Q&A: The Massacre of the Innocents appears in Matthew but not Luke because Luke telescopes events and omits details that don't serve his narrative aims — absence from one Gospel does not imply it didn't happen

Mike explains that Luke routinely jumps between events without indicating time passage — a normal ancient storytelling technique. Not every event in Jesus' life is recorded in every Gospel. The Massacre may not have served Luke's particular literary and theological goals, while Matthew, who emphasizes Old Testament connections and types, had stronger reasons to include it.