Makenna Grieco

RT 280 Jesus

Reflection Paper #1: “The Birth of the Historical Jesus”

The adulthood of Jesus is very well-known in this world, but what about the childhood

of Jesus? The childhood of Jesus is written in the New Testament. It is only written in two

gospels of the bible, which are: Matthew and Luke. There is very little said about the childhood

of Jesus, as baby Jesus is only talked about in the first three chapters of each gospel. These

chapters are called the Infancy Narratives. There is uncertainty in the world of whether or not

parts of the Infancy Narratives are historically real, but they have been proven authentic

through steps taken by those who believe.

Many people believe parts of the Infancy Narratives are historically real and many people

do not, but as a believer myself, I believe the Infancy Narratives are historically real and can be

proven as well. The gospels Matthew and Luke both tell the story of the birth of Jesus and they

are similar in some ways but different in others. The Infancy Narrative Matthew states, “His

mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together…” (MT

1:18). While Luke states, “… to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph… the

virgin’s name was Mary” (LK 1:27). Both of the narratives state that Mary, who is a virgin, will

marry a man named Joseph. Since multiple sources are stating the same event, then that event

is authentic and proven to be true. These texts are also coherent with the first Palestinian

culture and society because women were not to engage in premarital sex and Mary was said to

be a virgin in both texts which is acceptable since she was not married to Joseph yet.
 Another similarity from both of the Infancy Narratives was that Mary is pregnant and is to

have a son and name him Jesus. In the gospel Matthew, he said, “… she was found to be

pregnant… She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus” (MT 1:18,21).

In the book of Luke, he writes, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him

Jesus,” which is very similar to how Matthew wrote the story. Both the apostles wrote that

Mary is pregnant, to give birth to a son, and to call him Jesus. Since they wrote the same parts

of the story, then those parts are considered to be authentic and factual because they have

been written by multiple sources.

Some say that because Jesus’ birth cannot be proven historically factual that it did not

happen, but since I was raised in Christian faith all of my life, it does not matter to me that the

birth and childhood of Jesus are historically factual. I believe in the miracles Jesus performed as

an adult and they don’t necessarily have to correlate with his birth. Miracles such as, helping a

blind man see, being an advocate for women at his time, and healing all those who had touched

him. These miracles mean more to me then how factual his birth and childhood are.

A big question most people of faith ask themselves is what is the Bible saying to me? The

infancy narratives of Jesus mean to me that my Savior Jesus Christ was born. He was born to

give me and everyone salvation. He was born to defeat Satan. He was born to give me peace

and joy. He was born to allow me to believe there is an after-life in heaven. He was born to

accomplish and do miraculous, unimaginable things in this world. He was born to give us hope

that someday He will come again in all of His Glory.

The Infancy Narratives can be proven true through authentic tests for those who believe

in factual things, but for those who believe, do not need to test for authenticity. Believers
believe in the Word of God in its entirety and can believe that the Infancy Narratives are true

because of their faith in Jesus Christ.