The birth narratives of the gospels of Matthew, Luke and John are versions of the stories of the Messiah’s birth. They are not exactly the same. John’s gospel doesn’t even give word of the virgin birth. In Biblical Theology class, we remembered each birth narrative as “the one with the shepherds,” or “the one with the wise men.” Matthew’s gospel starts with the Messiah’s genealogy. Matthew’s view of the genealogy goes back to Abraham. Luke’s gospel’s genealogy extends back to Adam and Eve. Matthew’s gospel continues by going into the virgin birth. Matthew’s gospel is the one known as the wise men gospel. The shepherd gospel is that of Luke. Matthew’s gospel tells a story about wise men who see a star and deduce that a baby has been born to be King of the Jews. They come to Jerusalem to pay homage to this boy and through asking around, incited fear throughout Jerusalem. In the gospel of Luke, shepherds are told by angels that the Messiah has been born and they go to pay homage. John’s gospel lacks any evidence of Jesus (pbuh) being born. John’s gospel also lack’s the temptation story that the other two gospels have. Luke seems to concentrate much more on John the Baptist then the other two gospels. It is the only one of the three that has a specific section that tells of John the Baptist’s birth. All three of the aforementioned gospels include some remark of the Holy Spirit coming down from heaven in the form of a dove, but only Matthew and Luke mention the temptation in the forest for forty days. ...
