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Jesus' Birth and Early Years

Jesus' Birth and Early Years

Jesus’ Birth and Early Years


If there is one consistent theme that runs through all the stories of Jesus’ birth, it is the repeated claim that ordinary people had more insight than religious experts when it came to understanding the significance of it all. The coming of the one who was later claimed to be the expected Messiah was recognized not predominantly by the great and the good but by those who, to a greater or lesser extent, were on the fringes of the cultured society of their day. The first chapter of Luke’s Gospel paints a vivid picture of the little-known priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth praying expectantly for God to deliver their people, and being rewarded for their faithfulness by the announcement of the birth of their own son, later to be known as John the Baptist (Luke 1:5–28, 57–80).

Mary, the mother of Jesus, belonged to the same family. At the time of Jesus’ conception and birth she was in the process of getting married to Joseph. This was an extended business, and it could take several months, with various betrothal ceremonies to get through before a couple were formally recognized as husband and wife. Joseph has traditionally been described as a carpenter, though the Greek word used to describe him (tekton) indicates that he was more likely a general builder, the kind of person who could turn his hand to just about anything in the construction industry. At the time, there was plenty of work in Palestine for such a person, so Joseph and Mary are unlikely to have been extremely poor. At the same time, they would not be rich. More importantly, from the religious perspective, as ordinary working people they would be regarded as quite unqualified when it came to understanding the Hebrew scriptures and applying them to the events of their own time in order to discern God’s will for their people. They were part of the ‘people of the land’, whose endeavours were a necessary part of the national economy but whom the religious establishment would have considered incapable of spiritual insight.


Drane, John William. Introducing the New Testament. Completely rev. and updated. Oxford: Lion Publishing plc, 2000. Print.

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