"to construct its story. It does not follow the chronology of the life of Jesus Christ found in the New Testament. It places far greater emphasis on the earlier part of Jesus's life than the canonical gospels do. The book begins with Jesus's conception by Mary and Joseph, in the spiritual presence of God. Jesus's birth is heralded by a mysterious character, who claims to be an angel. Later, at Bethlehem, Jesus is born in a cave, and three shepherds – including the ""angel"" – arrive to bring him presents. As described in the Gospel of Matthew, Herod the Great"
"Nativity of Jesus The nativity of Jesus or birth of Jesus is described in the gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod the Great, that his mother Mary was married to a man named Joseph, who was descended from King David and was not his biological father, and that his birth was caused by divine intervention rather than a normal pregnancy. Luke's version says the birth took place during a Roman census, mentions an announcement to shepherds by angels, presentation of Jesus in the"
"and, separately, Craig L. Blomberg also state that Bethlehem was a very small village with few inhabitants, and the massacre would have involved too few children to have been recorded by historians in general. Nativity of Jesus The nativity of Jesus or birth of Jesus is described in the gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod the Great, that his mother Mary was married to a man named Joseph, who was descended from King David and was not his biological father, and that his"
"birth drew near, Caesar Augustus commanded a census of Roman domains, and Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem, the ancient city of David, as he was of the House of David. So it came to pass that Jesus was born in Bethlehem; and since there was nowhere for them to stay in the town, the infant was laid in a manger while angels announced his birth to a group of shepherds who worshiped him as Messiah and Lord. In accordance with the Jewish law his parents presented the infant Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, where two people in the temple,"
"century, the Pilgrim of Bordeaux reported that the sepulchers of David, Ezekiel, Asaph, Job, Jesse, and Solomon were located near Bethlehem. There has been no corroboration of this. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke represent Jesus as having been born in Bethlehem. Modern scholars, however, regard the two accounts as contradictory and the Gospel of Mark, the earliest gospel, mentions nothing about Jesus having been born in Bethlehem, saying only that he came from Nazareth. Nonetheless, the tradition that Jesus was born in Bethlehem was prominent in the early church. In around 155, the apologist Justin Martyr"
"of prophecy and imply a connection to the lineage of King David. The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John do not include a nativity narrative, but refer to him only as being from Nazareth. In a 2005 article in ""Archaeology"" magazine, archaeologist Aviram Oshri points to an absence of evidence for the settlement of Bethlehem near Jerusalem at the time when Jesus was born, and postulates that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Galilee. In a 2011 article in ""Biblical Archaeology Review"" magazine, Jerome Murphy-O'Connor argues for the traditional position that Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem."
"of Matthew's Gospel recounts Jesus' birth and naming and the beginning of chapter 2 reveals that Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the time of Herod the Great. Magi from the east came to Herod and asked him where they would find the King of the Jews, because they had seen his star. Advised by the chief priests and teachers, Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem, where they worshiped the child and gave him gifts. When they had departed an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to take the child and his mother and flee to"
"""Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria."" All that is generally accepted is that Jesus was born before 4 BC, the year of Herod's death. The Gospels of both Matthew and Luke place the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Although Matthew does not explicitly state Joseph's place of origin or where he lived prior to the birth of Jesus, the account implies that the family lived in Bethlehem, and explains that they later settled in Nazareth. However,"
"in 1910 near the church, is one of Bethlehem's most successful hotels and its oldest. It was closed down in 2000 due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but reopened in 2005 as the Jacir Palace InterContinental at Bethlehem. Early Christian traditions describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem: in one, a verse in the Book of Micah is interpreted as a prophecy that the Messiah would be born there. The New Testament has two different accounts of the birth. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus' parents live in Nazareth and travel for the Census of Quirinius to Bethlehem, where Jesus is"
"(the so-called synoptic problem), other scholars take it as significant that the virgin birth is attested by two separate gospels, Matthew and Luke. According to E. P. Sanders, the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke are the clearest case of invention in the Gospel narratives of Jesus' life. Both accounts have Jesus born in Bethlehem, in accordance with Jewish salvation history, and both have him growing up in Nazareth. But Sanders points that the two Gospels report completely different and irreconcilable explanations for how that happened. Luke's account of a census in which everyone returned to their ancestral cities is"
"born, after which they return home. The Gospel of Matthew mentions Bethlehem but not the census. Told that a 'King of the Jews' has been born in the town, Herod orders the killing of all the boys aged two and under in the town and surrounding area. Joseph, warned of by an angel of the Lord, flees to Egypt with his family; the Holy Family later settles in Nazareth. Many modern scholars question the idea that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, seeing the biblical stories not as historical accounts but as symbolic narratives invented to present the birth as fulfillment"
