jesus's birth

Question 1

Matthew 1:18-2:23

Answer 1

-emphasises Joseph
-includes the marriage of Mary and Joseph
-includes the magi’s visit
-shows Jesus as fulfillment of prophecy
-Jesus born in a house
-flight to Egypt and massacre of the innocents

Question 2

Luke 1:26-2:40

Answer 2

-emphasises Mary
-mentions John the baptists birth
-includes the shepherds visit
-has hymns and appeals to history
-Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger
-includes Jesus’s presentation at the temple and circumcision

Question 3

Angels

Answer 3

Matthew-unnamed angel appears to Joseph quotes from Isaiah 7:14
Luke - angel gabriel appears to Mary (the annunciation)

Question 4

Mary and Joseph

Answer 4

Matthew 1:24-Joseph married Mary
Luke 1:27- Joseph is engaged to Mary

Question 5

Visitors

Answer 5

Matthew- the wise men quote from Micah 5:2 and 2 Samuel 5:2
Luke- the shepherds

Question 6

Herod

Answer 6

Matthew - the slaughter of the infants quotes from Jeremiah 31:15

Question 7

Temple

Answer 7

Luke - the presentation of Christ in the temple Simeon’s song - the nunc dimittis

Question 8

Return journey

Answer 8

Matthew- the flight to Egypt and the return to Nazareth
Luke - return to Nazareth from Jerusalem

Question 9

Chronology

Answer 9

Matthew- Jesus was born in the days of Herod the king 2:1
Luke - when quirinius was governor of Syria 2:2

Question 10

incarnation

Answer 10

-to become flesh
- refers to God having become flesh in the form of Jesus Christ

Question 11

what is the incarnation not?

Answer 11

• a suggestion that there are two gods within christianity
  -a suggestion that jesus was half God half Human

Question 12

what ideas does the incarnation disagree with?

Answer 12

• that jesus was a human who was adopted or chosen by God as this would imply that his birth was not holy
  -the idea that jesus was possessed or taken over in some way by the holy spirit as this would mean jesus didn’t have free will

Question 13

christ is:

Answer 13

• fully god and fully human
  -united in the person of Jesus (hypostatic union)
  -eternal and perfect
  -experienced life just as other humans do
  -begotten not created by the father

Question 14

christ is not:

Answer 14

• half human half God
• suffering from dual personality disorder
  -adopted by God
  -only god or only human
  -possessed by the holy spirit

Question 15

the nicene creed

Answer 15

• a christian statement of faith
• has been used in main denominations of christianity since the fourth century
• says jesus was “begotten not made, of one being with the father”
• Jesus was in existence with God eternally - his life on earth was a short period of his existence

Question 16

the hypostatic union

Answer 16

• when jesus fully human and fully divine natures were united in the person of christ
• union of divinity and humanity
• jesus was both eternal and perfect, but experienced challenges in life just like other humans
• he was bgotten rather than created by God so he is eternal
• jesus comes from God the father and has the same nature as Him

Question 17

what does the substantial presence model emphasise?

Answer 17

• agrees that Jesus is fully human and fully divine
  -emphasises his divine nature as something that assumes the form of a human
  -while God is invisible and therefore cannot be seen, he is fully present in Jesus

Question 18

what does alister mcgrath say about the substantial presence model?

Answer 18

• it is a union within christ between his divine and human substance
  -jesus has all the characteristics of God at birth and so did not inherit or develop them at a later stage

Question 19

what evidence is there for the substantial presence model?

Answer 19

• primariy in matthew
  -infers that jesus was conceived by the holy spirit instead of in the usual way(backed up in luke)
  -jesus is referred to as Immanuel meaning God with us
• magi come to visit jesus having foretold his nature
  -jesus is protected from king herods harm by an angel

Question 20

problems with substantial presence model

Answer 20

• conflicts with transcendent nature of God
• presents Him as apparently affected by time and space as well as limited by the world

Question 21

what does the kenotic model emphasise?

Answer 21

• agrees jesus is both fully human and fully divine
• places a stronger emphasis on his humanity as having emptied itself of all divine attributes
• comes from kenosis (to make empty)

Question 22

what are the origins of the kenotic model?

Answer 22

• evolved from the question of how God could possibly become a helpless baby, appearing to lose some of his attributes such as omniscience and omnipotence
  -developed during early 17th century since the gospels made no reference to christ using divine characteristics such as omniscience
  Gottfried thomas argued that the incarnation involved the deliberate and voluntary setting aside of all divine attributes

Question 23

what aspect of jesus does the kenotic model stress?

Answer 23

• his humanity
• especially the importance of his suffering for the duration of his life on earth
• however it doesnt deny his divinity

Question 24

evidence for the kenotic model

Answer 24

• mostly in th gospel of luke
• paul describes jesus as being ‘ in very nature God’ but ‘made himself nothing’ ,humbling or ‘emptying himself, taking a human nature’
  -luke shows jesus experiencing very real suffering and humblness, right from his birth into poor beginnings
  -jesus is shown as fragile and capable of suffering
• even matthew shows his real humanity in the flight to egypt, experiencing part of his childhood as a refugee
  in luke he submits to human experiences and Gods will by being circumcised

Question 25

challenges to kenotic model

Answer 25

-allows God to change so he becomes human - part of God's nature is being immutable - not really referenced in scripture