Preparing for Christmas
Christmas Stories and The Son of Man Continuing our concentration on the 4 Gospels as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Son of Man, let us see what the Gospels have. It is interesting that Mark and John start Jesus' story without any mention of the "traditional" Christmas stories like Matthew and Luke. Most bible scholars consider Mark to be the oldest written Gospel and John the youngest. It is known that in the 3 synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) some stories of Jesus are shared word for word. It is expected that Matthew and Luke shared information from Mark. In this Advent season it is a good time to read the beginnings of the 4 Gospels and see what the differences mean to you. The differences should not distract from the celebration of joy in the coming of The Son of Man. In Mark the story begins "...my Son, the Beloved..". (Mark1:11) In John the story begins "...Here is the Lamb of God.." (John 1: 29)