Luke & Matthew

tell us about

the birth

and early life of

Jesus - Mary's Part

(Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2)

Bruce Wearne © December 2002

How Luke Came to Tell the Story of Jesus

Luke and his friend, a man named Clopas, walked home. They were sad. They had gone to a funeral but had to come home early.

The body of the person to be buried was lost and could not be found. They were puzzled and sad. As they walked, another person came and walked along with them.

Later, after He left, they realised something strange had happened. The person who had walked with them was Jesus. They had gone to His funeral but they hadn't recognised Him until they ate a meal together.

Straight away they went back to Jerusalem to tell the others. Some of the women had seen Jesus, too. In the days and weeks that followed they shared what they knew about Jesus. The women told Luke and Matthew the story of Jesus' early life.

This is the story Luke wrote down about the birth of Jesus. Matthew also told the story of Jesus.

That story was also about Jesus' second cousin, John. Mary's cousin, Elizabeth, and Zacharias her husband, were getting older and had no children. Zacharias was a priest and an angel told him that God wanted Elizabeth to have a special baby. He laughed. "Can't happen! Too old!" The angel didn't let him say another word until baby John was born.

An angel visited Mary. "You are going to have a baby," the angel said, "It will be God's baby." "OK," said Mary, "but I'm only engaged." "Because God is taking care of you, there is nothing to fear." "OK, OK already" said Mary.

When Mary was pregnant she composed a lovely poem - it is all about God's justice (Luke 1:46-55). Jesus grew up in an artistic family - Uncle Zacharias also made up a poem during the time he couldn't speak.

The angel visited Joseph in a dream to tell him what was happening and Joseph decided to do what the angel said, because Mary was already pregnant.

Because Joseph and Mary were happy to be part of God's plan for the birth of the baby, they could not have the usual marriage party at the end of their engagement period. So, that's why Joseph took Mary to his house and she became his wife.

During this time Mary went to help Elizabeth until the birth of her cousin's baby. Elizabeth knew Mary had important news because the baby in her tummy kept jumping up and down at the sound of Mary's voice.

The baby was born and Zacharias named him John, and then sang the song he had composed when his voice was lost (Luke 1:68-79). Mary went home to Joseph, in Nazareth. This happened at the census time when Herod the Great ruled.

Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem, Joseph's city, to register during the Roman census. Joseph did not leave Mary at home. The angel had told him to take special care of Mary who was carrying God's son.

When they rode into Bethlehem, Mary's waters broke. But even so Jesus had to be born in a garage, at the back of a hotel because all the rooms were already taken. There was not even one small room left for a mother to give birth to her baby.

Nearby some shepherds in the country-side heard about Jesus' birth and went and helped Mary and Joseph celebrate the first Christmas with their "little lamb".

A few days later, some strange foreign visitors arrived in the land. They were looking for the new born King. King Herod asked them to tell him where Jesus was when they found him.

The three visitors gave baby Jesus

· Gold

· Incense and perfume

· Medicine

They became really worried and frightened when they realized King Herod could not be trusted. They went home instead of returning to Herod's palace as he had asked. He said he wanted to hear all about their visit.

Joseph had another dream and he, Mary and the baby became asylum seekers in Egypt. They knew that Jesus was the last person Herod wanted to see. Herod was known for the evil things he did.

That's how Matthew and Luke came to write down the story of Jesus' birth. Matthew and Luke wrote these stories so that the other students in Jesus' school could understand their Rabbi's early life.

They wanted us to know that Jesus was like you and me. He was a young man who was loved and cared for by His parents. Joseph cared for Mary and Jesus when he took them to Egypt and when they came back home to Nazareth after Herod died.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth in the carpenter's shop. Sometime after Joseph died, Mary took Jesus, and his brothers and sisters, to Capernaum. That was where her sister lived with her husband, Zebedee, and their two sons, James and John.

Mary collected all the stories about her son. She told them to people with the help of God's Spirit. The stories later helped the students in Jesus' school understand their teacher. Mary composed poems and songs as well.