Christmas story

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Conrad von Soest : The Birth of Christ , 1404.

The New Testament (NT) stories about the birth of Jesus of Nazareth are called the Christmas story . In a narrower sense, it refers to the text section Luke 2.1–20  EU , which is traditionally read out in the Christian Christmas service . In a broader sense, all texts on the childhood story or prehistory of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke are meant.

These stories are in Christianity and also gained broad rezipiert and shown, for example in nativity pictures nativity scenes , nativity scenes and Christmas movies . A uniform Christmas story emerged from the merging, harmonization and interpretation of the different biblical text motifs.

Sources and intent

The birth and childhood stories of Jesus are missing in the older Gospel of Mark and the younger Gospel of John . They are otherwise not mentioned in Matthew (Mt) and Luke (Lk) and differ greatly in terms of content and times. Therefore, today they are mostly regarded as texts that were created independently of one another, most of which the two evangelists wrote themselves and which preceded older traditions of the work and fate of Jesus.

Some consistent information and material are traced back to a common oral tradition that the evangelists adopted and developed differently:

  • Jesus was born under the Judean king Herod the great (Mt 2,1f .; Lk 1,5 versus Lk 2,1f.),
  • namely in Bethlehem (Mt 2,5f .; Lk 2,4.15),
  • before his parents moved to Nazareth (Mt 2,22f.) or before their return there (Lk 2,39).
  • Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph , were engaged to one another (Mt 1.18-20; Lk 1.27; 2.5).
  • His birth was a virgin birth wrought by the Holy Spirit .
  • Angels had announced Jesus' birth, his name, his Messiah status as a descendant of King David and Son of God and his task to save his people Israel from sins (Mt 1:21; Lk 1,77; 2:11, 30).

The common traits are traced back to Jewish Christians of the late first and early second centuries who turned to Jewish connoisseurs of the Tanakh . With various references to biblical tradition, they jointly proclaim: The Jew Jesus from Nazareth was the predestined by God, chosen end-time savior (Messiah) of his people Israel, whom the prophets of Israel had announced a long time ago. Already with his conception and birth, YHWH , the God of Israel and Creator of the world, fulfilled his promises to the chosen people. Thus the coming kingdom of God announced by the prophets had broken into this passing world, so that the angels sing about God's rule and the peace of nations on earth at the same time (Lk 2.14).

The birth stories place Jesus 'birth in the context of the entire biblical future expectation and at the same time anticipate his own message about the kingdom of God, which through his passion , his death on the cross and his resurrection had become for them the hope of Jesus' return . They therefore assume knowledge of biblical prophecy and the later fate of Jesus on the part of their readers and listeners and affirm that from the beginning this was an event willed, brought about and directed by the God of Israel for the benefit of all of Israel and the world.

The proto-gospel of James and the childhood gospel according to Thomas also contain stories of the birth of Jesus. The Chronicle of Zuqnin (2nd century) adorns the single scene of the magicians (Mt 2). These apocrypha presuppose the NT texts and vary or supplement them. Tradition independent of the NT is assumed only in Isaiah's vision , which Christians appended to the Jewish scripture Ascensio Jesaiae (2nd – 4th centuries). Analogously to Mt 1: 18-25, it describes the announcement of the birth of Jesus and beyond this itself, but not the other Matthew scenes. None of these extra-biblical texts are considered a source of historical information.

New Testament

Gospel of Luke

In Luke, Jesus' childhood story includes the processes before, during and after the births of John the Baptist and Jesus up to the age of 12 (Lk 1,5–2,52). This coherent part is divided into the NT as follows:

text content
Lk 1,5-25 Announcing the birth of the Baptist
Lk 1,26-38 Announcing the birth of Jesus
Lk 1.39-56 Meeting between Maria and Elisabeth
Lk 1,57-66 Birth of the Baptist
Lk 1.67-80 Benedictus of Zacharias
Lk 2,1-20 Birth of jesus
Lk 2,21-40 Jesus' presentation in the temple
Lk 2,41-52 The twelve year old Jesus in the temple

The portrayal of the birth of Jesus is preceded in the Gospel of Luke by the promise of the birth to Mary by the angel Gabriel ( Lk 1,26-38  EU ). At the same time, the birth of John the Baptist is depicted ( Lk 1, 3–25  EU ) in the sense that Jesus is identified as the greater of the two (“surpassing”).

