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| The Nativity, byBotticelli |
The Census
2:1 And it came to pass in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for all the inhabited world to be registered.
Luke's account places the birth of Jesus squarely within the reign of the first Roman emperor. Augustus Caesar became the first emperor of Rome an ruled from 27BC-AD14 at the end of a period of great civil unrest. As the Roman empire is beginning, so too the salvation of the world was set in motion by the birth of Jesus. The contrast between the two kingdoms is striking, and the book of Revelation will bring out this contrast starkly.
Augustus considered himself to be a "son of God," as one account of his deeds remarks, "Divine Augustus Caesar, son of a god..." [1] The inscription goes on to call him a savior as well. Another inscription speaks of the "good news" or "gospel" of Augustus. [2] The coincidence between the language Luke uses of Jesus and that known to be used of Augustus is quite striking and leads us to wonder if Luke intentionally wanted Theophilus and his audience to contrast Jesus as Lord of the cosmos with Augustus, savior of the Roman world.
Of course, this language comes straight from the Old Testament as well and thus pre-dates Augustus. Psalm 2 referred to the king of Judah as God's son. Isaiah 52:7 speaks of the good news of God's coming reign. The name Joshua means "Yahweh saves." However, Luke's use of these terms in a Greco-Roman context with explicit mention of Augustus may suggest he wanted Theophilus--possibly a Roman official--to pick up on the subtext that Jesus is Lord on a much bigger scale than Augustus was.
The word, "inhabited world" (oikoumenē) refers to the Roman world as opposed to the "barbarian" world that existed outside of it. The implication is thus a Roman census rather than a census of regions beyond the empire. As of the moment, we have no evidence outside Luke of a worldwide census under the reign of Augustus.
We thus find debate between 1) those who would say that the evidence simply has not survived, 2) those who would say Luke confused a later regional census with an earlier worldwide census, 3) those who would say that Luke is trying to explain how Jesus could be born in Bethlehem when he was from Nazareth, and 4) those who would say Luke is intentionally using the idea of an Augustinian census to bring Jesus into clearer contrast with Augustus. [3]
2. This first registration came about while Cyrenius was governing Syria. 3. And all were going to be registered, each to his own city.
We do have evidence of a regional census that took place when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. This census took place after the son of Herod the Great, Archelaus, stopped ruling Judea as client king in AD6. There is not currently any evidence outside of Luke for an earlier governorship of Cyrenius in this area or an earlier census. See the options mentioned above under verse 1.
It is also not clear that the Romans would have expected someone like Joseph to go to Bethlehem for such a census. However, if Joseph had only recently come to Nazareth, returning to Bethlehem might have killed two birds with one stone. The pregnancy of Mary would have been sensitive and quite probably considered shameful by the village. It might have been convenient to be "out of sight" until Jesus was born.
4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was from the house and lineage of David [4] 5. to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, being in the round.
Jesus was from the lineage of David. Although the genealogy of Matthew 1 and Luke 4 are different in some respects, they both agree that Jesus was a descendent of David. This fact is significant because it qualifies Jesus to be the Messiah. We find record of this fact even in Paul, who was in direct contact with the earliest disciples (cf. Rom. 1:3).
It should not be a concern that Jesus was not the biological son of Joseph. For one thing, some have argued that the genealogy of Luke 4 traces Jesus' lineage through Mary. If so, then Jesus would also trace his lineage to David through her. However, adoption in the ancient world was considered just as "real" a lineage as biological lineage. In fact, adopted sons were sometimes given a greater status than biological ones. We see this in the case of Julius Caesar, whose adopted son Augustus became emperor while his biological son did not.
Bethlehem was not a large village at this time, about four miles southeast of Jerusalem. It was not a place of any significance at the time in the same way that the birth town of Abraham Lincoln is not particularly significant in the United States. It was, of course, the place of king David's birth. Micah 5:2 celebrates Bethlehem as the place from which the kings of Judah originate whether an individual king was born there or not. In the case of Jesus, he was actually born there.
