Why did Matthew and Luke include the miracle stories about Jesus' conception and birth?

Answer 1

A:The conservative explanation for the inclusion of the nativity accounts in Matthew and Luke is that the two evangelists believed them to be true. However, Ian Wilson (Jesus: The Evidence) says the hard reality is that neither the Matthew nor the Luke nativity stories offers sufficient historicity to be accepted as true. Burton L. Mack (Who Wrote the New Testament) says that scholars have frequently remarked on these stories of Jesus' birth and infancy. He says of Matthew's account that it is seen as incredible, implausible, far-fetched fictions that some believe to signal Matthew's naivete with regard to legendary material.

It is more likely that the authors realised the need to provide more information about Jesus as a person than provided in Mark's Gospel, from which they copied everything they actually knew about the life and mission of Jesus. The author of Matthew's Gospel wanted to draw parallels between Jesus and Moses, while the author of Luke's gospel wanted to place the life of Jesus in a historical perspective, thus for example introducing (slightly out of chronological context) the census under Quirinius. Both authors wanted to demonstrate that Jesus was born of a virgin and that he was conceived as the Son of God.