The story of the birth of Jesus begins with Emperor Augustus having a "first" census carried out and therefore every family should go to the hometown of the family father. For this reason Joseph goes to Bethlehem with his heavily pregnant fiancée Maria . When they arrive there, Mary gives birth to her “firstborn” son. The newborn is swaddled and placed in a crib . From this it is usually concluded that the birth took place in a stable ; the text only expressly states that the couple had no place “in the hostel” ( Lk 2.7  EU ). It has been contemplated that Jesus' parents might have tried to stay with their relatives rather than an inn, but found an already full house. They therefore initially moved to a stable or shed with a feeding station.

The Greek word κατάλυμα katályma can be translated either as “hostel” or as “guest room”. The only time that Luke still uses this word is in Lk 22.11  EU , where it describes the space for the Last Supper . But that was not a “hostel”, but the upper floor of an inn. When Luke wants to denote a hostel in the sense of a place to stay, he uses the word πανδοχεῖον pandocheÎon as in Lk 10.34  EU . From this it has been concluded on several occasions that Jesus was not born in a stable - the word does not appear anywhere in the Christmas story - but on the upper floor of a house of relatives of Mary and Joseph, because Joseph came from this city and possibly still had family connections. This upper floor could have been inadequately furnished, which is why a feeding manger was set up there for the newborn instead of a cot.

Shepherds lying nearby are visited by an angel . He tells them that the Savior ( Messiah ) was born in Bethlehem . Then a host of angels join the one. They praise God and promise "the people of his good will" (or: the "people who are of good will") "peace on earth". The shepherds rush to Bethlehem and pay homage to the child. After seeing the child and telling them of their encounter with the angels, they return to their flocks. They "praised and praised God for everything they had heard and seen, as it was said to them."

The Lukan childhood story closes with the portrayal of Jesus in the temple required by the Torah and the pilgrimage of the twelve-year-old Jesus with his parents to Jerusalem ( Lk 2.21–52  EU ).

Gospel of Matthew

In Matthew, the narratives of the descent, birth and childhood of Jesus in 1: 1–2,23 are part of the Matthew prologue (Mt 1,1–4,16) and comprise the following text units:

text content
Mt 1,1 Heading to 1.1-4.16
Mt 1,2-17 Genealogy of Jesus
Mt 1,18a Heading (= back reference to 1.1)
Mt 1.18b-25 Birth of jesus
Mt 2,1-12 Adoration of the Magi
Mt 2,13-18 Escape to Egypt and child murder from Bethlehem
Mt 2: 19-23 Return from Egypt and arrival in Nazareth

The evangelist Matthew tells of different events around the birth of Jesus ( Mt 1,1–2,23  EU ). The birth itself is mentioned in passing ( Mt 2.1  EU ). The child is visited by “magicians” ( Greek μάγοι mágoi ), astrologers or wise men from the East, who were led there by a star . You still meet the child in Bethlehem, but “in the house”, not in a stable or a crib. They pay homage to him and bring gifts. In their search for the “newborn king of the Jews”, they had asked the royal palace in Jerusalem beforehand . In this way King Herod learns that a rival has been born and orders - in fulfillment of the prophetic word Jer 31.15  EU - the child murder in Bethlehem . Thanks to the warning by an angel to Mary and Joseph to time with the child to Egypt to settle ( Flight to Egypt ). After Herod's death, they return to Palestine and settle in Nazareth .

Matthew does not speak of kings, nor does he name their names, nor does he use the number three, as the later legend of the three kings does.

