91热爆

The Reverend Robin Griffith-Jones, Valiant Master of the Temple in London, explores the nativity narratives recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

The familiar tales of virgin birth, shepherds and Magi are intriguing and laden with symbolism and meaning. "There is far more to them, as they were written then and as they have been read over the centuries, than meets the eye," he says.

Robin explores Matthew's desire to show that all the events in his telling are there to fulfil prophecies in the Hebrew scriptures. "In Jesus, Judaism鈥檚 most venerable prophecies and vastest hopes were coming to fruition. The prophet Isaiah had written of gentiles and kings coming to Jerusalem鈥檚 God-given light, bringing gold and incense and singing the praise of the Lord.鈥�

Luke meanwhile with his shepherds and the link to John the Baptist鈥檚 birth, has another agenda. 鈥淟uke sees two stages in God鈥檚 dispensation for the world - the old order, centred in Jerusalem and its Temple, and the new order, realised in Jesus. In Luke鈥檚 grand narrative, the new grows out of the old, confirms it and transcends it.鈥�

To illustrate his thesis, Robin introduces music from Handel and Bach and the poetry of TS Eliot and John Donne.

Presenter: Robin Griffith-Jones
Producer: Michael Wakelin
A TBI production for 91热爆 Radio 4