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Luke 2:1-7 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Birth of Jesus Christ 2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. |
This story is about the birth of Jesus.
I wondered why Emperor Augustus made everyone register in their birth town. I looked this up and found out it was so the Emperor could work out who had to pay taxes.
Emperor Augustus and Quirinius were real people who existed (I found them on Wikipedia!) They were real people, who really existed, in the real world. Historical records show that Quirinius took a census when he was governor in AD 6 or 7, though the one Luke mentions would have been earlier than this. Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus is full of details like this showing that what Luke writes, and what we believe as Christians, is really true.
Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son. The firstborn of the Israelites always belonged to the Lord. It’s quite funny that Jesus is the Son of God, but because He is a firstborn son of Mary, He belongs to the Lord!
What was so special about Bethlehem? It was the home town of King David and because Joseph was a descendant of David, it was also his hometown, so Joseph went to Bethlehem to register. I think it is amazing that King David is a really famous person in the Bible and that Jesus is a really famous person in the Bible too – it runs in the family!
When Jesus was born, Mary placed Him in a manger. A manger is a trough for feeding animals. This was very different from the cot I was put into when I was born! When Prince George was born he was really famous and got to stay in a palace. You don’t expect to find kings in a stable but that’s what Jesus is!
Alasdair A