Why Two Christmas Accounts

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Why are there two quite different Christmas accounts in Matthew and Luke? I think the answer can be found in details of the opening verses of Luke and in the historical context of both. Luke starts by noting that many people have written accounts of the events of the Gospel. He then set out to, “Write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth.” Both Matthew and Luke are written at a time of revolt against Rome.

The title, most excellent, suggests a high Roman official. The name, Theophilus, literally means God’s friend. At the time of the Gospels’ writing there were Romans who were attracted to the God worshiped in Jerusalem’s temple. These did not become Jews but worshiped in the court of the gentiles.

Luke’s Christmas account, the narration of Jesus’ birth, is filled with details about temple worship and the Hebrew faith. After declaring for whom and why he is writing, he starts his account with the story of a temple priest named Zechariah. Zechariah, an elderly man and Elizabeth a barren woman are blessed with the baby John the Baptist. Their story echoes that of Abraham and Sarah the founders of the Hebrew people and faith. These exemplars of temple faith affirm Jesus as Lord or God. Elizabeth, when she encounters Mary, exclaims, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.”

After Jesus’ Birth, the Holy family performs all the proper rituals for Jesus’ birth. There in the temple they encounter the righteous and devout Simeon who declares Jesus to be God’s, “Salvation, which (God) has prepared in presence of all people, a light for revelation for the Gentiles …”. Later, Jesus returns to the temple at twelve years of age, and amazes the teachers with his understanding. Theophilus as a friend of the God of Hebrew faith and a gentile worshiper in the temple would have liked details about Jesus in the temple and Luke’s description of Jesus as “a light for revelation for the Gentiles.”

But this “Most excellent Theophilus”, in addition to his love of God and worship in the temple had a duty to his empire. As a Roman official in Jerusalem, during its revolt against the empire, he would have to decide if groups like the Christians were an enemy of Rome. Details in Luke’s account are assuring. Luke’s Joseph and Mary dutifully come to Bethlehem to obey the decree of Emperor Augustus. Luke traces Jesus’ lineage to Adam as the universal parent of all including Romans. By contrast Matthew’s tracing of Jesus’ lineage starts with Abraham.

Other details of Matthew’s Christmas account coming, from a time when Jesus is about two years old, show Jesus as a political threat. Herod, appointed by Rome as “King of the Jews”, sees Jesus as a threat to his throne and kills the all two-year-old boys in Bethlehem. We are told of magi, court officials from the rival Parthian empire, seeking Jesus as a king. Jesus returns out of Egypt like a new Moses. Luke, if he knew of Matthew’s account, omits it because it shows Jesus and his movement as trouble.