Hello Larry, thanks for responding.
I've already done that homework. I've actually published a book on the topic.
Let me quote the relevant chapter:
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Out of the four Gospels, only Matthew and Luke relate the details of Jesus’ birth. Yet one challenge emerges immediately upon comparing them: despite relating the same event, they tell almost entirely different stories.
Many challengers to Christmas seize this discrepancy, including Bart Ehrman, one of the most prominent critics of the historicity of the Bible’s claims. As he states:
"The stories of Jesus’ birth in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2 are very different from each other, and appear to contain down right discrepancies. I don’t actually teach this to my students. I instead give them an exercise. If you haven’t ever done this, you should try it. I have them list everything that happens, event by event, first in Matthew 1-2 and then in Luke 1-2; and then I have them compare their lists. What is similar? What is different? And are any of the differences actual discrepancies that cannot be reconciled?
"The differences are striking, and in fact – as I’ve pointed out on the blog before – some things cannot be reconciled (if Luke is right that the family returned to Nazareth 32 days after the birth [i.e., when the sacrifice that a birthing mother had to give was made], how can Matthew be right that the family fled to Egypt?)". (https://ehrmanblog.org/why-was-jesus-born-of-a-virgin-in-matthew-and-luke/)
Ehrman lays a challenge, convinced that no student will be able to harmonize the events in both accounts. If so, then he has a point.
After all, if the Bible is true, you should be able to trust everything it says. You shouldn’t have to pick and choose which version of the Christmas story is true.
Yet Christmas is not so easily laid to rest.
To defeat Ehrman’s challenge, all you must do is lay every detail out in chronological order — a tactic Ehrman tries to prevent. Ehrman instructs his students to make two lists of events and compare them side-by-side, as though they reflect similar events at similar times.
But Matthew and Luke record different events that happened at different times. The solution therefore is to lay them out chronologically in one narrative, not as different lists.
When you do, Matthew and Luke fit hand-in-glove, each detail supporting each other, uniting to form a grand, seamless story.
Take a few minutes to read the Christmas story anew, this time as one united narrative, in the pages that follow. It’s one thing to claim that it all flows together; it’s another thing entirely to read it with your own eyes.
After we’ll look at a few of the objections people raise and how swiftly this united harmony dispels them.
The Story of Christmas
Matthew 1:18–25a
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.
Luke 2:1-20
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Matthew 1:25, Luke 2:21
And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, Joseph called his name Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:22-39
And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
[One to two years pass]
Matthew 2:1-23
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
When every detail is placed in order, Matthew and Luke harmonize beautifully — just as you’d expect if they both strived to record the truth. Their source material differed; Matthew records the experiences of Joseph and the wise men, while Luke records the experiences of Mary and those at the Temple. Yet they all flow together marvelously, complementing each other and informing each other, creating a narrative that almost seems to be the work of a single author.
Yet even then, the critics are not silent. The biggest issue people take with this inter-woven narrative is placing the wise men’s arrival a year or two after Jesus is born. Most nativities feature the wise men prominently, displaying them arriving the same night as the shepherds.
But if the wise men do arrive so early, then Matthew and Luke cannot both be true. As Ehrman claims:
[S]ome things cannot be reconciled (if Luke is right that the family returned to Nazareth 32 days after the birth [i.e., when the sacrifice that a birthing mother had to give was made], how can Matthew be right that the family fled to Egypt?). (https://ehrmanblog.org/why-was-jesus-born-of-a-virgin-in-matthew-and-luke/)
The resolution is remarkably simple. The problem is not in the text, but rather what we assume about the text.
We assume that the wise men arrive on the night Jesus was born, or soon after. Yet Matthew provides three clues to the reader, clueing us in to the length of time that has transpired between Jesus’ birth and the wise men’s visit.
We find our first clue in Matthew’s Gospel clearly stating that the wise men arrived “after Jesus was born” (Matthew 2:1). Matthew 1:18-25 completes its narration of Jesus’ birth, closing with Joseph naming the baby Jesus. Then the action pauses. Matthew 2:1 picks up the story sometime after Jesus’ birth. To find out how long after, we need our next two clues.
Our second clue focuses on how Matthew describes Jesus. In Luke 2:12, on the night Jesus was born, the angels describe Jesus as a brephos (βρέφος) — a newborn baby. Yet when the wise men find Jesus, Matthew 2:11 describes him as a paidion (παιδίον) — a toddler or child. When the wise men worship Jesus, He is able to stand on His own toddler feet.
Our third clue reveals itself through the midst of tragedy. Once Herod realizes the wise men hid the location of Jesus from him, he orders the death of every child two years old and under, “according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men” (Matthew 2:16). It seems that the wise men expected to find a child around the age of two, or perhaps a child who was conceived two years ago, but was now just over the age of one. [Note: in the later chapter on the Star of Bethlehem, we’ll explore the precise data that led them to this conclusion].
This age matches perfectly with the description of Jesus as a paidion — a toddler or young child.
Given these three clues, it seems that somewhere between a year or two elapsed since Jesus was born.
But this answer raises its own question: why does Luke state that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus returned to Nazareth a few weeks after His birth, yet Matthew records them living in Bethlehem a year later?
The answer is found in shame.
No one believed Mary’s claim that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Even Joseph did not believe until he received his own visit from Gabriel, confirming her story. Everyone in Nazareth assumed that Mary committed adultery.
This heaped a severe measure of shame on Mary’s head in the eyes of her neighbors. Women who slept around were often stoned to death to avenge the shame they had brought to their family. Everyone expected the family honor to be maintained at all costs.
This expectation therefore brought even further shame on Joseph, as he refused to submit Mary for stoning. Even before the angelic visit, he wanted to divorce Mary quietly, to spare her life. After the angel visits and the child’s birth, Joseph stood even more committed to protecting his wife and son. To us who know the reasons why, Joseph’s actions shine with nobility and self-sacrifice. To the neighbors who did not, Joseph seemed to be a weak-willed coward who wouldn’t divorce a wife who cheated on him and who despised his own family’s honor.
That placed Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the most shameful position possible in Nazareth. No family would be more despised — or more in danger.
Given these cultural realities, the course of action seems clear.
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returned to Nazareth a few weeks after Jesus’ birth, once their dedication at the Temple concluded. They found life in Nazareth to be intolerable, due to the scorn their neighbors heaped on them.
Life in Bethlehem must have seemed marvelous by comparison. After all, they had been celebrated by the local shepherds, which meant they’d be welcomed and protected by all their families. Who wouldn’t want to live where they were celebrated, rather than shamed?
It makes perfect sense that after enduring Nazareth’s scorn for a few months, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus moved permanently to Bethlehem. They made a life there, protected by those who revered their child, until the wise men arrived a year or so later.
And that simply, Ehrman’s irreconcilable challenge is reconciled.
It required nothing more than paying attention to the clues in the text and understanding the culture in which Mary and Joseph lived.
The evidence paints a clear picture: Matthew and Luke took their work seriously. They each recorded the testimony of their sources faithfully, with such immaculate precision that their work can be inter-woven into one seamless narrative, without a single word added or removed to make it fit.
One may even discern the presence of a divine hand at work — a sole Author telling His story carefully, preserving it faithfully, so that all may know: this Story is unlike any other.
