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KS3 Religious StudiesJesus’ Birth

For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation

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Learning objectives

What happened at Jesus’ birth?

How do the accounts in Matthew and Luke differ, and why?

What do Christians mean by the Virgin Birth and the Incarnation?

How do Christians celebrate Advent, Christmas and Epiphany?

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What do you already know about Jesus’ birth?

Which incident is depicted in the image above?

Stories about Jesus’ birth can be found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. They are set in Palestine in the 1st Century CE – a time when the country was part of the Roman Empire.

Biblical accounts of Jesus’ birth

Read the stories in Matthew and Luke.

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Matthew’s story

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Luke’s story

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Matthew and Luke wanted to emphasize different things about the birth of Jesus.

Matthew Luke

Quotes prophecy to show that Jesus is the Messiah (‘Anointed One’, or ‘King’)

Emphasizes Jesus’ humble origins – he was born in a

stable

Jesus’ kingship is underlined by the rich gifts of the wise

men

Includes the story of the shepherds to show that Jesus came for the poor

Can you think of any other differences?What similarities are there?

Matthew and Luke compared