Luke 2: An Allegorical Interpretation of The Lukan Nativity and Early Childhood Jesus Narrative

The Lukan Nativity and Early Childhood Jesus Narrative supplements the Matthean version such that each reads as a seemingly separate tale. The basic agenda of portraying Jesus as the miraculous product of divine procreation does indeed remain fundamental to each respective account.  Yet the Lukan author introduces unique material which I perceive to have been utilized as a carefully articulated allegorical dictate directed towards diaspora Jews. Such distinctive material includes:

- Portraying Jesus as being born approximately  10 years or so after the Matthean narrative 

- Providing expanded background material on Joseph 

- Portraying Mary as delivering Jesus in a manger 

- The Angelic band scene

- And the Temple scene

Now, the later dating of the birth of Jesus and the background material regarding Joseph appear to be interrelated. Firstly, the taxation which serves as the general context of the Lukan Birth Narrative is the very circumstance which lead to the commencement of The Jewish Independence Movement in 6 CE. Secondly, the individual who initiated that rebellion was Judah of Galilee, which according to the Lukan text was likewise the homeland of Joseph.  The historic setting and the similarities between the Insurrectionist Judah and the Lukan Joseph are matters which may be more than incidental, and hence are details worthy of contemplative consideration. 

Among those similarities:

- As mentioned, both Judas and Joseph were each from Galilee. 

- Judas and Joseph each responded to the taxation of Quirinius; the Governor of Syria. Their respective responses however; differed significantly, a matter of subsequent consideration below.

- Judas and Joseph each had sons who were crucified; two of the sons of Judas having been executed by the government of Rome due to their involvement in the insurrection inspired by their Father. 

- Judas and Joseph each had sons who were executed due to the influence of the High Priestly family. Judas had either a son or grandson whose involvement in the insurrection lead to being murdered by the the High Priestly family, while the High Priestly influence in the crucifixion of the son of Joseph is basic to the Jesus narrative. 

Now, in consideration of these similarities, Joseph appears to be somewhat of a prototype of Judas. Yet with regards to the aforementioned taxation, the former rather seems the alter ego of the latter. For whereas Judas lead an open and violent rebellion against the Roman taxation, Joseph meekly complied with same, even to the extent of traveling with his soon to deliver expectant spouse in order to comply with the details of the dictate.

Joseph's determined obedience to Roman law subsequently resulted in the famous manger scene, where the Lukan text portrays the delivery of Jesus by his mother Mary. The reason for the inconvenient and impractical setting for child delivery was that "there was no room for them";  which I interpret as a thematic description of the despondent diaspora of post 135 CE Jews who had been exiled from Jerusalem at the bloody conclusion of the Simon Bar Kochba War. 

I thus interpret the meek compliance of Joseph to Roman law in contrast to his alter ego Judas, and the manger scene as a maternity ward for Mary as an agenda based allegory representative of both the commencement of and the conclusion of the 130 year Jewish Independence Movement which began as a tax rebellion in 6 CE and which ended with the complete diaspora of all Jews from Jerusalem in 135 CE.

The angelic band and the Temple scenes I then take to be exhortive epilogues which were so scripted as to encourage displaced Jews to accept their despondent state of being as a necessary element of God's grand plan for a catholic coordination of all humanity. Hence the angelic proclamation of peace on earth and good will towards all humanity seems to be a divine dictate directed to those Jews of the diaspora who may have been clinging to the concept of a distinct identity as Israelis to abandon such notions and to assimilate into what they perceived to be gentile cultures. The prophecy then of the just and devout Simeon in the Temple that baby Jesus was set for the rise and fall of many in Israel as a light to lighten the Gentiles, all the while being the glory of Israel, seems to have served as supplemental material to the heretofore mentioned catholic message of the angelic band. 

In essence; the allegorical message of the Lukan Nativity and Early Childhood Jesus Narrative seems to be that of a turning point in Jewish history from their self perceived identity as the chosen people of God to that of "all flesh shall see the salvation of God".

And such seems to be the consistent catholic theme throughout the remainder of the Lukan-Acts narrative. 

Dave Henderson 

Denison, Texas