Joseph takes Mary with him. As mentioned above, taking her shields her from the potential disgrace of being pregnant in Nazareth before the two have completed their marriage.The Shepherds
6. And it came to pass while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth. [5] 7. And she bore her son, the firstborn, and she wrapped him and laid him in a manger because there was no place in the guest room.
This verse arguably has long been misread in terms of an "inn" and a stable. This misreading largely comes because we try to fit the scene into categories that make sense to us in our world. But the word kataluma would seem to be a guest room rather than an inn (cf. Mark 14:14; Luke 22:11), and it was common for a family's animals to stay in the house on a lower split level. [6]
This guest room of sorts could have been a makeshift addition to a smallish house, possibly added when Joseph and Mary came to town. Presumably they would have stayed with relatives of Joseph. However, it would not likely have been a large add-on, perhaps only large enough for Mary and Joseph to fit. The birth of the child would thus have exhausted the space, making it necessary for the baby to be elsewhere. Thus, a manger on the lower level was used.
The placement of the king of Israel in a manger with animals coheres well with Luke's emphasis on Jesus' mission to the marginal, the poor, and the powerless. Contrast his presentation with that of Matthew, which has significant royal overtones. In Luke, Jesus' birth goes unnoticed by the powerful. From a human perspective, it is completely insignificant.
8. And there were shepherds in the same country, living out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.
Instead of wise men with gifts like gold, instead of Herod the king taking notice of Jesus, Luke emphasizes shepherds. Shepherds were not high on the social scale. They are not even sleeping under a roof but outside at night. Again, Luke's emphasis on such lowly witnesses fits with his sense that Jesus came primarily for the poor and the marginalized in his earthly mission.
9. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and glory from the Lord shown around them, and they feared a great fear.
Despite the lowliness of the setting from a human perspective, something of cosmic and everlasting significance is taking place here. The spiritual realm knows well enough what is happening, even though the earthly realm may not notice. An angel appears to the shepherds.
The angel is called an "angel of the Lord." We hear of the angel of the Lord in a few places in the Old Testament. For example, the angel of the Lord appears to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:2. Such an angel is fittingly accompanied by glory. Perhaps we are to picture such glory in terms of great light. As we saw in Luke 1, fear is a normal human response.
10. And the angel said to them, "Do not fear, for behold, I am announcing good news to you--a great joy that will be for all the people 11. because was born to you today a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.
If fear is the normal response to angelic activity, it is also normal for the angel to tell those visited not to fear. This angel follows that script as expected.
The angel brings "good news" or a "gospel." The good news is the birth of a Savior. Again, to a Roman like Theophilus the overtones of Augustus' good news would likely have been obvious.
We are prone to see the good news in terms of our individual salvation from hell. Certainly that is good news! But we should note that such is not the focus here. For one, Luke thinks of salvation more in corporate than individual terms, and he barely mentions hell (cf. 12:5). Salvation in Luke is primarily about the restoration of God's people as a whole, especially Israel.
Even more, the good news is far more about Jesus than it is about us. The focus of the good news is that Jesus is king. The focus is not on me being saved but on Jesus being the Savior. He is "Christ," the Messiah, the anointed one, the king. He is "the Lord," the one who will rule over everything.
Yes, it will bring great joy to Israel. Yes, it will bring joy to the world. The good news is for everyone, well beyond the inhabited Roman world. But the good news is about Jesus. I as an individual am not the center of the universe.
12. And this to you [is] a sign: you will find the baby, having been wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Signs were a significant aspect of the ancient world. The Romans looked for omens, portents from the gods or of the Fates, telling of momentous events. In this case, the sign is not an owl, an earthquake, or thunder. The sign is a lowly baby in an animal's manger. God stands with the lowly.
13. And immediately came with the angel a multitude of a heavenly army, praising God and saying, 14. "Glory in the highest [places] to God and upon earth peace among people of [God's] good pleasure."
