Luke 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
Caesar Augustus was the first and perhaps the greatest of all Roman emperors. For the purpose of taxation, he decreed a census that reached all the way to Nazareth, where Mary and Joseph lived. The timing wasn’t appreciated since Mary was nine months pregnant. She’d have to make the three day, seventy-five mile, journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, to register for the tax. Doubtless, she preferred to be at home, in a safe and secure environment, surrounded by family and friends. But she found herself on the back of a mule, praying that she wouldn’t have the baby until she returned.
You may’ve noticed that life doesn’t always go the way we think it should. If God was really in control, things would move in a smooth and orderly way. And, because they seldom do, we wonder who’s in charge.
This story is helpful because, behind the decree of Caesar Augustus, we discover the decree of God. God had determined, long before, that his Son would be born in Bethlehem—not Nazareth. But you, Bethlehem . . . though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times (Micah 5:2). The prophet Micah wrote these words several hundred years before Christ was born.
The population of the world back then was about two hundred fifty million, and there may’ve been about a million towns. We can calculate the odds of identifying the exact town where Messiah would be born to be about one in a million. If there were only a hundred towns this would still be an impressive prophecy. And if there were a thousand towns it would be even more impressive. But to identify the exact town, out of a million possible towns, is nothing less than divine.
But this prophecy tells us even more about Jesus. His origins are from of old, from ancient times. Bethlehem would be the place of his birth but, since he was from heaven, his origins were ancient. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.
God made his plans in eternity past, and carried them out in time, through the decree of Caesar Augustus. God was fully in control even when it didn’t seem like it. We can be sure the world isn’t out of control, and our lives aren’t out of control, because our God is in control. He always has been, and will be forever.
Luke 2:6-7 [T]he time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
Mary found herself in labor, and then her water broke. She writhed in pain and pushed with all her might. Joseph watched as Jesus crowned, and then came out. He placed the baby in his mother’s arms and she gave Jesus the breast. Mary’s little Messiah began to nurse, and the love she felt for him can hardly be imagined.
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15), said God.
It would’ve been easier for Mary not to love her nursing baby than for God not to love us. The amazing thing about the Savior’s birth is not that Mary loved Jesus, but that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Some theologians speak of Mary as the Mother of God. This sounds wrong at first but, in fact, it’s not. They’re not saying Mary existed before God, or that God has his source in Mary, but that the one to whom Mary gave birth was truly divine. Since Mary gave birth to Christ, who is truly divine, she’s called the mother of God in that sense. The one who came through Mary’s birth canal was God in human flesh—born to save us from our sins.
Luke 2:7b She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
A manger is a feeding trough for animals, and this is the only place the Bible suggests that Jesus was born in a stable. If so, the animals did what animals do, and the stable smelled badly. But Jesus came into the stench of a stable because he loves us, and the stench of our lives won’t drive him away.
Reflection and Review
How do we know that God is in control?
How does God’s love for us compare to a mother’s love for her child?
Why can Mary be called the Mother of God?
Caesar Augustus was the first and perhaps the greatest of all Roman emperors. For the purpose of taxation, he decreed a census that reached all the way to Nazareth, where Mary and Joseph lived. The timing wasn’t appreciated since Mary was nine months pregnant. She’d have to make the three day, seventy-five mile, journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, to register for the tax. Doubtless, she preferred to be at home, in a safe and secure environment, surrounded by family and friends. But she found herself on the back of a mule, praying that she wouldn’t have the baby until she returned.
You may’ve noticed that life doesn’t always go the way we think it should. If God was really in control, things would move in a smooth and orderly way. And, because they seldom do, we wonder who’s in charge.
This story is helpful because, behind the decree of Caesar Augustus, we discover the decree of God. God had determined, long before, that his Son would be born in Bethlehem—not Nazareth. But you, Bethlehem . . . though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times (Micah 5:2). The prophet Micah wrote these words several hundred years before Christ was born.
The population of the world back then was about two hundred fifty million, and there may’ve been about a million towns. We can calculate the odds of identifying the exact town where Messiah would be born to be about one in a million. If there were only a hundred towns this would still be an impressive prophecy. And if there were a thousand towns it would be even more impressive. But to identify the exact town, out of a million possible towns, is nothing less than divine.
But this prophecy tells us even more about Jesus. His origins are from of old, from ancient times. Bethlehem would be the place of his birth but, since he was from heaven, his origins were ancient. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.
God made his plans in eternity past, and carried them out in time, through the decree of Caesar Augustus. God was fully in control even when it didn’t seem like it. We can be sure the world isn’t out of control, and our lives aren’t out of control, because our God is in control. He always has been, and will be forever.
Luke 2:6-7 [T]he time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
Mary found herself in labor, and then her water broke. She writhed in pain and pushed with all her might. Joseph watched as Jesus crowned, and then came out. He placed the baby in his mother’s arms and she gave Jesus the breast. Mary’s little Messiah began to nurse, and the love she felt for him can hardly be imagined.
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15), said God.
It would’ve been easier for Mary not to love her nursing baby than for God not to love us. The amazing thing about the Savior’s birth is not that Mary loved Jesus, but that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Some theologians speak of Mary as the Mother of God. This sounds wrong at first but, in fact, it’s not. They’re not saying Mary existed before God, or that God has his source in Mary, but that the one to whom Mary gave birth was truly divine. Since Mary gave birth to Christ, who is truly divine, she’s called the mother of God in that sense. The one who came through Mary’s birth canal was God in human flesh—born to save us from our sins.
Luke 2:7b She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
A manger is a feeding trough for animals, and this is the only place the Bible suggests that Jesus was born in a stable. If so, the animals did what animals do, and the stable smelled badly. But Jesus came into the stench of a stable because he loves us, and the stench of our lives won’t drive him away.
Reflection and Review
How do we know that God is in control?
How does God’s love for us compare to a mother’s love for her child?
Why can Mary be called the Mother of God?