The Nativity

Matthew and Luke were both written with Mark as a guide and other information added. One part of the story of Jesus of Nazareth Mark does not record is about His miraculous conception and birth. Luke and Matthew both tell elements of this story, but the different emphases of each writer is indicative of their respective focuses and target audiences.
Matthew’s gospel is full of fulfillment passages, as his focus and audience was both Jews and Jewish Christians. Matthew begins by citing the genealogy of Christ directly back to King David, who Jews knew was to be a progenitor of the Messiah. Another example of a fulfillment passage in Matthew’s narrative of the Saviour’s birth is in Matthew 1:23 in which he shows that the angel speaking to Joseph in a dream fulfills a prophecy in Isaiah about the name of Christ: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew merely mentions where Jesus was born, and moves on to the story of Herod and the wise men when Jesus would have already been a little child.
Luke, on the other hand, is a Greek, gentile convert whose audience is other gentiles. He doesn’t start with a genealogical line since he doesn’t need to establish to his audience that Jesus meets the qualifications set forth by the prophets for the Messiah. Luke takes a very linear approach by going into great detail about Zacharias and Elizabeth’s conception of John. As noted previously, Luke’s linear style of writing is a result of his being a physician and natural historian. He details the pregnancy and birth of John as the forerunner of Christ, then gives a detailed account of the night of Jesus’s birth. He details how the common shepherds were told of the birth and how they worshipped the new baby.
Luke also writes about and details the character of Mary. He shows how pivotal of a role Mary played and how amazing of a woman she was by showing her pure faith and humility compared to Zechariah’s disbelief at angelic tidings. Luke is interested in gender relationships throughout his narrative and shows a strong woman in the birth story.