Portraits of the Incarnation (Luke)

The writers of the Four Gospels approach their subject from very different perspectives. While there are obvious similarities in their reports, there are also significant differences in details. Mark's Gospel is a sketchbook with bold, sweeping drawings. Luke approaches the subject of the incarnation with the training of a physician's eye for detail. He wrote his Gospel only after he had "carefully investigated everything from the beginning" (1:3). Luke even offers a genealogy that exceeds Matthew's in that it traces the lineage of Jesus all the way back to Adam (ch 3). Luke gives us details concerning the circumstances of Jesus' birth that are not found elsewhere...