Luke’s Christmas Story
Many (if not most) people view the Bible as a book. It's not. It is actually a collection of books.
Our Protestant Bible contains 66 books, 37 Old Testament and 29 New Testament. They are written by more than 40 authors over a period of at least 1500 years. All of the authors are Jewish men except one: Luke. Luke is a Gentile, a highly educated Greek (Paul refers to him as a doctor on one occasion (Colossians 4:14). Luke authored both the Gospel of Luke and Acts. He does so to give us an accurate narrative of Christ's time here on earth and the early development of the Church. Luke is also a skilled historian. He includes many names, dates and places in his writing that have been verified to be accurate by research historians. As an historian, Luke has never been found to be wrong.
Luke's Gospel begins with the well-known Christmas story; Mary and Joseph, the baby in a manger, the angels, the shepherds, etc. Ever wonder where Luke got that story? Luke tells us that but not directly. The strong sense of his source for all of the information that he gives us in the beginning of his gospel, doesn't come until the end of chapter 2. There he relates a curious story about the boy, Jesus, at age twelve. It is the only story that we have about Jesus in his childhood.
After reading the story, (Luke 2: 41-52), ask yourself this question: "Does this sound like a story that a mother would always remember having happened to her twelve year old son, a story that she would never forget, and, even in her old age, would remember it, detail for detail?" Of course it does. It's exactly that kind of story that a mother would never forget. So where do you think that Luke got the story? Precisely. From Mary.
How could Luke have known Mary? The answer to that is somewhat long and involved, but suffice it to say that Luke most probably spent a considerable amount of time with Mary around 57-58 AD in Jerusalem. Mary would have been quite old, maybe 75 to 80 years old.
She would have been living with James, her son next in age to Jesus, in Jerusalem, where James was one of the leaders of the Jerusalem Christian church. Luke, having come to Jerusalem with Paul ,who was then imprisoned in Caesarea awaiting his transport to Rome,
would have had multiple occasions to spend long hours with Mary. Mary might have been old but her mind was still sharp and she told Luke everything that he wanted to know.
The entirety of the Christmas story that Luke gives to us in his gospel likely came from one source: Mary. Many of the details of the story that Luke relates to us could have only been known by one person: Mary. Go back and read the story again and you will know this to be true. In all probability, some of the words that Luke attributes to Mary, are not her words. These are Luke's words. Mary would not have known Greek or Latin and could not have expressed herself in that way ("The Magnificat" is Latin). Is Luke trying to embellish things here? Not at all. Reread Luke 1: 26-56. As you savor what Luke is writing here, the answer hits you like a ton of bricks. Luke is in awe of Mary! He is absolutely in awe of this person, Mary. He has never known anyone quite like her.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me--
holy is his name. (Luke 1: 48b-49)
Mary is elderly but remains a very vibrant soul. And Luke is in awe of her.
We can fully believe what Luke is telling us in the Christmas story that he presents at the beginning of his gospel. Luke is a gifted writer who is a stickler for detail and is telling the story as told to him by the one who lived it, Mary. It is an ancient story that comes across as though it happened only a few years ago. It is a real tribute to the two people, Luke and Mary. Two people that God chose to tell and live His story.
Merry Christmas,
Mark