Jesus' favorite appellation for Himself is "the Son of _Man_." He uses this name constantly throughout the four Gospels, and uniformly, except in the four instances cited from John. In speaking of the most solemn and important events of His career, He prefers this name to "the Son of God," or any other. "Of him, also, shall the _Son of Man_ be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark VIII:38; XIII:26; Luke IX:26). In passages like these, it seems necessary to eliminate the words "of man," if they are to harmonize with the theory of the paternity of the Holy Ghost. Again, on His trial, when the high priest "adjures" Him: "Tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God," Jesus follows His usual noncommittal answer, "Thou hast said," with the statement: "Hereafter shall ye see the _Son of Man_ sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matt. XXVI:64; Luke XXII:69; Mark XIV:62; John VIII:28; XII:23, 34, 35). (e) Finally, to close all argument on this point, there are the many express statements of Jesus to the effect that He was not the same as, or the equal of, God (Matt. XIX:17; XX:23; Mark X:18, 40; Luke XVIII:19; John XIV:28; XVII:3). [10] Evidently Elisabeth never told John of this visit of Mary, since John says of his first meeting with Jesus that "I knew Him not," until he saw "the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him" (John I:31-33; see also Matt. XI:3; Luke VII:19). [11] Unfortunate as it may be to lose the beautiful story of the birth at Bethlehem, with its poetic imagery of the manger, the visit of the "wise men," and the greeting of the shepherds, the evidence of the four Gospels proves its untruth even more strongly than the story of the miraculous conception. (a) The contradictory details appearing in the two narratives discredit each as a reliable authority. Matthew has Jesus born in a house, greeted by "wise men of the East," and going to Egypt immediately after His birth, and remaining there until after Herod's death. Luke has Him born in a manger, greeted by shepherds, remaining in Bethlehem for several weeks, then going to Jerusalem, and from there _returning_ "into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth" (Luke II:39). His parents could not have been in Egypt, avoiding the wrath of Herod, because "they went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover" (Luke II:41).