The Rock of Israel

Mary probably gave birth to her son inside of a small cave around the time of the Jewish Passover. After Jesus was born, we read in Luke 2:7 that his mother took him and “wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.” The word used here for manger is phatne. Phatne is better rendered in English as a “feeding trough.” Imagine the Savior of all mankind coming into the world and being laid inside the feeding trough of animals.

Christmas Story Thoughts from John Crossan

Because I have been busy in life I have not posted a blog on here for a while. Therefore, I thought it was about time I did. Recently I have been reading John Crossan’s book, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. I will share some thoughts on a sort section of this book that is related to the Christmas season.

The birth narratives of Luke and Matthew both fascinate me. I think this is because both share so many differences and similarities. However, what is surprising is that most people are not aware of these similarities and simply mash the two narratives together when they retell the story on Christmas. Crossan points out that for Luke, John is connected with the past (through prophetic line), while Jesus is shown to be the future (6). Crossan then presents five ways to compare the birth narratives of John and Jesus in the Book of Luke (7-11).