Open your bible with me, if you will, to matthew chapter 1. What the gospels really teach about jesuss birth kindle edition by borg, marcus j. There has been much controversy over the date of the birth of jesus christ. Follow his life through excerpts from the book of luke, all the miracles, the teachings, and the passion.
Throughout the gospel of john, we see that jesus is god and the reality toward which all of israels history points. This film is a perfect introduction to jesus through the gospel of luke. The history of christian reflection on the teachings and nature of jesus is examined in the article christology. Another approach to estimating the year of birth is based on an attempt to work backwards from the point when jesus began preaching, using the statement in luke 3. That is, matthew, mark, and luke all acknowledge the beginning of jesus life at his birth. Jesus, also called jesus christ, jesus of galilee, or jesus of nazareth, born c. John is traditionally believed to be one of two disciples the other being andrew recounted in john 1. When life span increases, so does the average length of generations.
While the other gospels emphasize the kingdom of god and the kingdom of heaven, john instead emphasizes new life found in jesus. The new birth and all of its effects, including faith and justification and purification and final conformity to christ in heaven, would be impossible without the incarnation and life and death of jesus without christmas. We get the vast majority of our information about john from the pages of the four gospels. John clearly communicates that this birth is the most significant event in the history of the world. They followed it, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the jews. The gospel of john was written to prove that jesus christ is the son of god. Luke provides clues related to john the baptists father, zechariah the priest, which help us unlock the date for the birth of jesus. The birth narrative in the quran for jesus begins at maryam 19 1634 and alimran 3 4553. What book of the bible tells of jesus birth answers. Examples of this evenhanded treatment of women by jesus are found in the four gospels. Though not directly stated, we know that john was called the beloved disciple, or the disciple whom jesus loved john 21.
John then describes the birth of jesus with powerful language. Jesus birth birth of john the baptist truth in scripture. The virgin birth and the gospel of john i have pointed out that our earliest gospel, mark, not only is lacking a story of the virgin birth but also tells a story that seems to run precisely counter to the idea that jesus mother knew that his birth was miraculous, unlike the. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the first christmas. Is the birth of jesus found in the gospel of john answers. Not only is jesus the messiah, but hes also the son of god who gives. We know that john was the younger brother of james and the son of zebedee mark 10.
John the apostle was the son of zebedee and the younger brother of james, son of zebedee james the greater. Matt slick is the president and founder of the christian apologetics. When as his mother mary was espoused to joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the holy ghost. Jesus becomes human as the incarnation of the creator god of israel, to share his love and the gift of eternal life with the world. John purposefully leaves out any mention of mary, joseph and all the other characters that matthew and luke mentions in their birth narratives. Johns gospel is considered by scholars to be the last gospel written. Their recent article titled john 8 and the birth of jesus, written by asif iqbal and published by bismikaallahuma on 21 february 2004, is one of the strangest muslim polemics i have ever seen. The christmas story in the gospel of john bellator christi. At this time, wise men magi from the east saw a great star.
Jesus reveals throughout the gospel of john that he is the messiah and gods son in human form as he performs miracles and calls people to believe in his name. There is compelling evidence from the bible, book of mormon, and sacred calendars that jesus was born on the evening before thu 6 apr 1 bc. The average generation is the average age of parents at the time of birth of their children. It is apparent that john considered jesus more than a man and more than an angel.
Determining the birth date of john the baptist is the first puzzle piece in our process of assembling the puzzle of jesus birth. But mark is not alone in omitting the birth narrative. We are excited to announce this newly released book of essays by bishop john shelby spong on lukes account of the birth of jesus. Like peters sermon in chapter 2 of the book of acts, mark is focused only on the public life, ministry, death and resurrection of jesus. A person cannot escape the divine nature attributed to jesus in john chapter 1. While mark begins with jesus adult ministry, and matthew and luke begin with his physical birth, john opens with the beginning of all creation. The book of john was written after the destruction of jerusalem, in a. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. This is a summary of the biblical account of the birth of jesus.
With text from the carol the friendly beasts, nola bucks board book is perfect for the very young. Prior to this scene the figure john may seem to be an equal to jesus because of the way the narrative is set up because clearly john and jesus both came from a miraculous birth account. The common myths and misperceptions about jesus birth are all integral parts of the imagery of christmas. In both stories, the angel tells each of the families about the greatness of the child they will bear as we see in luke 1.