In 1.18b – 25 it is told how Mary is pregnant through the work of the Holy Spirit and gives birth to a son who receives the name Jesus and thus becomes the son of David, son of Joseph and son of God. 2.1–23 and 3.1–4.16 explain what this actually means. (1) Jesus proves himself to be the Son of God who feels obliged to the will of God (3: 13–4, 11); (2) With the help of the fulfillment quotes from Isa 7.14  EU and 23–9.1 EU , Jesus is presented as the son of David who turns to Israel; (3) Jesus' sonship with Joseph is interpreted with the help of the Jeroboam story from 1 Kings 11.26–12.25  EU , where Jeroboam is considered a descendant of the Old Testament Joseph: While the Herodian dynasty reigns in Jerusalem and Judea (Mt 2.1.22), is Jesus as King in Galilee (Mt 2.23; 4.16). In this way, Jesus is presented in the prologue as the Messiah and representative of God, who (as God's Son) feels fully committed to the divine will, (for this reason) turns to Israel (as the son of David), in the first place in Galilee (as the son Josefs).

Historical classification and intention to make a statement

Both stories try to make the unheard-of event, the coming of the Messiah and the Incarnation of God , believable with two strategies: On the one hand, by linking them to historical figures - nowhere in the Bible do non-biblical persons appear in such an accumulation ( Augustus , Publius Sulpicius Quirinius , Herod der Große ) -, on the other hand by explicit reference to Old Testament prophecies in Matthew.

  • According to Mi 5.1  EU , the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. But Jesus grew up in Nazareth, as is attested for example in Lk 2.39  EU . That he was born there is indicated in the Gospels of Mark and John, for example in Mk 6.1  EU , where Nazareth is called Jesus' “father city”, or in Joh 1.45  Lut : “What good can come from Nazareth! ". Luke and Matthew use different strategies to resolve the contrast between the two cities of birth: Luke with the narration of the census, which was followed by a return to Nazareth; According to Matthew, Joseph and his family did not settle in Nazareth until they had fled to Egypt. The place of birth Bethlehem is therefore considered legendary by many . It is said to have been handed down with the intention of making Jesus' descent from David and thus his messianship credible.
  • According to Isa 7.14  EU , the Messiah is said to have been born through a virgin birth , which might be a misunderstanding, since the Greek word παρθένος ( parthénos) in its main meaning " virgin " in the biological sense, but also simply "young woman" can mean. According to Martina Meyer, the context of the text and the choice of words of the Septuagint make it clear that no statement should be made here about the age of a person, but about their virginity. Likewise, the Hebrew term ְמָלְמָה ( 'almah) denotes an "untouched girl". Even if one only wants to think of a "marriageable girl", according to Marius Reiser it should be noted that according to the moral standards of that time a marriageable girl was unaffected.
  • According to Hos 11.1  EU , God should let his son come out of Egypt, which gives Matthew the reason for the story of the Bethlehemite child murder , which is not documented by other sources .
  • A fourth prophecy cited by Matthew, according to which the Messiah would be nicknamed “Nazora” ( Mt 2.23  EU ), cannot be found in the Old Testament. However, it could be an allusion to Isa 11.1  EU , where the “scion of Jesse” is referred to, in Hebrew “nezer”. The Catholic theologian Matthias Berghorn, on the other hand, considers it more likely that Ναζωραῖος is to be understood as a transcription of the Hebrew "NZR", which is an old ruler title for Jesus as Christ (cf. also Joh 19 and Acts 2).

The Gospel of Matthew also differs from the other three through a peculiar peculiarity, namely through prophecies from the Old Testament that appear again and again at the beginning, such as B: "All of this happened in order that what the Lord said through the prophet might come true" - a statement that might have been interspersed to confirm Jesus as the expected Messiah and Savior. But it is precisely in his “wise man's story” that Matthew fails to make such a reference. In this case, two passages in the Old Testament with Ps 72.10  EU and Isa 60.3  EU can be interpreted as references to the event in Bethlehem. The reason for the omission of this reference seems to be obvious. Saba is located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, also south of Jerusalem. The wise men and scholars came from the east - of course, Matthew also knew this.