"Jacob, and both Josephs receive important dreams foretelling their future. In the Gospel book of Luke, Joseph already lives in Nazareth, and Jesus is born in Bethlehem because Joseph and Mary have to travel there to be counted in a census. Subsequently, Jesus was born there. Luke's account makes no mention of him being visited by angels (Mary and various others instead receive similar apparitions), the Massacre of the Innocents, or of a visit to Egypt. The last time Joseph appears in person in any Gospel book is in the story of the Passover visit to the Temple in Jerusalem"
"of other versions see BibRef Matthew 2:1 The verse contains the full coverage given in Matthew to the birth of Jesus. Unlike Luke, Matthew pays very little attention to this event, focusing far more on what occurred before and after. This is the first point in the Gospel that Bethlehem is mentioned. That it is specified as being ""in Judea"" is ascribed by Albright and Mann to the need to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Zebulun, likely the modern town of Beit Lahna. Other scholars feel it is also to assert that Jesus was born in the heart of"
"events before the birth of Jesus and centers on Mary, while Matthew's mostly covers those after the birth and centers on Joseph. Both accounts state that Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, his betrothed, in Bethlehem, and both support the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus, according to which Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb when she was still a virgin. At the same time, there is evidence, at least in the Lukan Acts of the Apostles, that Jesus was thought to have had, like many figures in antiquity, a dual paternity, since"
"when Jesus was born. Many English translations suggest that the purpose of the census was for everyone to be registered, but the King James Version and others state that everyone was to be taxed. The Expanded Bible explains that the register was compiled for taxation. According to the narrative in chapter 1, Mary had travelled from Nazareth to a city in the hill country of Judah, possibly Hebron, to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and then returned to Nazareth, then travelled again with Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The accuracy of this date for the birth of Jesus has been disputed"
"In ""Contra Celsum"" 1.51, Origen, who from around 215 travelled throughout Palestine, wrote of the ""manger of Jesus"". The Quranic birth of Jesus, like the Gospels, places the virgin birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph, but was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph intended to divorce her quietly, but an angel told him in a dream that he should take Mary as his wife and name the child Jesus, because he would save his people from their sins. Joseph awoke and did all that the angel commanded. Chapter 1"
"Return of the family of Jesus to Nazareth The return of the family of Jesus to Nazareth, also known as the Return from Egypt, appears in the reports of the early life of Jesus given in the Canonical gospels. Both of the gospels which describe the nativity of Jesus agree that he was born in Bethlehem and then later moved with his family to live in Nazareth. The Gospel of Matthew describes how Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went to Egypt to escape from Herod the Great's slaughter of the baby boys in Bethlehem. Matthew does not mention Nazareth as being"
"that the Bethlehem referred to in this passage is Bethlehem of Galilee ""rather than the more famous Bethlehem in the Tribe of Judah"". Until the late 19th century, ruins of a church and a synagogue could be seen there, and archaeological findings ""from the early Roman Period"" show, it was a prosperous city. So the biblical Bethlehem of Zebulon is ""identified"" by archaeologists with today's Bethlehem of Galilee. Due to its proximity to Nazareth, some historians believe that it is the Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Aviram Oshri, a senior archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority, supports this claim, although"
"have Jesus born in Bethlehem, in accordance with Jewish salvation history, and both have him growing up in Nazareth, but they present two completely different and irreconcilable explanations for how that happened. The accounts of the Annunciation of Jesus's conception found in and are both modeled on the stories of the annunciations of Ishmael, Isaac, and Samson in the Old Testament. Matthew quotes from the Septuagint translation of to support his account of the virgin birth of Jesus. The Hebrew text of this verse states ""Behold, the young woman [""ha‘almāh""] is with child and about to bear a son and"
"by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it. The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the New Testament says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds who then further disseminated the information. Although the month and date of Jesus' birth are unknown, by the early-to-mid fourth century the Western Christian Church had"
"and this passage refers to the future birth of a new Davidic heir. Although the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke give different accounts of the birth of Jesus, both place the birth in Bethlehem. The Gospel of Matthew describes Herod the Great as asking the chief priests and scribes of Jerusalem where the Messiah was to be born. They respond by quoting Micah, ""In Beit-Lechem of Y'hudah,"" they replied, ""because the prophet wrote, 'And you, Beit-Lechem in the land of Y'hudah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Y'hudah; for from you will come"
"the author of the Gospel of Mark, considered by modern text scholars to be the oldest of the Gospels, does not appear to be aware of the Bethlehem nativity story. Scholars suggest that Jesus was born in Nazareth and that the Bethlehem nativity narratives reflect a desire by the Gospel writers to present his birth as the fulfillment of prophecy. The Matthew account conflicts with that given in the Gospel of Luke, in which the family of Jesus already live in Nazareth, travel to Bethlehem for the census, and return home almost immediately. Matthew's description of the miracles and portents"
