A Year in Luke/ActsSample

Luke 2 narrates the story of Jesus’ birth. Early in the gospel, Luke sets up themes; we see this in the details Luke emphasizes of the birth compared to Matthew. Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience and wanted to show Jesus’ credentials as Israel’s royal Messiah. There are two differences of note in the account:

• The manger: Matthew’s account does not mention a manger, but Luke highlights the fact that Jesus was laid in a feeding trough for animals.
• The shepherds: In Luke's gospel, Jesus’ first visitors are shepherds, salt of the earth people who did not have a high status in society. In Matthew’s gospel, however, the Magi, or the wise men, are the visitors.

We will look at why Luke includes these details tomorrow.