The historical connection of the Christmas story also raises problems after a historical-critical investigation. Accordingly, with the census he mentioned, Luke confuses two different Roman administrative processes, namely:

  1. The realm census (citizen census ), the estimate of Roman citizens in the entire Imperium Romanum
  2. The provincial census, the estimate of the provincial residents who did not have Roman citizenship (Civitas Romana).

The factual report of Augustus in the vestibule of the Augustus and Roma temple in Ancyra ( Ankara ) mentions an imperial census in 8 BC. An imperial census cannot have affected Joseph, because if he had been a Roman citizen, Pontius Pilate would not have been allowed to have his (adopted) son crucified . Thirteen years later, in 6 n. Chr. Sent Emperor Augustus to Publius Sulpicius Quirinius as governor of the province of Syria , in which the Kingdom of Judea had just incorporated previously to the conditions after the banishment of Herod's son Archelaus to settle there again. After Flavius ​​Josephus , he held a provincial census in Judea. According to Mt 2.1, however, Jesus was born before the death of Herod the Great (4 BC), which is believed by many historians to be credible today. This means that the two evangelists contradict each other in their attempts to place the birth of the Savior in secular history; the historical data they suggest are more than a decade apart. As a solution to this dilemma, historical research on Jesus discussed a long time ago whether Quirinius might not have been governor of the province of Syria twice, once around 8 BC. The second time around 6 AD. The thesis that the Qurinius was twice governor has not been accepted in historical research.

The Tübingen archaeologist Philipp Filtzinger points out that in 1961 a tax form from the year 127 AD was found in a cave west of the Dead Sea . Even a hundred years after the death of Jesus, residents had to move from their place of residence to their place of birth in order to hand in their tax forms to Roman officials and, for example, to personally declare property they had inherited on site with several local witnesses.

According to the Lukan tradition, Joseph lived in Nazareth, which belonged to Galilee , but this was in the territory of Herod Antipas , where the Roman governor had only indirect authority. Even if the latter had an interest in also recording the residents of the client states, it would have been extremely impractical for the Romans, who were concerned with functioning tax lists, to order the place of entry not the place of residence but the ancestral home of the family. Whether this was Bethlehem, where King David was born around a thousand years earlier , is also questionable, because the two lists of ancestors ( Mt 1,1-17  EU ; Lk 3,23-38  EU ) are considered fictitious. They depict Joseph as a descendant of Abraham and King David ( Rom 1,3  EU ), without taking into account that Jesus should not have been his biological son at all, and have no historical, but theological intention of making a statement.

As there are hardly any night frosts in the area around Bethlehem in December, but no plants such as grasses etc. grow at this time of year, the sheep and goats are always kept in stables in winter. From this it can be concluded that Jesus cannot be born in December. The date of December 25 was also only set in the fourth century under Emperor Constantine I , with the feast of the sun god Sol Invictus possibly playing a role.

From all these contradictions within the two biblical Christmas stories and between them, some historians and theologians draw the conclusion that they are literary fictions with which the sonship of Christ and his coming into the world should be made historically and prophetically believable. It should be conveyed that in their opinion the Son of God on earth was not a mythical figure, but a truly historical figure. As for the place of birth, it is assumed that Jesus was also born in Nazareth, the place where his family lived ( Mk 6.1 ff.  EU ; Matt 13.54  EU ), where he was “brought up” ( Lk 4.16.22  EU ).

Church year

The more common Christmas story is the narrative about the birth of Jesus Christ , as described in the New Testament by the Evangelist Luke in Lk 1,5–80; 2.1–52  EU is told. The core of this text ( Lk 2.1–20  EU ) is traditionally read out or played out in the Christian cultural area on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at church services and Christmas celebrations. The Protestant tradition is significantly shaped by the translation of the Christmas story offered in the Luther Bible . In the Catholic liturgy, the pericope Luke 2.1–14  EU is the gospel of Holy Mass at night. In the second festival mass (“In the morning”) the Gospel text is the proclamation to the shepherds ( Lk 2,15-20  EU ).

