The Nativity: Human Authority VS Divine Service

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. - Isaiah 9:6-7, ESV

In the canonical Gospels of Matthew and Luke, we find two narratives about the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. Interestingly, although those narratives look at that event from different perspectives, both accounts clearly contrast God's notions about leadership with those of humankind. Unfortunately, most folks tend to exclusively focus their attention on the sentimental and emotional nature of the account - on the baby Jesus and his mother. Others rejoice at these accounts of Christ's first advent - his appearance on earth to make eternal life with God possible for humanity. Now, let's be clear, nothing we are about to say is intended to disparage or dismiss those perspectives on that blessed event. Even so, when we are finished, I hope that we will all be able to acknowledge that there was a lot more going on in these two narratives than either one of those important views indicate.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the narrative opens with Jesus being conceived outside of the institution of marriage, and Joseph quietly contemplating extracting himself from his betrothal to Mary (Matthew 1:18-25). Next, we are informed that King Herod learns about the birth of the "King of the Jews" from three wise men from the east. He then summoned all of the religious leaders in Jerusalem and asked them where the Messiah was prophesied to be born. Finally, we are informed that he summoned the wise men and demanded to know when the star which they were following had first appeared to them and instructed them to return to Jerusalem and report back to him when they had found the child (Matthew 2:1-8). Following the star, we are informed that the wise men soon found the child and presented to him gifts which they believed were fitting for a king (Matthew 2:9-11).

However, we are told that an angel warned them not to return to King Herod, and that they returned to their own homelands by another route (Matthew 2:12). Then, we read: "Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.' And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt I called my son.' Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men." (Matthew 2:13-16, ESV)

In this account, we see the human king (Herod) concerned about a report that a prophesied Messiah had been born. In short, the man felt threatened. HE was the king of the Jews, not this child who had just been born! What is his reaction? He ordered people to give him more information, and he lied to the wise men about his true intentions in inquiring about the child whom they were seeking. Clearly, Herod viewed this child as a potential existential threat to his authority and position. Then, when the wise men failed to return to Jerusalem after he had instructed them to do so, he flew into a rage and ordered his soldiers to kill all of the male children under two years of age in Bethlehem - trying to eliminate what he perceived to be a threat to his throne. Thus, the human king is portrayed as deceptive, full of self-interest, authoritarian, and ruthless. This is contrasted with the vulnerability of innocent children under his authority, and with what the angel had told Joseph about the child: "he will save his people from their sins."

Now, before we move on to Luke's account of these events, this is probably as good a place as any to address some of the scholarly criticisms of both of these narratives. In summary, these criticisms generally focus on reliability and the origins of the material. Some scholars see problems with the historicity of these narratives (how closely they line up with what actually happened), while others point to the existence of similar narratives found in pagan traditions. For some folks, these facts present insurmountable challenges to these narratives.

From my perspective, it is obvious that neither Matthew nor Luke was concerned with giving a scrupulously accurate biographical or historical account (which would have been both unexpected from them and unknown to the authors of that day and time). Instead, it is very clear to me that both of them were more interested in conveying just how mundane and extraordinary Christ's birth really was in relation to the grander scheme of things.

In the Gospel of Luke, we are informed that the angel Gabriel announced Christ's birth to his mother, Mary. We read: "you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:26-33, ESV) Notice, that Luke makes very clear that Jesus was destined to be a KING - to inherit the throne of David and to NEVER relinquish it!

In the second chapter, Luke revealed that Joseph and Mary were required to register in his ancestral town of Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus had issued a decree to that effect (Luke 2:1-5). While the couple was there, Luke wrote: "the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.'" (Luke 2:6-12, ESV) Of course, this is a very familiar narrative, especially at this time of the year; but I have to wonder if most folks are picking up on the contrast between this king (Jesus), and the Roman emperor and other kings of the earth that Luke intended.

Notice, in this account of Christ's birth, that the great king is born in the usual manner, but in very humble circumstances. There is no palace or mansion - there isn't even any room for them at the local inn in the very backwater village of Bethlehem! Indeed, the child is born in a stable and laid in a livestock trough! Then, the angels announce the event to a group of lowly shepherds, NOT to emperors, kings, or the religious leaders of that day. Moreover, Luke portrays these circumstances as being an intentional sign of the one who would be their Savior!

This child/king had arrived to serve them, NOT to be served by them, and this message is reinforced in the other Gospel accounts of Christ's life (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 13:1-17). In stark contrast to these circumstances, the great human emperor was remote, lived in rarified splendor, and issued authoritative decrees requiring his subject to do this or that for him. Moreover, this contrast between human notions about leadership and the Divine model were later reiterated in Christ's own teachings on the subject (Matthew 18:1-5, 20:20-28, Mark 9:33-34, 10:35-45, Luke 22:24-30). Hence, we can see that both of the canonical accounts of Christ's nativity were carefully crafted to reflect the stark contrast between human notions about leadership and the kind of leadership reflected in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This King was very different!