my question....unless all the stories of the birth of Jesus, the angelic choirs, the wise men, we three kings, the later circumcision of Jesus, his separation from His parents when He was preaching etc. etc. unless all these stories were passed on to the evangalists by either Mary or Joseph, how did they know that they happened....none of them were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born....how did they come to know that He was born in a stable????
Good question, but I will leave it for someone else to answer.
The sources for what is written in the Holy Gospels would have been immediate to the historic circumstances, with Mary and Joseph being primary witnesses, but many others, too. These things were done publicly in view of many people. Because the Sacred Scriptures are breathed by the Holy Spirit, they testify predominantly of Christ Himself, rather than of themselves, those who witnessed these things, and how the accounts were specifically drawn.
Even one who writes an article for a newspaper does not render a great deal about the process for future readers to explore, because it is not particularly germane except for the sake of curiosity. But the Sacred Scriptures do testify clearly as to their purpose, namely to raise up the Crucified One as our Righteousness for all generations before and since His participation in this vale of death on our behalf.
Had these things taken place in this day and age, they would be subject to cheap rumor mongering, media sensation, and worse distortion than already takes place on account our flesh and the evil one. There is a reason the Holy Spirit testifies that Christ came into the flesh “in the fullness of time.” There is no happenstance about it, as we will see together most clearly at The Last Day.
St. John the Evangelist was not present in Bethlehem, nor does his Gospel contain any Nativity narrative. But his record does reveal how the Gospels were compiled:
”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you."
--John 14:25-26
my question....unless all the stories of the birth of Jesus, the angelic choirs, the wise men, we three kings, the later circumcision of Jesus, his separation from His parents when He was preaching etc. etc. unless all these stories were passed on to the evangalists by either Mary or Joseph, how did they know that they happened....none of them were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born....how did they come to know that He was born in a stable????
No one knows for sure, but there are hints as to what may have happened.
John 19:27 states that the disciple whom Jesus loved took Mary into his home. We also know from Acts 2 that all who believed devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life and that every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area. It is conceivable that Mary and John as well as Matthew and Luke were part of that group and that Mary would have shared with them the events that occurred regarding the conception and birth of Jesus.