What was the purpose of the infancy narratives?

Answer 1

You would certainly expect the purpose of the infancy narratives to be to record the extraordinary accounts surrounding the birth of Jesus but, as Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) points out, Luke's infancy narrative is not only massively different from Matthew's, but also in details is virtually irreconcilable with it, for example: Joseph and Mary's home is in Bethlehem in Matthew 2:11 [house] but in Nazareth in Luke 2:4-7; they travel to Egypt in after the birth of Jesus Matthew 2:14, but to Jerusalem and then Nazareth in Luke 2:22,39. Scholars have frequently remarked on these stories of Jesus' birth and infancy. In the view of John Shelby Spong (Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus), neither birth story, in Matthew and Luke, contains any historical truth.

So, if the infancy narratives contain no historical truth, they must have had a very different purpose than traditionally supposed.

Both accounts show that Jesus was born of a virgin by divine conception. Both accounts confirm this fact by the visit from an angel, although in one case it is Joseph to whom the angel goes, while in the other it is Mary. Both accounts have witnesses testify to the divine birth: Matthew has the magi following the star from the east, while Luke has the poor shepherds who were told of the birth by angels. If the birth of Jesus was the will of God, he must surely be the Messiah. Both accounts show that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town in which the Jews expected their hoped-for Messiah to be born. Matthew's Gospel tells how Jesus later was taken to live in Nazareth, so that he could be called Jesus of Nazareth, while Luke's Gospel tells how Mary and Joseph, who lived in Nazareth anyway, came to be in Bethlehem.

Matthew's Gospel drew parallels between Jesus and the Old Testament Moses. The father of Joseph was called Jacob, just as the father of the Old Testament Joseph was called Jacob. King Herod sought to have all the children under two years old slaughtered, but Jesus escaped: just as the Old Testament pharaoh sought to have all the first-born children slaughtered, but Moses escaped. Just as Moses travelled back from Egypt to the Promised Land to save his people, Jesus travelled back from Egypt to save his people.

A theme of Luke's Gospel was concern for the poor, so he had poor shepherds come to worship the baby Jesus, rather than the wealthy wise men of Matthew. Joseph and Mary were so poor they could only sacrifice a pair of pigeons at the Temple, when a lamb was normally expected. Luke confirmed the role of Jesus as the future Messiah by having Simeon, who had been promised that he would not die until he saw the Christ, declare that he had indeed seen the Messiah. The author of Luke frequently repeated a theme for a third time, to ensure acceptance by his readers, so he then has the prophetess Anna likewise give thanks to the Lord when she had seen Jesus.

More than anything, the purpose of the infancy narratives was to show the readers, in each case, that Jesus was truly the Messiah. The authors could then follow Mark's narrative of the mission and crucifixion of Jesus, knowing that their readers were in no doubt as to the importance of what was to follow.

Answer 2

The infancy narratives in The Bible, found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, serve to highlight the miraculous birth and early life of Jesus Christ. They provide theological insights into his divinity, fulfillment of prophecies, and unique role as Savior. These accounts also emphasize the significance of his birth in relation to the salvation of humanity.

Answer 3

Another answer from our community:

The infancy narratives were written to record Jesus' parents accounts of the extraordinary events surrounding His birth.