What you see depends on where you sit.

I bought a fabulous whippet statue recently. It’s shiny and copper coloured. I’d love to invite four of you to come and sit around my kitchen table to stare at this marvellous creation and give it full consideration and tell me what you think.

Of course, where you’re sitting at the table would affect your perception of this whippet. If you were sitting facing the head, you would have no sense of the wondrous whippet ribcage. You wouldn’t know for sure if this dog had a tail or not. If you were sitting opposite that person, you would be seeing the rear end of the dog. You would only be able to imagine that extra special long nose and fine features. The two people on either side of the table would have a side view – more of a general overview maybe, but no real idea of how slender a whippet really is. What you see depends on where you sit. No account is more true, more important, more valid. All work together to create a whole picture.

And then everyone comes to the table with their own personality, back story and preferences that can cloud their view and influence what they are observing. You may not be a fan of whippets. You may find them too scrawny and not discover any beauty in this distinctive form. The current trend for copper-coloured ornaments may not be your thing. You might find it tacky.

You all will see the same thing, but you will all see it differently and report your observations and conclusions in a different way.

The four books at the beginning of the New Testament are all written about the life of Jesus and yet are all completely different. There are discrepancies. Each writer sees the story from a different angle and comes to it with their own personality, back story and preferences. They are all seeing the same thing, but reporting their observations and conclusions in completely different ways. In fact, these four writers are no even sitting around the same table at the same time. They’re writing up their accounts at different points in time.

And so each of these accounts is different and yet each adds to the description of the whole.

Matthew is a Jewish Christian and writes his account in a very Jewish way. He’s writing for people like himself, people steeped in the Jewish tradition. He sees Jesus as ‘one of us’ and his favourite term for him is ‘Son of David’. He assumes the people reading his account will know about the Jewish religion and traditions. They’ll know the meaning of all the Hebrew words and the significance of the words of Scripture that Jesus uses. Matthew is the first book of the New Testament as it is a bridge between what has gone before and what is to come.

The second account of the Jesus story is written by Mark and is very different to Matthew’s. The suggestion is that Mark wrote his account for the Christian church in Rome, at a time when Christians were being persecuted for their faith. He therefore records what Jesus said about suffering to sustain and encourage those who are suffering for their faith.

Luke was not a Jew. He’s interested in the relevance of Jesus’ life and teaching to the Gentiles, because he is a Gentile himself. He was a doctor and a historian. He travelled with Paul as recorded in the Book of Acts. He’s done his research and is an accomplished writer. It’s thought that Luke draws on Mark’s writing and then fleshes it out with fresh stories that he’s heard from those that were there.

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eye witnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.  Luke 1:1-4

And then there is John. John’s account is completely different. It does not attempt to be a complete autobiography. It takes a few episodes from Jesus’ life and develops them in detail with long sections of teaching and reflection. Even though this book is named after John, the brother of James, one of the fisherman called by Jesus to follow him, this book may well not have been written by him. It certainly starts with his memories of living closely with Jesus, however.

Each of these accounts draws on a different perspective and background and tradition. Each views the same story from a different perspective. What they see depends on where they sit. No account is more true, more important, more valid. All work together to create a whole picture.

And so this month, we are going to be approaching Christmas by studying all four accounts of the birth of Jesus. Actually, that’s not entirely accurate, as Mark’s Gospel does not start with the birth of Jesus at all! So we’ll put Mark’s account to one side until January, if that’s OK with you, and we’ll draw on the other accounts to guide and inspire us as we head towards Christmas Day.

I’m so excited about this adventure. I firmly believe we’re  going to see this well-known story from a fresh perspective and gain new insights along the way.

This journey will provide the perfect accompaniment to your advent calendar and all your other festive preparations.

So let’s get started….