Activity 4

THE INFANCY NARRATIVES
Gift-giving is
Traditional at
Christmas, not
because of
Santa Claus,
but because God
“started”
the tradition
by giving
His Only
Son Jesus
as a gift to
human-kind to
be our
Savior.
WELCOMING JESUS AS
OUR PERSONAL SAVIOR
The infancy narratives stemmed from
the concern of the early Church to
search for ways of communicating
who is the risen Lord, the Savior of the
world. Only the Gospel of
Matthew and Luke contain the Infancy
Narratives.
The primary purpose of these
narratives is not to give a
historical account
of Jesus’ origin but to
bring out the Religious
significance of the
Coming of Jesus.
The events
that constitute
the aInfancy
Narratives
In Matthew’s
Gospel are
the following:
1.THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS
2. THE BIRTH OF JESUS
3. THE VISIT OF THE MAGI
4. THE FLIGT TO EGYPT
5.THE MASSACRE OF THE INFANTS
6. THE RETURN FROM EGYPT
And the events
that constitute
the Infancy
Narratives
In Luke’s Gospel
are
the following:
1. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE
BIRTH OF JOHN
2.
3. MARY VISITS ELIZABETH
4. THE CANTICLE OF MARY
5. THE BIRTH OF JOHN
7. THE BIRTH OF JESUS
8. THE VISITS OF THE SHEPHERDS
9. THE CIRCUMCISION AND
NAMING OF JESUS
10.THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE
11. THE RETURN TO NAZARETH
12. THE BOY JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS
( MT. 1:17; LK. 3:23-38 )
For Matthew, if Jesus is the
Messiah, then he must be of the
House of David. The Jews were
expecting the Messiah to be of
David’s royal line. If Jesus is the
Man of truth who trusts totally
In the Father; and so, Abraham,
Our father in faith, is his ancestor.
There are fourteen generations
Or 2 x7. seven is the symbolic
number of fulfillment for the
Jews. Matthew’s readers were
Jewish-Christians who were
familiar with the Old Testament
Propecies. Matthew wanted to stress Jesus
identity as the
Messiah promised by Yahweh
long ago. The birth of Jesus
means that God has fulfilled
the promises he made to His chosen
people.
In Luke 3:23-38, the evangelist
writes for a Gentile-Christian
audience. He present Jesus
Savior of all people, both
Gentile and Jew alike. He traces
Jesus’ lineage to Adam, the
father of all of us, “the son of God” (Lk.
3:38). The accounts of both Matthew
and Luke imply Jesus’ true identity-He
is both truly divine and fully human.
The Announcement of the Birth
of Jesus (Mt. 1:18-25; Lk.1:26-38)
In Matthew, the announcement
of the “miraculous” conception
and birth of Jesus was made
to Joseph, the head of the
Holy family. Luke, on the other
hand, made Mary the recipient
of the annunciation. Luke gives
prominence to the role of Mary
In his Infancy Narratives. He
Stresses that Jesus came for
All, but especially for the poor
And outcasts. In Jesus’ time, women,
though respected,
Were not treated as citizens
but were even classified
among the outcasts.
The First Visitors of Jesus
(Mt. 2: 1-11; Lk. 2: 8 – 20)
Matthew narrates how the
Magi travelled from the east to
Visit Jesus. He wants to show
That Jesus is King, someone
Deserving of our loyalty and worship. The
term “Magi”
probably refers to astrologers,
perhaps from Persia, Babylon,
or the Arabian desert. They
were Gentiles, or non-Jews.
The narrative shows that Gentiles
embraced Jesus as
The Messiah while the Jews
Did not recognize him.
The story of the Magi’s gifts
is richly symbolic:
Gold is worthy of a king,
Frankincense was used in offerings
to God, while myrrh was used to
prepare
a body for burial. These
gifts testify to the identity and
mission of Jesus.
They make an important
statement: Jesus is truly
the King of the Universe,
The Son of God who will undergo
death to save
His people.
Luke relates
the story of
some poor
shepherds
to whom
angels
proclaimed
the good news
of great joy: a savior has been
born for you (Lk. 2: 10-11).
Shepherds of that time often did
not observe the Jewish religious
laws and were considered among
the unclean or outcasts
of Jewish society.
Luke wanted
to show that
that Jesus
compassionately
reaches out
to the poor,
the outcasts,
and the sinners.
ACTIVITY 4
Activity Title: The arrival of our Savior`
Learning Target: To know and value the important
message of Christmas
seson.
References:Called to Meet Christ in
Scripture, Church, and Sacraments
Author : Ester V Frago and
Josephine C. Dango
Page Number/s: 159-165
Concept Notes:
The infancy narratives represent the
effort of the
early Church to bring out the
Unique meaning and significance of
Jesus Christ
Beginning from his conception.
The details proper to Matthew
and to Luke’s Infancy Narratives were all
carefully chosen to respond to this effort of
witnessing to the real identity
of Jesus. They were Written to present
religious truths, and
not just biographical details.
Supply the missing word/s that
is/are best described
by the following statements.
Write the letter of your
answer in the appropriate space.
____ 1. In Matthew’s gospel
Jesus was born in a ______
_____ 2. And in Luke’s
account Jesus was born
in a _______.
_____ 3. Matthew’s readers/
audience are ______
who were familiar with the
Old Testament prophecies.
____ 4. Jesus is the reason
for the _______.
____ 5. Luke’s audience are
_____ he present Jesus
as Savior of all people.
____ 6. The messenger who
announce the birth of Jesus.
____ 7. The term “Magi”
refers to _____ from Persia,
Babylon, or the Arabian desert.
____ 8. The symbolic Magi’s
gift of Gold is worthy
for a _______.
____ 9. And the ______ was
used in offering to God,
while Myrrh was used to
prepare for a body burial.
____ 10. They considered
one of the poor or outcast
and the first visitors of Jesus.
ENUMARATION:
11 – 16. Give the 6 events that constitute
the Infancy
Narratives of Matthew.
17 – 20. Give only 4 for the
events that constitute
the Infancy Narratives
of Luke.

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THE INFANCY NARRATIVES

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