allowed an extra year to be on the safe side, then the earliest the
wise men came was three months after the birth. If on the other hand the
star appeared exactly when Jesus was born, the wise men must have come
when Jesus was a year old. Matthew doesn’t tell us much more on the baby
Jesus except that from a young age he was persecuted by Herod and had to
leave Israel for Egypt and then on returning did not return to Jerusalem
where one would expect the King of the Jews to live but to Nazareth in
Galilee where Luke tells us Mary lived. It was not the place where the
Jews would have expected to find the Messiah because the majority of the
inhabitants of Nazareth were Gentiles and idol worshippers.
Matthew’s
account of the Nativity only deals with the before and after but not of
the actual birth. Luke on the other hand gives us detailed information
even before the conception. He begins with the miraculous events of the
conception of St. John the Baptist. Six months into the pregnancy God
sends the Archangel Gabriel to Nazareth to a virgin named Mary who was
espoused to a man named Joseph of the house of David. The angel
recognizing the special role Mary will have for mankind begins by praising
her. “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord
is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (Luke 1: 28) Mary is
not puffed up with flattery, but with humility is bewildered by the
angel’s salutation, but the angel then explains to her that she has been
chosen to bear in her womb a child that would be called the Son of God.
This sounds even stranger to Mary because she knows the only way to have a
child is to first come together with a man and as yet she had not slept
with Joseph neither had she intent to: the law did not allow engaged
couples to come together until after a year. She therefore asked the
Angel: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”
(Luke 1: 34) Her question shows that she
doesn’t disbelief the angel, but is curious as to how she will conceive.
The angel explains that this will come about by the power of the Holy
Spirit and continues to tell her that her cousin Elisabeth who was old and
barren was also expecting and would give birth in three months. Mary does
not show any disbelief or surprise at the angel’s words, she does not laugh
as Sarah did, but in total humility and obedience to the will of God
accepts this great calling and says: “Behold the
handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1: 38)
It
should be noted that Mary was free to accept her election or to reject it,
God didn’t force it upon her against her will. Protestants wonder why we
give so much praise and veneration to the Mother of God and cannot
understand how we owe our salvation to her because she accepted this
heroic and greatest of callings to become the instrument through which God
would save mankind. We say heroic because she didn’t think of the
consequences to herself and how she was going to explain to her betrothed
that she was pregnant, who had every right to accuse her of adultery and
have her stoned to death. She put her complete trust in God’s will and
whatever the consequence of her obedience would surely be also God’s will.
When
the angel departed, it says that Mary made haste and went to the city
where Elisabeth lived. This she did not out of disbelief but as a
confirmation of what the angel told her. On entering the house she called
to Elisabeth who when hearing her voice felt her own child leap in her
womb. This is very important for those who don’t believe that foetuses are
complete persons. John in his mother’s womb was six months old, but he
recognized his creator who had only just been conceived in Mary’s womb and
leaped with joy, as the prophet that he already was, announcing to his
Mother that their Lord and God was in their presence. Elisabeth recognized
this leap as something special; it was not the normal movements of a baby
like when we say that the baby kicked. Elisabeth then filled with the Holy
Ghost does not wait for Mary to tell her the reason for her visit, the
Holy Spirit informs her of the recent events and she repeats the
salutation of the angel Gabriel: “Blessed art thou
among women,” and continues “and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb.” (Luke 1: 42)
And to show that she recognizes the greatness of what has happened to
Mary, and the feeling of her own unworthiness to be in the Lord’s presence
says; “And whence is this to me, that the mother of
my Lord should come to me?” and then “ And
blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those
things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1: 43, 45) This is
more than enough confirmation to reassure Mary that the person she is
carrying in her womb is the Son of God. Mary then magnifies the Lord and
acknowledges the fact that she understands that from henceforth all
generations shall call her blessed because she would give birth to the
Messiah, the hope of Israel and promise that God made with Abraham, and to
his seed for ever. (Luke 1: 46-55)
Luke continues
with the birth of John, his circumcision and Zacharias’ Prophecy
concerning his own son and Jesus. He then explains how, when Mary was
almost ready to give birth, she and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem of
Judea, about 100 miles from Nazareth, over very rugged roads for tax
reasons because everyone had to be censured and taxed according to their
tribe. Bethlehem was a small town and there were many descendants of David
who had come to register for the census. By the time Mary and Joseph
arrived in Bethlehem there was no place for them to stay. There was no
room at the inn and needing a place to rest and sleep, Joseph finally
finds a cave-like place where they could rest. This place was used by
shepherds to protect their sheep in stormy weather. It was here that Mary
gave birth to Jesus. The baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in
the straw in the manger. (Luke 2: 1-7)
Luke
then narrates the story of the shepherds who were keeping watch over their
flock during the night. “And, lo, the angel of the
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and
they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find
the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,
and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men.” (Luke 2: 9-14) What a wonderful vision the
shepherds must have had, but what a strange announcement they received. A
baby who has just been born is Christ the Lord in other words the Messiah
and king of Israel but he is not to be found in the king’s palace at
Jerusalem, but in a stable, a cave which served as a stable for dumb
animals, he is not clothed with royal garments, but in swaddling bands,
and he is not lying in a baby’s crib, but in a manger where the animals
took their feed. These were the signs given to the shepherds by which they
were to recognize the Saviour: Signs of extreme poverty and humility.
