The books of Matthew and Luke are very interesting. The first three chapters tell us about the angels that foretold Jesus' birth, His birth, and early childhood. I will compare and contrast the two books. In my contrasting statements, keep in mind, at no time do the two gospels disagree with each other. However, they do tell the story from two different perspectives and have separate, but coinciding information.
We don't know the identity of some of the angels, but the named characters are the same. John the Baptist was the man God used to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Mary was the virgin that became pregnant by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to Jesus the Messiah. Joseph was the prospective husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus. The king who wanted to kill Jesus was named Herod. Finally, in both accounts, the lineage of Jesus was given. In Matthew, it was given from Abraham until Jesus. In Luke, it was given from Adam until Jesus.
Angels made visits to Joseph in Matthew. In Luke, an angel named Gabriel visited Mary. In the first chapter of Matthew, the angel told Joseph to stay with Mary because she was going to give birth to Jesus the Messiah, and hadn't been unfaithful to him. In the second chapter, an angel came to Joseph and told him to take his family to Israel because the ones that had wanted to kill the baby were dead. Finally, he was warned in a dream not to go to Judea, so they went to Galilee and lived in the town of Nazareth.
An angel made a visit to Mary in the book of Luke. This angel was named Gabriel, unlike the dream and the other two, unnamed angels that visited Joseph. In contrast, Mary talks to Gabriel and says, "But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin."
Zacharias and Elizabeth were mentioned in the book of Luke. They were the parents of John the Baptist. Elizabeth was barren and when Zacharias was visited by Gabriel, he didn't believe the message. So, he was became mute until the baby's birth.
In Matthew, astrologers saw a star and found Jesus. They gave Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are gifts that would be given to a king. In Luke, an army of angels appeared to the shepherds in their fields. The shepherds promptly ran to see Jesus and left praising God. In both cases, it appears that they gave what they had to God.
Luke gives an account of Jesus' circumcision and time at the temple when He was young. Simeon saw the Savior and prophecy was fulfilled because He was told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn't die until He saw the Christ. He also left praising God.
There were many prophecies that were fulfilled in the first three chapters of these two books. The virgin birth was predicted in Isaiah 7:14. It reads "All right then, the Lord Himself will choose the sign--a child shall be born to a virgin!" The book Isaiah was written approximately 700 years before Christ's birth!
In Numbers 24:17, Balaam referred to a coming "star of Jacob." This was the star that the astrologers saw.
Micah 5:2 reads, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Hosea 11:1 reads, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." Jesus was called out of Egypt to escape Herod. Jeremiah writes in the thirty-first chapter and the fifteenth verse, "This is what the Lord says: 'A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more'." This was his prophecy about Herod killing the baby boys. Isaiah prophesied in the eleventh chapter of the book with the same name. "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth." The word Branch and Nazerene are very similar in Hebrew. The rest of this passage refers to Jesus' ministry.
In Isaiah 40:3-5, another prophecy was recorded. "A voice of one calling: 'In the desert prepare the way for the Lord ; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken'." This was referring to John the Baptist. John lived and preached in the wilderness and fulfilled the rest of this prophecy, too. Malachi prophesied that John the Baptist would precede Jesus Christ in chapter four, verses five and six. "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
Many came and believed and were baptized by John. John the Baptist predicts Jesus' coming in John 3:11. "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." This happens very soon after his prophetic words.
The gospels of Matthew and Luke are captivating. Numerous prophecies were fulfilled in the first three chapters. Many miraculous events were recorded. We are fortunate to have four different, yet coinciding perspectives on the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
