Kevin Galley

Christmas Gospel Assignment

Matthew 1:18 - 2:12 Luke 1 - 2

The Holy Spirit visits Mary, telling her she will The angel Gabriel visits Mary, telling her she
be with child. will be with child.

The Holy Spirit visits Joseph to tell him of No mention of Joseph being visited by The
Mary. Holy Spirit.

The Wise Men found Jesus in a house rather After Jesus’ birth, he was wrapped in bands
than a barn. of cloth and then laid in a manger.

Several references to the star. Little reference to the star.

The Wise Men = privileged. The Wise Men = ordinary shepherds.

Write a paragraph about how these differences reflect the unique audiences of the respective
gospels.
After thorough examination of both versions of Jesus’ birth, it was apparent that there
were some significant differences—the most prominent being that each story seemed to be
written for a different audience. This is evident in the amount of emphasis each author places
on certain events. For example, in the Gospel of Luke, the author’s focus lies heavily on the
women of the story, the holy spirit as well as the notion that God accepts those who are
faithful—proclaiming He will always guide them in his light (this is evident in the Shepherds
who were never abandoned by God on their journey to find baby Jesus). In the Gospel of
Matthew, on the other hand, the author focuses on the role of Joseph as well as makes
connections between Jesus and Moses to align their language. Included in the Gospel is the
angels present in Joseph’s dreams, King Herod and his intent to kill baby Jesus, the journey of
the family from Egypt and lastly the famous Wise Men who travelled bearing gifts for the King.
These differences reflect the unique audience of each Gospel as the Gospel of Matthew was
written for those readers of Jewish faith whereas, the Gospel of Luke was written for those
readers descendent in Greek faith.
Write an additional paragraph about how your new understandings reveal elements in your
personal fifth gospel.
Noel Cooper (2003) argues, “The Gospels are like four spotlights on one individual. Each
one illuminates from a different angle. If one of the spotlights were missing, some aspect of the
person’s identity would be in the darkness” (p. 184). This quote really spoke to me when
considering my own version of this story because, after examining both Gospels, I realized that
my version was a combination of both stories—one that was filled with Angels and Wise Men
travelling great distances to find Baby Jesus, with animals in a stable alongside an angry king.
When I was younger, I vividly remember watching a Christmas play that included aspects of
both stories. It was really bizarre to find that the Gospel of Luke had no inclusion of the Wise
Men following the Star (one of the most iconic aspects of the story, in my opinion). On the
other hand, the Gospel of Matthew hosts Jesus’ birth in a house rather than a barn. To this day,
as long as I’ve been alive, my family still sets out the barn decoration of Jesus’ birth at
Christmas time. Despite these differences, Cooper (2003) sums it up best when he argues that
we need all perspectives of the story in order to grasp the importance of Jesus’s birth. Maybe
the purpose of having multiple perspectives was to allow followers of Jesus to take parts of
each story that was most meaningful to them.
 References

Cooper, N. (2017). Language of the Heart: How to Read The Bible: A User Guide for Catholics.
Toronto: Novalis Press.