In the third Christmas mass of the Catholic liturgy ("Am Tag") the prologue of the Gospel of John ( John 1, 1–18  EU ) is presented. The pericope Mt 2,1-12  EU is the text of the Gospel on the feast of the Epiphany ( Epiphany ) on January 6th.

literature

  • Matthias Berghorn: But the genesis of Jesus Christ was like this ... The origin of Jesus Christ according to the Matthian prologue (Mt 1,1–4,16) (= Bonner Biblical Contributions 187). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2019, ISBN 978-3-8471-0954-9 .
  • Ulrich Luz : The stories of the birth of Jesus and history. In: Max Küchler, Petra von Gemünden, David G. Horrell (Hrsg.): Jesus - Gestalt und Gestaltungen. Receptions of the Galilean in science, church and society. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2013, ISBN 3-647-59362-1 , pp. 169–192
  • Thomas Schumacher: History of the Christmas story. A historical and theological key , Pneuma-Verlag, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-942013-12-3 .
  • Joseph Ratzinger : Jesus of Nazareth. Prolog. The childhood stories. Herder, Freiburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-451-34999-7 .
  • Michael Wolter : The shepherds in the Christmas story (Lk 2,8-20). In: Michael Wolter: Theology and Ethos in Early Christianity: Studies on Jesus, Paulus and Luke. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2009, ISBN 3-16-149903-4 , pp. 355-372
  • Peter Stuhlmacher : The Birth of Immanuel. The Christmas stories from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-525-53535-X .
  • Edwin D. Freed: Stories of Jesus' Birth: A Critical Introduction. (2001) T & T Clark International, London / New York, 2004, ISBN 0-567-08046-3
  • Raymond E. Brown: The Birth of the Messiah. A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Anchor Bible Reference Library, Doubleday, New York 1999, ISBN 0-385-49447-5 .
  • Elke Blumenthal : The biblical Christmas story and ancient Egypt. Publishing house of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-7696-1602-2
  • Gerhard Perl : The historical background of the Christmas story. In: Christian Friedrich Collatz et al. (Ed.): Dissertatiunculæ criticæ. Festschrift for Günther Christian Hansen. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1998
  • Rudolf Pesch : On the theology of childhood stories: the current state of exegesis. Schnell & Steiner, Munich / Zurich, 1981, ISBN 3-7954-0112-7
  • Walter Schmithals : The Christmas story Luke 2: 1–20. In: Gerhard Ebeling , Eberhard Jüngel , Gerd Schunack (Hrsg.): Festschrift for Ernst Fuchs. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1973, ISBN 3-16-135102-9 , pp. 281-297
  • Johannes Riedl: The prehistory of Jesus. The message of salvation from Mt 1-2 and Lk 1-2. Catholic Biblical Works, Stuttgart 1968; DNB 457942339

