Response:
Those who find fault with the first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel account obviously do so because they doubt the virgin birth of Christ, for this subject is found therein. If you are an Muslim that uses this claim against the Bible then hear the next statement. The Koran also witnesses to Christ's conception through the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, without human agency. Thus, any Muslim that denies the first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel account denies the Koran as well.
Consider the proofs which supports the authenticity of chapters one and two of Matthew's account"
1) Chapter three begins with the words, "In those days..." This indicates that it is dependent upon something described previously-namely, the contents of the preceding chapter. And since Matthew wrote his account of the Gospel with a Jewish readership in mind, it was of utmost importance for him to include a genealogy and this is what we find in chapter one.
2) The first two chapters are mentioned in all the old manuscripts such as the Codex Vaticanus, the Cambridge edition, the Codex manuscript at Trinity College, Dublin, as well as in the old Italian and Coptic manuscripts. These manuscripts were all written before the fifth century.
3) Ancient scholars and religious authorities mention chapters one and two. Clement (AD 194) mentions the genealogy of Christ listed in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Also, Eusebius mentions a statement of Hegesippus who wrote that Emperor Domitian summoned two scholars to research the ancestry of David. Hegesippus makes reference to Matthew 2 where we read about Herod feeling threatened by the birth of Christ. Justin Martyr (AD 140) mentions all the incidents that are described in these two chapters. Iganatius (AD 107), in his letter to the Ephesians, writes that Christ was born miraculously of the Virgin Mary and that a star pronounced his birth. Ignautius died six years after the death of the Apostle John, so his testimony occupies a prominent position among scholars. As for the writings of Irenaeus and the later Church fathers, there is no need to mention them, for all these men accepted the authenticity of Matthew 1 and 2. Regarding the attacks of the enemies of Christianity, Christian authorities mentioned their objections when refuting them; all of them refer to the birth of Christ as describe in chapters one and two of the Gospel according to Matthew.
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