Surely God could have arranged for Jesus to be born in the grandest of
palaces with all available human luxury at his feet, but instead willed
that the birth take place where we would not even expect the poorest of
men to be born. This incomprehensible and inconceivable detail that the
God of all creation who has the whole world at his feet is now born the
poorest of all men is what eventually makes it all believable. Throughout
the Gospels we see that Christ leads a life of poverty and humility and we
are told to follow in his footsteps. We see that from his very birth,
Christ teaches us that humility and poverty lead man to salvation, whereas
pride and riches lead man on the road to destruction.
After the
Nativity, Luke tells us of Christ’s circumcision on the eighth day and
then of his presentation in the temple on the fortieth day. Here Luke
mentions a man named Simeon to whom was revealed by the Holy Spirit that
he would not die until he had seen the Lord. When he saw the Lord he held
him in his arms and said: “Lord, now lettest thou
thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have
seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all
people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people
Israel.” (Luke 2: 29-32) Who was this Simeon? Tradition says
that he was one of the Seventy scholars who came to Alexandria to
translate the Holy Scriptures into Greek known as the Septuagint version
of the Old Testament. He was translating the passage from Isaiah which
says: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel,” and thought that the word “virgin”
was inaccurate, and wanted to correct the text to read “woman.” At that
moment an angel appeared to him and held back his hand saying, “You shall
see these words fulfilled. You shall not die until you behold Christ the
Lord born of a pure and spotless Virgin.” From that day, Simeon lived in
expectation of the Promised Messiah. On the day of Christ’s presentation,
Simeon received a revelation from the Holy Spirit, and came to the Temple.
The Holy Spirit then revealed to him that the divine Child held by the
All-Pure Virgin Mary was the Promised Messiah, the Saviour of the world
and he took him in his arms and said that well known phrase:
“Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace,
according to Thy word…” It is said that he died when he was 360
year old.
According to
the Gospels, this is all we know of the Nativity. Luke mentions Christ
again at the age of 12 in Jerusalem talking with the elders and nothing
more is said of his childhood. Everything is silent until his time to
reveal himself to the world at the age of about 30. We on the other hand
can say a lot more on the subject, comparing the magi with the shepherds,
and giving the symbolic meanings to the cave, the swaddling clothes and
other details mentioned in the Nativity. Sadly we have to finish not only
for today, but also for the season until after the Christmas and New Year
holidays. For those of you who have access to the internet, there is on my
website a book called “Discovering the Icon.” In chapter 4 I give an
explanation of the Icon of the Nativity with all the symbolic meanings
which I think would make a good supplement to today’s talk. Our next talk
should be on the 10th January 2008. Before we finish I would like to read
you a hymn we sing during vespers for the Christmas festival, which shows
how the Church understands the Nativity not as a festival that concerns
only mankind but all of God’s creation.
“What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, who for our
sakes appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by Thee offers Thee
thanks, the angels offer Thee a hymn, the heavens a star, the magi gifts,
the shepherds their wonder, the earth its cave, the wilderness the manger,
and we offer to Thee a Virgin mother. O pre-eternal God, have mercy upon
us.”
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