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Jesus
The
Gospel according to Luke (1:26-35) relates the prophecy of the birth of Jesus,
as follows: And
in the sixth month the angel Gabriel sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her,
and said, Hail! thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed
art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and
cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said
unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with
God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and
shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the
Highest: and the Lord God shalt give unto him the throne of his father David.
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there
shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I
know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of
God.
This
report is supplemented by the Gospel according to Matthew (1:18-25), in the
narrative of the birth and childhood of Jesus:
Now
the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make
her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But, while he
thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall
bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his
people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a
son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God
with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had
bidden him and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought
forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Here
we interpolate the detailed account of the birth of Jesus, from Gospel of Luke
(2:4-20):
And
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto
the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and
lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with
child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished
that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was
no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, the
angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ
the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the
Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the
angels were gone away from them into heaven, the
shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this
thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. And they
came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told
them concerning this child. And all they that heard wondered at those things
which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and
pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all the things which they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
We
now continue the account after Matthew, in the second chapter:
Now
when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he
that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are
come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief
priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ
should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is
written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the
least among the princes of Juda, for out of thee shall come a Governor, that
shall rule my people Israel.
Then
Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently
what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and
search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me
word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king,
they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star,
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And
when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his
mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And
being warned of God in a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they
departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise,
and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there
until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed
into Egypt: and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called
my son.
Then
Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and
sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the
coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he
had diligently enquired of the wise men. . . .
But
when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to
Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and
go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's
life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the
land of Israel. But when he heard Archelaus did reign in Judæa in the room of
his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of
God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and
dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Similar
birth legends to those of Jesus have also been transmitted of other founders of
religions, such as Zoroaster, who is said to have lived about the year 1000
B.C. His mother, Dughda, dreams, in the sixth month of her pregnancy, that the
wicked and the good spirits are fighting for the embryonic Zoroaster; a monster
tears the future Zoroaster from the mother's womb; but a light god fights the
monster with his horn of light, re-encloses the embryo in the mother's womb,
blows upon Dughda, and she becomes pregnant again. On awakening, she hurries in
her fear to a wise dream-interpreter, who is unable to explain the wonderful
dream before the end of three days. He then declares that the child she is
carrying is destined to become a man of great importance; the dark cloud and
the mountain of light signify that she and her son will at first have to
undergo numerous trials, through tyrants and other enemies, but at last they
will overcome all perils. Dughda at once returns to her home and informs
Pourushacpa, her husband, of everything that has happened. Immediately after
his birth, the boy was seen to laugh; this was the first miracle through which
he drew attention to himself. The magicians announce the birth of the child as
a portent of disaster to the prince of the realm, Durânsarûn, who betakes
himself without delay to the dwelling of Pourushacpa, in order to stab the
child. But his hand falls paralyzed, and he must leave with his errand undone;
this was the second miracle. Soon after, the wicked demons steal the child from
his mother and carry him into the desert, in order to kill him; but Dughda
finds the unharmed child, calmly sleeping. This is the third miracle. Later on,
Zoroaster was to be trampled upon, in a narrow passageway, by
a herd of oxen, by command of the king. But the largest of the cattle took
the child between his feet and preserved it from harm. This was the fourth
miracle. The fifth is merely a repetition of the preceding: what the cattle had
refused to do, was to be accomplished by horses. But again the child was
protected by a horse from the hoofs of the other horses. Durânsurûn thereupon
had the cubs in a wolf's den killed during the absence of the old wolves, and
Zoroaster was laid down in their place. But a god closed the jaws of the
furious wolves, so that they could not harm the child. Two divine cows arrived
instead and presented their udders to the child, giving it to drink. This was
the sixth miracle through which Zoroaster's life was preserved.
Related
themes are also encountered in the history of Buddha (sixth century before
Christ), such as the long sterility of the parents, the dream, the birth of the
boy under the open sky, the death of the mother and her substitution by a
foster mother, the announcing of the birth to the ruler of the realm, and later
on the losing of the boy in the temple.
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