Casual readers of john often assume that it presupposes the virgin birth it never says anything about it, one way or the other because they themselves are familiar with the idea, and think that john must be as well. The gospel of john reveals that jesus is god in human form. If you feel like the bibles description of the birth of jesus comes up short, you may want to check out this excerpt from the gospel of james. Johns gospel focuses on the divine attributes of jesus. He is regarded by most christians as the incarnation of god.
The disciples were amazed to see jesus talking with the samaritan woman at the well of sychar john 4. There has always been some confusion as to the timeline of the birth of jesus christ. You can read more indepth bible verses from the scripture below and use the articles and videos to understand the meaning of this worldchanging event in the bible. Jesus began to preach after being baptised by john the baptist, and based on lukes gospel john only began baptizing people in the fifteenth year of the reign of. Jesus presents himself as god incarnate throughout the gospel of john. The account of jesus begins with a prologue narrated several times in the quran first describing the birth of his mother, mary, and her service in the jerusalem temple, while under the care of the prophet and priest zechariah, who was to be the father of john the baptist.
Almost 2,000 years ago a young woman from the town of nazareth named mary was visited by an angel named gabriel. Jesus is described as being eternal with god, being in the nature of god. The untold story of jesus birthfrom the gospel of james. And were looking this evening at verses 18 to 25 of this first chapter. It is the most important birth there ever was or ever will be. He was the son of zebedee, brother of james and called a son of thunder. The biblical account only gives a few clues and they have seemed inconsistent. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Learn the bibles christmas story of the birth of jesus. A biblical history the gospel of john is one of four gospels in the holy bible and is the fourth book in chronological order presented in the new testament. As an eyewitness to the love and power displayed in the miracles of jesus, john gives us an upclose and personal look at christs identity. John takes jesus beginning back to the vast realm of eternity. He shows us that jesus, though fully god, came in the flesh to distinctly and accurately reveal god, and that christ is the source of eternal life to all who. Simple line and colorfill drawings accompany each animal as they tell their role in the birth of the baby jesus. Did the gospels of john and mark mention the birth of jesus. The history of john the disciple of jesus was well known. The virgin birth and the gospel of john the bart ehrman blog.
The main theme in the bible book of john is to prove conclusively that jesus is the son of god and that all who believe in him will have eternal life. Stay connected amidst social distancing receive weekly bible studies to share with family and friends. It varies from the other three gospels of matthew, mark and luke also known as the synoptic gospels, by focusing more on. This book was written by a disciple whom jesus lovedthe church traditionally attributes it to john john is the fourth and last gospel an account of jesus life and ministry in the new testament. But this is just one side of the problem with christmas.
Jesus constantly surprises and confounds people, from his miraculous birth to his rise from the grave. Sadly, a holiday that claims to celebrate the messiahs birth has been the primary perpetuator of myths that confuse people about his birth. The gospel of john is a unique perspective of the life of jesus christ. The first gospel reference to the virgin birth of jesus is in matthews gospel, which refers to the book of isaiah as a prophecy of the birth, however spong does not believe the author took the. John focuses on the deity of christ more so than the other four. Marks gospel was the first new testament gospel to be written and yet contained no reference to the birth of jesus.
Text by joseph slate, illustrated by alison jay this is the story of the comet which gave light to the magi. So they typically read the virgin birth into an account that in fact completely lacks it. The circumstances of jesus birth show he fulfilled the old testament prophecies of a messiah isaiah 7. Some place the magi appearing several years after jesus birth, while others have them appearing shortly after the blessed event. The book then explains the discourses and actions of john the baptist prior to jesus public ministry. The gospel of john introduces jesus christ, not from his birth, but from the beginning, before creation.
Jesus birth took place when herod was king of judea. We can estimate when jesus was born by counting backward from his death on passover, nisan 14 in the spring of the year 33 c. The stories of jesus birth link to both the past and the future. According to church tradition, their mother was salome he was first a disciple of john the baptist. Although the quran clearly speaks of the miraculous birth of jesus by a virgin mother, asif iqbal tries to attack exactly this aspect of the biblical. No, the birth of jesus is not mention in the gospels of john or mark, it is however very important. The gospel of mark focuses on christ as a servent and marks main objective is that of the gospel.
366 486 125 680 847 869 736 469 1083 1268 1460 1093 1250 1267 1206 1230 842 1518 107 1262 1347 1359 1287 1284 89 320 819 349 1064 788 312 561 154 892