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governor of Syria), and all went to be taxed, every one into his own city . . . . . and there
were . . . . . shepherd abiding in the field . . . . . 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 . . . . .
goodwill toward men" (Luke 2: 1-14).
Quite apart from the fact that here are two distinct events, the moment the reader
passes from Matthew's account to that of Luke he is conscious of a different atmosphere
and point of view. This essential difference may be expressed in the words of the wise
men and of the angel:--
"Where is He that is BORN KING OF THE JEWS?" (Matthew).
"Unto you this day is BORN in the city of David a SAVIOUR" (Luke).
Everything else, also, in the two narratives is similarly differentiated:--
"In the days of HEROD THE KING" is the dating of Matthew.
"A decree from CÆSAR AUGUSTUS" is the dating of Luke.
The first is local, the second is world-wide. The first harmonizes with the way
Matthew, in his genealogy, fixes upon Abraham and David, the second with the way
Luke, in his, fixes upon Adam. The first insists that the Lord is "King", the second that
He is "Saviour". The first speaks of "King of the Jews", the second speaks of "men",
without distinction.
In the days when Matthew wrote his Gospel the Jewish element was strong, and he
had no need unduly to emphasize the fact that Christ came first of all to Israel. Luke,
however, takes the opportunity of recording the testimony of another witness soon after
the birth of Christ. This was the testimony of aged Simeon, who was waiting for the
consolation of Israel, and therefore had no bias toward the Gentile. Yet when he
addressed God as he took the young Child up in his arms, he puts the Gentile first: "A
light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel" (Luke 2: 32).
Let us make another comparison.
(3) The Forerunner (Matt. 3: and Luke 3:):--
"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, and
saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is He that was spoken
of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye
the way for the Lord, make His paths straight" (Matt. 3: 1-3).
"Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being
governor of Judæa and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of
Ituræa and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and
Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in
the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins: As it is written in the book of the words of
Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way
of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain
and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways
shall be made smooth: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3: 1-6).