Valeriy Sterkh - Gospel harmony стр 5.

All of this is not without a basis and is not arbitrarily contrived. Our Saviors birth relatives left us the following true story, whether to glorify themselves or purely for our instruction. When a band of marauders from Idumea raided Ashkelon in Palestine, they seized not only the loot from Apollos temple, but also Antipater, the son of a certain Herod, who was a hierodule. Because the priest could not redeem his son, Antipater was brought up according to Idumean customs. Later he was well-favored by Hircanus, the high priest of Judea. As an ambassador sent to Pompea on some errand from Hircanus, he obtained for him the kingly authority, which had been usurped by his brother Aristobulus. As to Antipater himself, he prospered; he was appointed the curator (epimelet) of Palestine. After his death  he was murdered out of envy for being so fortunate  his position went to his son Herod. This Herod was later appointed king over the Jews by Antonius and Augustus, as decreed by the Senate. His sons  Herod and others  were tetrarchs. Of these events we also know from the Greek history.

Until then, the archives had kept genealogies of both Jews and ancient Proselytes, such as, for instance, the genealogies of Achior the Ammonite and Ruth the Moabite, as well as genealogies of Egyptians who intermarried with the Jews. Having no connection whatsoever to the Jewish people, Herod, ashamed as he was of his ignoble blood, ordered that all the records of genealogies be burnt in hope that he could be reckoned as a noble-born, if no one was able to trace his line to Patriarchs, Proselytes or Gyiurs (converts to Judaism) using the public records. As a result, there were very few people who retained any memory of their ancestry. If they did, it was by keeping their own genealogical records or just by remembering the names of the ancestors, or keeping their own lists. People were proud of preserving the memory of their high blood. Among them were also the above mentioned «desposiny»  those related to the family of the Lord. Natives of Jewish settlements, Nazareth and Kohaba, they spread wide across the land and compiled the above-mentioned genealogy based on the «Book of Days», as best they could.

Whether it is so or not, it would be hard to come up with a better explanation  this is my opinion as well as that of any reasonable person. To this we will hold, even though it has not been confirmed by evidence  because there nothing better or more correct to hold on to. And as to the Gospel, it is all true, to say the least».

At the end of the same letter, Africanus adds: «Matthan, a descendant of Solomon, begat Jacob. After the death of Matthan, Melki [Matthat], a descendant of Nathan, begat Heli by the same woman. Therefore, Heli and Jacob must be uterine brothers. Heli died childless; Jacob raised up his seed by begetting Joseph who was his son according to the flesh, and Helis son according to the Law. So, we can say that Joseph was the son of them both».

This is the testimony of Afrikanus. If such was the genealogy of Joseph, then Mary had to be from the same tribe, for, according to the Law, it wasnt allowed to marry outside your tribe. The Law said that a man should take a wife out of the same town and the same family so that the inheritance would not go from one tribe to another. With this let us end» (The History of the Church, 1.7).

The explanation offered by Africanus is correct, though he confused Melki with Matthat. The genealogy in Matthew lists births according to the flesh; the one in Luke is according to the Law. It must be added that the levirate links between the two genealogies are found not only at the end, but also in the beginning. This conclusion is obvious because both genealogies intersect in the middle at Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel (see Mt 1:1213; Lk 3:27). Nathan was the older brother; Solomon was younger, next in line after him (see 2 Sam 5:1416; 1 Cron 3:5), therefore he was the first candidate to a levirate marriage (compare Ruth 34; Lk 20:2733). The Old Testament is silent on whether Nathan had children, so we may very well conclude that he had none. Solomon, however, had much capacity for love: «And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines» (1 Kings 11:3). So, in theory, he could have married Nathans widow. If this is so, Mattatha is the son of Solomon according to the flesh and the son of Nathan according to the Law. In light of the above-mentioned circumstances, the differences between the two genealogies no longer present a problem.

From the above, it is clear that both genealogies are true, but show the origin of Joseph in different ways. Therefore, in accordance with the principle of preserving information, both genealogies should be preserved (see UG 2 [United Gospel, chapter 2]).

The birth of Jesus

The account of Jesus childhood is found in both Matthew and Luke. But they tell the story differently.

According to Matthew, the events happened in the following order:

The angel announces the birth of Jesus to Joseph (Mt 1:1825; UG 8). Jesus is born in Bethlehem, and the Magi come to worship him (Mt 2:112; UG 14). Jesus family flees to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod (Mt 2:1315; UG 15). The massacre of the innocent takes place near Bethlehem (Mt 2:1618; UG 16). The holy family returns from Egypt and settles in Nazareth (Mt 2:1923; UG 17).

According to Luke, things happened as follows:

Gabriel announces the birth of Jesus to Mary (Lk 1:2638; UG 4). Joseph takes his pregnant wife from Nazareth to Bethlehem to participate in the census; Jesus is born (Lk 2:17; UG 9). The angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds (Lk 2:814; UG 10). The shepherds come to worship Jesus (Lk 2:1520; UG 11). Jesus is circumcised and named Jesus (Lk 2:21; UG 12). The days of purification; Jesus is brought to the temple (Lk 2:2238; UG 13). Jesus family returns to Nazareth (Lk 2:39; UG 17).

In Matthew, the birth of Jesus is announced to Joseph by the angel of the Lord, but in Luke, the prophecy of Jesus birth is announced to Mary by the archangel Gabriel. These are two different annunciations, separated by some time. First, Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced to her that she would conceive from the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:2638; UG 4). Then she became pregnant, and Joseph found out about it. Next, the angel of the Lord, most likely Gabriel, appeared to Joseph to announce the birth of Jesus and encourage him to accept Mary and her son (Mt 1:1825; UG 8).

Luke describes Jesus family traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem to participate in the census, and then Mary gives birth to Jesus (Lk 2:17; UG 9). Matthew does not give us much detail about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (Mt 2:1). Here we see the agreement between the two Gospels.

The subsequent narratives in Matthew and Luke split ways, but they can, nevertheless, be connected by putting the events in chronological order:

The angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds (Lk 2:814; UG 10). The shepherds worship Jesus (Lk 2:1520; UG 11). Jesus is circumcised and named Jesus (Mt 1:25; Lk 2:21; UG 12). The days of purification; Jesus is brought to the temple (Lk 2:2238; UG 13). The Magi worship Jesus (Mt 2:112; UG 14). Jesus family flees to Egypt (Mt 2:1315; UG 15). The massacre of the innocent (Mt 2:1618; UG 16). Return from Egypt, settling in Nazareth (Mt 2:1923; Lk 2:39; UG 17).

If you read only Lukes Gospel, you might get the impression that Jesus family went straight from Jerusalem to Nazareth. Matthew, however, says that they first went to Egypt. This seeming contradiction can be explained as follows. Luke writes, «And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth» (Lk 2:39). Matthew talks about the flight to Egypt as a means of fulfilling the prophecy of Scripture: «That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, out of Egypt have I called my son» (Mt 2:15; compare Hos 11:1). We may well regard the expression «according to the law of the Lord» as «fulfilling the prophecy of the law of the Lord (Scripture)». So, we can easily harmonize these two episodes.