Why The Infancy Stories?

 

Why The Infancy Stories?

Brett A. Todd

Where would we be at Christmas without the infancy stories found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke?  Remember, Matthew (1:18-25) and Luke (2:1-20) are the only books in the Bible that tell the story of Jesus’ birth.  More than likely, for churches and Christians around the world, there would be no Advent season, Christmas Eve Candlelight celebrations, and sadly, no Christmas day.

It seems all too odd that neither Mark nor John nor even the Apostle Paul, mention the birth of Jesus.  One would think if the birth story of Jesus was so important, the Gospel of Mark would have at least mentioned something about it, but he didn’t.  He didn’t say one peep, not one word!  This is especially significant since it is Mark that both Matthew and Luke used as a source to write their gospels.  So what is the significance and purpose of the infancy stories of Jesus?

As noted in previous articles, there were several gospels other than the four Gospels found in the Bible competing to make it on the ancient best sellers list (the Bible).  Some made it, while others were lost in the sands of history.  So, I’m not surprised when people look at me in a daze when I tell them that early Christians were not the only ones who told infancy stories of divine births.  Truth be told, there are many more infancy stories among the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians than for early Christians. And interestingly, some of these ancient infant stories sound familiar to the Christian reader.  

Let me give you one example: Dionysus, the Greek god of grapes, fertility, and ritual madness was born of a virgin on December 25th and as an infant, he was laid in a manger. Who were his parents?  They were none other than the Greek god Zeus and his earthly mother Semele. The parallel between Jesus and Dionysus does not end with the infancy story.  Like Jesus, Dionysus traveled the countryside gathering disciples who followed and worshipped him.  He turned water into wine and he even rode in a triumphal procession on a donkey. More significantly, Dionysus died, descended into hell, and was reborn or made alive again. 

Granted, there are major differences between Jesus and Dionysus.  The point I am making here is that there are many other infancy stories told not only by early Christians, but also by Greek, Roman, and Egyptian writers.

So, why then the infancy stories?  The infancy stories helped explain to ancient people the extraordinary and unique life of certain individuals, whether it was Asclepius (son of Apollo and the human woman, Coronis), Hercules (son of Zeus and the human woman, Alcmene), Perseus (the son of Zeus and the human woman, Danae), or Dionysus.  This also seems to be the case with Matthew’s and Luke’s infancy stories.  Why was Jesus so special?  He was born of a virgin and he is the Son of God.

If early Christians hoped to compete and sell their gospel stories of Jesus to the Jews and Gentiles alike, they had to tell their stories in such a way that it would draw the attention of their readers by reminding them of the many heroic stories they had heard before.  And don’t forget, a great story sells.

Joseph and Mary: Old and Young?

Joseph and Mary: Old and Young?

Brett A. Todd

We have mentioned that early Christians used other gospels for understanding their faith other than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  The evidence for this is overwhelming.  However, though these other gospels did not find their way into the Bible, many of their stories and teachings are still with us to this day and have become part and parcel of what Christians believe as the Gospel.  

One fine example of this would be what most Christians think are the ages of Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary.  If you were to ask the average Christian walking down the sidewalks during the holiday season what the ages of Joseph and Mary were, their reply would likely be that Mary was merely 12 or 13 while Joseph was very old, or at least, Mary was young and Joseph was old.  But how do we know this? Where in the Bible does it tell us anything about the ages of Jesus’ parents?

We are never told the ages of Mary and Joseph in the Bible although most would probably agree that Mary was a teenager, and Joseph, well, he was quite a bit older.  So, where do these theories of Joseph’s and Mary’s ages come from if they’re not in the Bible? 

There is a gospel that mentions the ages of Joseph and Mary dated around 150 CE by the name of the Gospel of James.   It was believed by many that this Gospel was written by none other than the leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13-20), James.  Interestingly, this gospel also believes James to be Jesus’ “step” brother from an earlier marriage of Joseph.  Mind you, not half brother, but stepbrother.  Although this gospel was read widely by early Christians and even though Early Church Fathers made allusions to this gospel, the Gospel of James never found its way into the Bible. 

Here is where it gets interesting: why didn’t this gospel make it into the Bible.  There are several reasons, but the big one had to do with Joseph’s age.  In the Gospel of James, we read these words, “But Joseph refused [to take Mary as his wife], saying, I am an old man, and have children, but she is young, and I fear lest I should appear ridiculous in Israel.”  The Early Church Father agreed, they didn’t think it was appropriate that such an old man was marrying a young girl.  Because of this, they did not include it in the Bible.  Yet, most Christians today “still” believe Mary was a young girl and Joseph was an old man.

The Gospel of James is not the only gospel stating Mary was young and Joseph was old.  There were other gospels as well.  For example, the Gospel of Mary, another gospel that did not find its way into the Bible, reads, “...a man named Joseph, of the house and family of David, and a person very far advanced in years…”

Yes, many gospels and letters didn’t find their way into the Bible, and yet, 2000 years later, they still have a hold on what modern Christians believe today.

In our next article, we will consider the question: why the infancy stories?  What is their purpose?