Web links

Wikisource: Christmas Gospel (Latin)  - Sources and Full Texts
Wiktionary: Christmas story  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Flusser . Jesus . Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1999, p. 16 f.
  2. ↑ Ulrich Luz : The birth stories of Jesus and history. Göttingen 2013, p. 170
  3. ↑ Peter Stuhlmacher : The Birth of Immanuel , 2006, p. 13 f.
  4. ↑ Ulrich Luz: The birth stories of Jesus and history. Göttingen 2013, p. 169 f.
  5. ↑ Hans Klein : The Gospel of Luke (= critical-exegetical commentary on the New Testament; vol. 1,3). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006. ISBN 3-525-51500-6 , p. 7
  6. ↑ Johannes Riedl: The prehistory of Jesus. The message of salvation from Mt 1–2 and Lk 1–2. Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, Stuttgart 1968, p. 46 f
  7. ↑ Ben Witherington: No Inn in the Room: a Christmas Sermon on Luke 2.1–7 , December 9, 2007. The stables around Bethlehem were hewn out of the rock, so that the manger was probably a simple wall niche in such a cave.
  8. ↑ David Lyle Jeffrey: Luke. Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. Brazos Press, Ada, Ml 2012, p. 41.
  9. ^ Edwin D. Freed: Stories of Jesus' Birth. A Critical Introduction . Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield 2001, ISBN 1-84127-132-2 , pp. 83 f .; also: Chalice Press, St. Louis, Mo., 2001, ISBN 0827234511 . - Paul Copan: That's Just Your Interpretation. Responding to Skeptics Who Challenge Your Faith. Baker Books, Grand Rapids 2001, ISBN 0-8010-6383-3 , p. 185.
  10. ↑ The New Testament. Translated and revised by Hermann Menge . Reprint, Evangelical Main Bible Society, Berlin 1960, p. 92.
  11. ↑ Matthias Berghorn: But the Genesis of Jesus Christ was like this ... The origin of Jesus Christ according to the Matthew prologue (Mt 1,1-4,16). VR Unipress, Göttingen 2019, pp. 37-64.
  12. ^ Matthias Berghorn: Genesis Jesu Christi. Pp. 65-128.
  13. ↑ David Flusser. Jesus. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1999, p. 17; Alexander Demandt : Great moments in history. CH Beck, Munich 2004, p. 75 f .; Gerd Theißen , Annette Merz : The historical Jesus: A textbook. 4th edition, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2013, p. 158.
  14. ↑ Martina Meyer: Virgo Virginum - causa exemplaris for a consecrated life . In: Erwin Möde (Ed.): Christian Spirituality and Change: Contributions to current research (= Faith and Ethos, B 8). Lit-Verlag, Berlin / Münster, 2008, ISBN 3-8258-1904-3 , pp. 117–118.
  15. ^ A b Marius Reiser: Biblical criticism and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2007, ISBN 3-16-149412-1 , p. 327 .
  16. ↑ Matthias Berghorn: But the Genesis of Jesus Christ was like this ... The origin of Jesus Christ according to the Matthew prologue (Mt 1,1–4,16) VR Unipress, Göttingen 2019, pp. 105–126
  17. ↑ The Septuagint and Vulgate in Ps 72.10  VUL use the term kings from Arabia instead of the Sheba that appears in the Masoretic text
  18. ^ Herbert Hausmaninger , Census , in: Der kleine Pauly . Lexicon of Antiquity in five volumes , dtv, Munich 1979, Vol. 1, Sp. 1108
  19. ^ Res gestae divi Augusti C.8. online in Latin and German
  20. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus: Jewish antiquities , 17.13.5.
  21. ↑ Jewish Antiquities , 17.13.5; 18.1.1 and 18.2.1.
  22. ↑ Hans Conzelmann : Geschichte des Urchristentums , Göttingen 1978, p. 18
  23. ^ Géza Vermes : The Nativity. History and Legend , Penguin Books, London 2006, p. 19
  24. ↑ Theodor Keim : The historical Christ. A series of lectures with evidence of sources and chronology of the life of Jesus , 3rd edition, Orell, Füßli and Comp., Zurich 1866, p. 225
  25. ^ Werner Eck : Sulpicius [II 13] PS Quirinius. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 11, Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-476-01481-9 , column 1105.
  26. ^ Philipp Filtzinger: Bethlehem. The Christian legend: a historic event in the consular year of Gaius Censorinus and Gaius Asinius 8 BC Chr. (Pdf, 632 kB) September 3, 2001, accessed on January 7, 2020 .
  27. ↑ David Flusser : Jesus , 21st ed., Rowohlt, Reinbek 1999, p. 16 f.
  28. ↑ Gerd Theißen , Annette Merz : The historical Jesus: A textbook . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 3 2001; ISBN 3-525-52198-7 ; P. 42 ff.