The Birth of Jesus – Luke 2:1-7

 Overview

• A man named Luke, who traveled with the apostle Paul, recorded the birth of Jesus in a letter that he wrote to someone named Theophilus.

• This letter is called Luke in the Bible, and is one of four detailed accounts of Jesus’s life on earth.

• Luke’s record includes the time frame and place of Jesus’s birth, which was during the reign of Caesar Augustus, the emperor of Rome, when Quirinus was the governor of Syria.

• Caesar Augustus reigned from 27 BC to AD 14, and Quirinus governed Syria from about 7 to 4 BC. The census was taken in 6 and 7 AD.

• This would place Jesus’s birth at 7 or 6 BC.

• Caesar Augustus was the first ruler of the Roman empire.

• Caesar Augustus ordered that a census be taken of the entire Roman world, and that everyone had to register in the town of their ancestral origin.

• The census was for the purpose of the government taxing the people.

• Both Mary and Joseph were ancestors of David, but only the men were required to register. Mary went with him because she was going to marry Joseph and because she was very close to having the baby.

• David was from Bethlehem, so Joseph had to register in Bethlehem.

• Joseph and Mary lived in the town of Nazareth, which was about a three day trip to Bethlehem.

• While they were in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus.

• The Gospel of Matthew records that Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem was the fulfillment of the prophet Micah’s prophecy about the Messiah,

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; And this One shall be peace. - Micah 5:2‭-‬5 ‬

• God’s plan was for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem, so He made it happen by the government requiring Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem for the census.

• Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son, indicating that Jesus had brothers. Bible scholars believe that had several brothers and sisters, and that his brother James was the leader of the Jerusalem Counsel and wrote the Biblical book entitled, James. They also believe that his brother Judas might have written the Biblical book entitled, Jude. We know from the apostle John's record of Jesus’s life, that his brothers initially did not believe in him (John 7:5), and perhaps all of them didn’t. But if the Biblical scholars are correct, at some point Jesus’s brothers James and Judas became believers.

• Luke records that Jesus was placed in a manger, which is a food trough for livestock. This indicates that Jesus was probably born in a stable, apparently because the inns were full.

• The fact that the King of God’s Kingdom was born in a barn in the small town of Bethlehem without announcing His coming to anyone, demonstrates God’s humble nature and that His ways are not our ways.

• God could have sent Jesus descending from heaven to earth in all power and authority, proclaiming His coming to the entire world.

• Jesus could have come to conquer the earth by force, making every person submit to Him as king.

• Jesus could have had a royal birth and live in a royal castle, with servants and riches and wealth.

• But He came quietly, born in a barn to an average Jewish couple, and only a few would recognize the signs of His coming and have the honor and privilege of being told of His arrival.