The Gospel Of Mark And The Virgin Birth

 

The Gospel Of Mark And The Virgin Birth

Brett A. Todd

Many years ago, I presented a theological paper at a major university that was originally titled, “What If…”  The ellipsis or the dot-dot-dot in full would read, “What If Jesus Was Crazy?”  Of course, no good standing Christian would want to imply that the son of God was a little deranged. Or not? The point of my paper, with all the textual and exegetical scholarly details, was that God holds all people; especially those with mental disabilities in high esteem and with great love. 

Okay, so what does this have to do with the virgin birth?  Actually, I think it has a lot to do with the idea of the virgin birth.  In the Gospel of Mark, there is an interesting story where Jesus’ own family thought Jesus had become crazy.  We are talking not only about Jesus’ siblings but also Jesus’ mother (See Sanders).  Not only did his family think he had gone crazy, but so did the scribes who it seems by all appearances to be waiting for Jesus with his family.  You can read the story yourself in Mark 3:19-27.

So what did they do?  According to this story, they tried to “restrain” him.  We are not told how they tried to restrain him, but they tried.  Were they going to wrestle Jesus down to the ground and tie him up?  Were they going to move him to an isolated island or bring him to someplace for help?  We don’t know, however, things took a serious turn for Jesus and his ministry.  Since we are not only talking about Jesus’ family thinking Jesus was crazy, but also Jewish Scribes, we might ask what the Jewish leaders had in mind.  This is what Jewish Mishnah (1st and 2nd c.) states:

He that has a familiar spirit” (such is the Python which speaks from his armpits), “and the soothsayer” (such is he that speaks with his mouth), these are [to be put to death] by stoning… (Danby translation, m. Sanh. 7.7)

  There is no question that Matthew and Luke, in our Bibles, believed in the virgin birth, but for Mark it’s different.  Not only doesn’t he have an infancy story to tell, but more significantly, I don’t believe Mark would have shared such a story that Jesus’ mother and siblings thought Jesus was crazy if they, especially Jesus’ mother, Mary, really believed Jesus was born of the virgin.  It would seem likely this is why Matthew and Luke didn’t borrow Mark’s story of Jesus being crazy for this very reason, they believed he was born of the virgin.  The theory of virgin birth and Mary, the mother of Jesus, thinking that her son had gone crazy did not mix too well for Matthew and Luke.

More than likely Matthew’s infancy story was to show the Jews that Jesus’ virgin birth was the fulfillment of the Jewish Scripture (Isaiah 7:14) and for Luke, who was writing to the Gentiles, that Jesus was literally the offspring of God, the true son of God (See Strauss and Ehrmann).  The Gospel of Mark, however, had no such notion of a virgin birth.

In the next article, we will talk about Mary and Joseph.

THE FOUR GOSPELS: DIFFERENT STORIES, BELIEFS, AND PERSPECTIVES

 THE FOUR GOSPELS: DIFFERENT STORIES, BELIEFS, AND PERSPECTIVES

Brett A. Todd

A common practice among Bible readers is to take the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and smash them together into one story, one belief, and one perspective.  The problem with conflating these readings into one story is you get a different story from what the authors intended you to read.  This is why it is so important to understand that each gospel story has a different story, belief, and perspective they want you to read and understand.

Let me give you an example.  Every clergy person knows: beware of the preacher who fails to mention in their Christmas Eve sermon the shepherds, sheep, camels, and donkey who looked gloriously on the baby lying in the manger.  Regularly, I have to remind people there is no donkey or sheep in the nativity stories of Matthew, Mark, or John.  Luke, who does mention the donkey and sheep, fails altogether to mention the wise men or the Bethlehem star.

One might ask, why would Matthew mention the wise men and the star in the sky, but not Luke? 

Though both Matthew and Luke were writing within 20 or 30 years of each other (Luke seems to be familiar with Matthew), they had different audiences, goals, and messages that were significantly different.  Matthew’s audience was the Jews and his message was that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah-King (Matthew 2:1-2).  Luke, on the other hand, was writing to the Gentiles with the message that because the Jews rejected Jesus, salvation was now theirs. This is what Luke said in the book of Acts 28:28, “Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

Luke’s message that God’s salvation was handed over to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected Jesus, and don’t forget the little jab, “...they [the Gentiles] will listen.” was not something Matthew would agree to.  Keep in mind that Matthew was seeking to evangelize the Jews and such a message that the Jews rejected Jesus and salvation was now handed over to the Gentiles would be counterproductive to Matthew’s goal.  This is why you never hear Matthew say or infer that God’s salvation now belonged to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected Jesus.

As you take a closer look at the Gospels, you begin to see a pattern appear where the authors believe their particular group of people is better than others (Jews versus Gentiles). This is the significant difference between Matthew and Luke that shouldn’t be disregarded.  This is no different than some churches today that believe their members have been “predestined” by God to go to heaven or their church is the only true church of God.  

To understand each of the Gospels as the author intended, you first have to understand they each have a different story to tell, different beliefs, and different perspectives.  As an honest Bible reader, you must allow each Gospel story to speak for itself, even when some of the Gospels add other sources to their stories. 

In our next lesson, we will look at the Gospel of Mark and the virgin birth.