"son of Jesse, raised unto Israel a Redeemer, Jesus, who was born of the Virgin Mary, in Bethlehem the City of David, was crucified, dead, and buried for our salvation, rose again from the dead, and sitteth (sits) at the right hand of our heavenly Father, from thence He shall come to judge the world, the living and the dead. He is the appointed King over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His dominion there shall be no end. 3 I believe, with a perfect faith, that by the counsel of God and His foreknowledge, our fathers have"
"in the context of early Christianity, with timelines as a secondary consideration. In this respect, it is noteworthy that the Gospels devote about one third of their text to the last week of the life of Jesus in Jerusalem, referred to as the Passion. Although the gospels do not provide enough details to satisfy the demands of modern historians regarding exact dates, it is possible to draw from them a general picture of the life story of Jesus. Jesus was Jewish, born by Mary, wife of Joseph (; ). The Gospels of Matthew and Luke offer two accounts of the"
"effigies of the Emperor Caligula in Synagogues and in the Jewish temple. Jesus was born in the last years of Herod's rule, probably in the Judean city of Bethlehem. Jesus is thought to have been a Galilean Jewish reformer (from Nazareth), and was executed in Jerusalem by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate between 25 and 35 CE. All his key followers, the Twelve Apostles, were Jews including Paul the Apostle (5–67 CE) who took critical steps towards creating a new religion, defining Jesus as the ""Son of God"". In the year 50 CE, the Council of Jerusalem led by Paul,"
"according to Josephus though Ben-Sasson claims it was a ""satellite of Syria"" and not ""legally part of Syria"") and carried out the tax census of both Syria and Judea known as the Census of Quirinius. Caesarea Palaestina replaced Jerusalem as the administrative capital of the region. Most scholars agree that Jesus was a Galilean Jew, born around the beginning of the first century, and hold that Jesus lived in Galilee and Judea and did not preach or study elsewhere. Using the gospel accounts with historical data, most scholars arrive at a date of birth between 6 and 4 BCE for"
"principal city. According to the New Testament, Jerusalem was the city Jesus was brought to as a child to be presented at the temple and for the feast of the Passover. He preached and healed in Jerusalem, unceremoniously drove the money changers in disarray from the temple there, held the Last Supper in an ""upper room"" (traditionally the Cenacle) there the night before he is said to have died on the cross, was arrested in Gethsemane. The six parts to Jesus' trial—three stages in a religious court and three stages before a Roman court—were all held in Jerusalem. His crucifixion"
"Luke 2 Luke 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. It contains an account of Jesus's birth and an incident from his childhood. Verses 1–19 except 2 are commonly read at Nativity plays as part of celebrating Christmas. The New King James Version organises this chapter as follows: According to the Gospel of Luke, Caesar Augustus ordered a census be conducted of the "".. entire Roman World"", during Quirinius's governorship of Syria and this is the reason that Joseph and Mary, who lived in Nazareth, were in Bethlehem, King David's place of birth,"
"The existence of early traditions of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem is attested by the Christian apologist Justin Martyr, who stated in his ""Dialogue with Trypho"" (c. 155–161) that the Holy Family had taken refuge in a cave outside of the town. Origen of Alexandria, writing around the year 247, referred to a cave in the town of Bethlehem which local people believed was the birthplace of Jesus. This cave was possibly one which had previously been a site of the cult of Tammuz. Christmas rites are held in Bethlehem on three different dates: December 25 is the traditional date by"
"been. It was thus not considered essential for a messiah to be someone born in that town, but it was considered a reasonable locale for a messiah to originate. Far more reasonable than the peripheral and little known town of Nazareth in Galilee where Jesus grew up. Matthew 2:6 Matthew 2:6 is the sixth verse of the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The magi have informed King Herod that they had seen portents showing the birth of the King of the Jews. Herod has asked the leading Jewish religious figures about how to find"
"Jesus of Nazareth was born into the world, was wrapped in the clothes which Mary had brought along for such a possible contingency, and laid in a near-by manger."" 122:8.1 Date of birth of Jesus The date of birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical reference, but most theologians assume a date of birth between 6 BC and 4 BC. The historical evidence is too incomplete to allow a definitive dating, but the date is estimated through two different approaches—one by analyzing references to known historical events mentioned in the nativity accounts in the"
"two decades after Paul, also does not mention Jesus' father. Joseph first appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, both dating from around 80–90 AD. The issue of reconciling the two accounts has been the subject of debate. Like the two differing genealogies, the infancy narratives appear only in Matthew and Luke and take different approaches to reconciling the requirement that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem with the tradition that Jesus in fact came from Nazareth. In Matthew, Joseph obeys the direction of an angel to marry Mary. Following the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Joseph is told"
"greater unwillingness to repent. These cities are associated with the Antichrist in medieval sources. The Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius, commenting on the above Gospel passage, states that the Antichrist ""will be conceived in Chorazin, be born in Bethsaida, and begin to rule in Capernaum."" Woes to the unrepentant cities Matthew's gospel and Luke's gospel record Jesus' message of woe to the unrepentant cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, located around the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, for their refusal to repent. The text in Matthew's gospel states: The three cities mentioned lay just north of the Sea of Galilee."