The angel of the Lord is now joined by the angelic hosts. The number of angels is so great that it can only be summarized as a "multitude." The heavenly hosts appear occasionally in the Old Testament (e.g., 2 Kings 6:17). They are most of the time invisible to human sight, but God opens the eyes of the shepherds to see the heavens.
The angels make it clear that Jesus' birth is a matter of celebration on the highest levels of the cosmos. And just as the reign of Augustus ushered in the "pax Romana," the Roman peace, so Jesus' birth heralds the arrival of peace to the earth. Augustus ended civil war. He cleared the seas of pirates and the roads of robbers and violent men. Jesus would also bring peace to the earth.
For those raised on the King James Version or who have sung choir pieces from that era, the ending of the verse may be a little unfamiliar. You may be used to singing, "good will toward men." That is the way that most medieval copies or manuscripts of the New Testament read.
However, older manuscripts that have been discoved in the last few hundred years suggest that the original text read, "to people of good pleasure" rather than "good will toward people." The original sense seems to have been "peace on earth to those on whom God shows favor." Not all of course will experience the reign of Jesus as one of favor.
15. And it came to pass as the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds were saying to one another, "Let us go indeed into Bethlehem and let us see this word that has come to pass, that the Lord has made known to us." [7] 16. And they came, hurrying, and they found both Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.
The angels then withdraw back into the sky. In keeping with the fact that God meets us where we are, Luke and his audience would no doubt have thought of them going straight up to the top of the cosmos, where God's presence dwelt, the Most Holy Place of the cosmos.
The shepherds do not need to be told what to do next. They must go see. They want to go celebrate in person. They go to nearby Bethlehem, since they are in the fields between villages. God has shown them something. Is it just for information? No, it is for action!
If we are to fit the Gospels together, we should note that Matthew's wise men will not arrive for some time, probably over a year in fact. The shepherds hear of Jesus' birth almost immediately after it happens. Presumably space will be added in the house so that Jesus does not have to remain long in a manager.
17. And having looked, they made known concerning the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. [8] 18. And all who heard marveled concerning the things that had been spoken by the shepherds to them.
It was expected in that world that the birth of someone who would later be significant would be foreshadowed with events of significance. Jesus' birth combines these seemingly paradoxical elements. On the one hand, it is a lowly birth, showing that God is a God of the lowly, the poor, the outcasts and cast aside.
Yet it is accompanied by angelic hosts from the heavens. Jesus' entrance to the world involved the glory of heaven, despite its earthly insignificance. Those who hear marvel at the knowledge, no doubt unable to process the event in their normal categories and ways of thinking.
19. And Mary was collecting all these words, pondering in her heart.
Mary is also trying to process what is happening. She will not be able to put it all together without new categories. She knows something momentous is happening. She believes. Her heart is fully on board. Her head cannot quite process it.
20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God at all the things that they heard and saw, just as it was spoken to them.
The shepherds return to their normal lives. It is not the time for the kingdom to be restored to Israel. We do not know what happens to them. Would they still be alive thirty years later when John the Baptist started his ministry?
We do not always get to participate in the things that God announces or promises. We certainly cannot wait around for them. We must live our lives till Jesus returns. The shepherds did so, glorying in the knowledge of things they did not get to experience.
[1] An incription text known as the res gestae has been found in more than one place in Turkey (e.g., the Myrian inscription) celebrating the rule of Augustus in these categories.
[2] The Priene inscription.
[3] The last two are not mutually exclusive.
[4] This is actually the place where I started making Greek grammatical notes in my posts. I then backfilled them into earlier passages in Luke. In this verse is an infinitive of cause.
[5] Interesting infinitive constructions.
[6] Cf. Stephen Carlson, "The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7," NTS 56 (2010): 326-42.
[7] two hortatory subjunctives, relative clauses resulting from articular participle and relative pronoun
[8] aorist passive articular participle
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Thank you!
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