Information on Jesus' birth comes to us principally from the so-called Matthean and Lukan special material, material unique to Matthew and Luke. Matthew's account is told from Joseph's perspective, whereas Luke's account is from that of Mary. Then there is Mohammed born in c. 570, in Mecca which is now known as Saudi Arabia. He is best known as the founding prophet of Islam. In the next pages, I will be telling you how they were both alike and different.
Jesus and Mohammed
Jesus is born in Bethlehem, called the city of David. Since he went there to be registered, Joseph was most likely a permanent resident of Bethlehem. But because Jesus grew up in Nazareth in Galilee, his qualifications to be the Messiah were questioned; apparently some not only expected Jesus to have been born in Bethlehem but to have grown up there also. In Luke 1:32-33 the angel Gabriel tells Mary that Jesus will be in charge of the house of his father David forever, and his kingdom will go on forever. Jesus' Davidic descent qualifies him in part to be the expected eschatological king from David's line. Various passages in the Old Testament, often set in the context of Israel's disobedience and (possible) exile, speak of a time in the future when God would do a decisive and irreversible saving act for Israel. In many of these Old Testament passages this act is associated with a single individual, a king from the line of David; he would be the instrument through which God would bring about this salvation. Jesus wanted to be baptized by John the Baptist. In Matthew's account, John the Baptist attempts to discourage Jesus from being baptized; he says that it is he who has need to be baptized by Jesus, not Jesus by him. John's reacti ...