Page 150 - Demo

146digestion, or puzzle, of some Kurdish herdsmen!The appearance of an angel to the humble shepherds of Bethlehem and the annunciation of the birth of a great Prophet that very night, and the hearing of the angelic Hallelujah (Allilujah) by them alone and not by the haughty priests and the scribes, is one of the innumerable miracles recorded in the history of the people of Israel. There is nothing in the story, which might be considered to be such a contradictory nature asto expose the narrative to incredibility. An angel can appear to a prophet or a holy servant of God and communicate to him a message from Allah in the presence of other people, yet be quite imperceptible to them. The good shepherds had good hearts and good faith, therefore they were worthy of the divine favour. So from a religious point of view there is nothing incompatible or incredible in this wonderful event asrecorded by St. Luke. The author of this narrative exhibits precision of diction, he is discreet and cautious in his statements, and throughout his Gospel, he uses a very good Greek style. Considering the fact that he wrote his book long after the death of all the Apostles, and that he had “very carefully” examined numerous works concerning Jesus (pbuh) and his Gospel, it seems very probable that he was aware of the legend of the Magi and abstained altogether from including it in his own book.[1] It is precisely stated in the first four verse with whichthe third Gospel opens that the Apostles, whom he calls “the eyewitnesses and the ministers of the Word,” had not written themselves and account about the Master andhis teachings, but only by way of tradition had delivered them orally to their followers or successors. It is also clearly stated that the sources to which St. Luke had recourse for the composition of his Gospel were various “stories”[1] Readers are advised to very carefully read the preface, or the introductory passage, at the beginning of St. Luke’s Gospel.