I found it really interesting and in a way comforting that the Gospels are similar yet different in who they are written towards and cover. In reading only a few chapters in Matthew I can already see how things are worded or phrased to appeal to Jewish readers, and Luke has the insights on the role of women in covering the nativity and Elizabeth giving birth to John the Baptist. The Gospel of John seems more thought provoking and spiritual coverage than the other gospels to me. This may sound funny, but it seems more quotable in that it's verses are easy to relate to and discuss.
One thing that I think I must have known before but had forgotten was that Joseph and Mary are cousins so they have the same genealogy. I was wondering this when I was reading the verses about lineage and wondered how they could use Joseph in that line because he wasn't biologically the father of Jesus. Previously the lineage was just something I would look at to get funny Biblical names for my future children, but Christ's lineage had a lot more to it than I realized. Jesus was born into the royal line, so if the politics allowed for a free nation, Joseph would be king and Jesus would be his heir. This brings a much more profound meaning to Christ being our king or King of the Jews. This also makes me think that people have potential to be kings or queens, even if they are born into very humble circumstances. Joseph and Jesus are perfect examples of that.
I was kind of surprised while reading in Matthew about some word usage and after reading the accompanying guide, I realized that the word choice was different for a reason. Have all nativity scenes been historically incorrect? Every nativity scene I have scene has the wise men present at a stable while the little baby Jesus is in the manger. In Matthew 2:11 it says they came into "the house, they saw the young child" and worshiped him and gave him their gifts. This makes a lot of sense to me and answers other questions I have thought about for quite a while. I wondered why Herod killed the children two years old and younger. I thought that was beyond what was needed for him to get rid of this potential threat to his kingdom. He was just born, so he wasn't going to be a two year old. I also wondered how the wise men got away with not reporting back to Herod where Jesus was. I didn't think about where all of these people were located geographically together and didn't account for the long travel time that walking brings. It was a simultaneous "ah-ha!" and "Duh!" moment. Hopefully I wasn't the only one confused by these things.
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