St. Joseph in Scripture

IV. General New Testament Conclusions

Having studied Joseph in each of the Gospels independently, we can now see how they inter-relate. Who is the man Joseph behind these individual portraits of him?

IV. 1 -- Difficulties

Before attempting an answer to the above question, there are four difficulties encountered in comparing the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Since they regard details concerning Joseph's biography, it is good to address them here.

IV. 1.1 Differing Genealogies, Including the Name of Joseph's Father

Throughout history heroic attempts have been made to harmonize the differing genealogies (Mt 1:1-17; Lk 3:23-38), but no compelling argument has been found to show this is possible. A certain artificiality exists in each. In Matthew striking parallels found between Joseph of Nazareth and the patriarch Joseph make it small surprise that the fathers of both are named "Jacob" (Mt 1:16; Gen 35:22-24). In Luke strong resonances with 1 Samuel throughout the infancy narrative make the name of Joseph's father, "Heli," recall the priest who deals with Hannah and Samuel (Lk 3:23; 1 Sam 3:1). Be that as it may, it seems the differences must simply be accepted with the admission that either Matthew or Luke or both lacked sufficient, accurate information to supply an authentic fully detailed genealogy, and that quite probably such detail was not essential to their purpose. Whether going back to Abraham or all the way to Adam and God, the two genealogies show absolute agreement in the central purpose of showing that Joseph, a descendent of David, is the genealogical but not the biological father of Jesus, and conveys Davidic descent upon him.

IV. 1.2 Differing Recipients of the Annunciations

Many biblical commentators today emphasize that Matthew gives no hint of the annunciation to Mary, as Luke reports it, and that Luke shows no knowledge of any annunciation to Joseph, as Matthew reports it. It must be noted, nevertheless, that the accounts of the two annunciations exhibit no open contradictions that make harmonization impossible. The announcement to Mary comes at the time of conception and awaits her consent (Lk 1:26-38). The announcement to Joseph comes after the conception and seeks his cooperation (Mt 1:18-25). Reading either one of these two Gospels without knowing the other, one could conclude that both Mary and Joseph were people of faith who cooperated with God's plan, and therefore each of them would have to have some communication of God's will for them in the face of this extraordinary occurrence. The method of examining each evangelist in isolation has many advantages for understanding his meaning. Yet if both communicate inspired truth and if our revealed knowledge of Jesus Christ is found in no one book alone, but rather in the whole of Scripture, then it is helpful and necessary to think also in terms of complementarity and of a total reality that goes beyond any of the individual portrayals of that reality. Here an attempt at harmonization leads to a truth more complete than that presented by either Matthew or Luke, without overlooking the purposes of either: Joseph and Mary both received unique vocations with respect to the Son of God and both responded in faith and obedience.

IV. 1.3 Home at Bethlehem or Nazareth at time of Birth?

Luke seems to portray Mary and Joseph as living at Nazareth (Lk 1:26; 2:4,39) and going to Bethlehem only because of the census. Matthew, on the other hand, never mentions Nazareth until the return from the flight into Egypt, stating only that the birth occurs in Bethlehem (Mt 2:1), and then mentioning that Mary and the child are in a house there when the wise men visit (Mt 2:11). The apparent conflict between these details should not be overstated. Matthew does not say when they occupied the house at Bethlehem, nor how soon after birth the visit of the magi occurred, nor even if the house was theirs. Both evangelists agree that the birth takes place at Bethlehem and that Jesus is raised at Nazareth. Where Joseph and Mary lived during the time immediately before and after Jesus' birth is not of major importance for either narrative, though it is part of the greater general difficulty of chronology.

IV. 1.4 Differing Chronologies

Luke has Mary and Joseph returning with Jesus to Nazareth immediately after the purification and presentation, which according to Leviticus would be on the fortieth day after birth (Lk 2:39; Lev 12:3-4). For Matthew it seems that they come to Nazareth only after the visit of the magi, the flight into Egypt, and the death of Herod (Mt 2:22-23). The rites performed in the temple as reported by Luke seem to contradict Matthew's portrayal that all Jerusalem is upset and Herod is desirous of killing the child (Lk 2:22; Mt 2:3,13,16). There is no possibility of forming an exact chronology which literally takes these varying details into account. A failure to meet the standards of twentieth century eye-witness chronology, however, is not in itself sufficient to totally discount the historicity of the events.

Since Matthew and Luke seem to have had independent and incomplete sources relating different actual events surrounding the birth of the Savior, it would have been natural for them to fill in certain details consistent with their theology and structure for the sake of writing a narrative to relate those events. Given such a process, it becomes impossible to discover with certitude which details are inaccurate adaptations for the sake of the narrative, but it is equally impossible to prove categorically that major events reported never occurred. While total harmonization is not possible and maybe not even too useful, there must be noted at least the possibility that the principle events related in the two Gospels could have all happened in the early years of Jesus' life. With minor changes of timing for moving from one place to another, for example, one can imagine a trip from Bethlehem to the Jerusalem temple and back, before the visit of the magi and the news of Herod's plot necessitates the escape into Egypt, while the later visit from Nazareth to the temple would have happened after Herod's death and the news of the birth of a rival king had been forgotten. The example of such a solution serves at least to caution one from over-emphasizing the inconsistencies in the two narratives.

Previous • Contents • Next