When History Hinged

Or, The Birth of Our Lord

The opening of Luke chapter 2 might be the most familiar part in Luke's gospel, and certainly the most recognizable lines about the birth of Jesus in all the Bible for these last 2026 years. They sound familiar, they are no longer that surprising, and yet the longer we look at these verses the more we might realize our image of the birth story is more fuzzy than factual.

I don't want to poke holes in our nativity scenes, the ones in our minds or the ones we bought from Target. It's not more mature to be a killjoy, and certainly not about the Incarnation. That said, there's plenty of joy in the story as we read it in Scripture, and there are some surprises yet to be discovered. We're not looking for new info as much as we're looking with fresh eyes.

Let's see what Luke says, note a few things that he doesn't say, and then consider how what happens here has changed everything.

The Providential Decree (1-3)

Luke opens this section with a setting of context and contrast. We're in the days of Caesar Augustus. Caesar became a title like “emperor”; it was not a first name. And Augustus was also a title, not this monarch’s original name. He was born Gaius Octavius, and the Roman Senate honored him with the title “Augustus” (meaning “majestic”) in BC 27 a few years after he had defeated Mark Antony and ended the civil war (Garland).

The context includes all the world, or at least the “inhabited world.” The Roman Empire dominated the world at this point; it was the center of activity and the most important, civilization-shaping force. All roads led to Rome, all rule came from Rome, the Caesar did whatever he wanted, because no one had more power than him.

Taking a census implied power to take taxes. To be registered was to be listed by the government for sake of knowing how many people needed to pay, since Jews wouldn’t be registering for military service (Bock). It's why the KJV translation skips straight to a decree “that all the world should be taxed.”

But this historical context is also a contrast in power and extent of rule. Caesar Augustus, at the top of his administrative game, had nothing compared to the kid King born in his days. For those with eyes to see God’s hand, we know Augustus himself was only doing what God ordained in His providence.

Verse 2 adds detail, but do you know what these details are doing? Who is Quirinius, and what does Syria have to do with Judea? Who cares about Syria?

Syria was north of Galilee and the governor of Syria was the "point man" for Roman interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. Those living in the "sub-provinces” of Judea and Galilee had to comply with the rules set out by the Syrian administration, and outranked Herod the king of Judea (Luke 1:5). So naming the current emperor tells us the era and naming the governor tells us who put boots on the ground.

There’s another historical question. The Jewish historian Josephus records a census under Quirinius in AD 6, but Jesus was born before Herod the Great died in 4 BC, a gap of about ten years. There are a few credible explanations, including that Quirinius may have served in an earlier military or administrative role in Syria before his later, well-documented governorship. But Luke’s history has only been proven accurate, so we can trust his info.

Verse 3 also isn't really quite as obvious as we picture. First, what percent of the world population was actually traveling at this point? And second, were they all traveling on the same weekend? Third, what even does own town mean? Birth place, because of local birth records? Family property?

Most people probably didn't have to go home, they were home. And such a census was taken over the course of a year, so it's not like Bethlehem was the Leavenworth of Israel where everyone was going on the same weekend for the tree lighting. It wasn't a "special" occasion, even though in God's providence it became one for us.

The Prophetic Destination (4-5)

We first heard about Joseph in Luke 1:27; Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Apparently both Joseph and Mary lived in the town of Nazareth, which was in the region called Galilee.

Joseph needed to travel for sake of obeying the census requirement. He had to go from Galilee south to Judea (no mention of Samaria), and he needed to go to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, about 90 miles away. This chapter (verses 4 and 11) is the only place in the Bible that refers to the city of David as other than Jerusalem. But Bethlehem was the hometown of David’s dad (Jesse, see 1 Samuel 17:12, 58), so it is accurate even if not frequent. All this suggests that “ancestral registration” was the reason for going to Bethlehem (Bock).

We know from Micah 5 that the prophet foretold the birth of the messiah from a little town called Bethlehem.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days. (Micah 5:2 ESV)

Luke 2:5 is also surprising. Why was Mary traveling with him? She's still called his betrothed, which continues the theme that Mary and Joseph still had not met in the marriage bed. But why would the betrothed travel? Married, sure. Again the verse seems to answer that it's because she was with child.

From his side, Joseph knew that he was to be responsible for this son (which we know because of Matthew's account). And since she was near her due date, Joseph wanted her with him. From her side, did Mary remember the prophecy? “he shall be great to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4 ESV).

The Pivotal Delivery (6-7)

This has to be in the top three of most understated verses in the Bible.

This does not describe the couple rolling into town late at night after all the other travelers took the best hotel rooms. They had been in Bethlehem for some unspecified number of days. Plus, again, it's not certain how many other out-of-towners there really were. And they didn't have hotels like we think of.

They were there. She gave birth. That's the story.

It was her firstborn son, a statement not necessarily about her having more kids, though we know she did. Firstborn is a key spot, the rightful heir, though usually it would be connected to the father.

It was standard to wrap a kid in cloth, like a blanket. This would be part of the sign to the shepherds (see verse 12).

The manger was a “feeding trough” for animals, which suggests a place where animals would be, like a stall, but there is no mention of actual animals in the room. Records show that many houses had a main room for the family, then an attached building or room, sometimes with a place for guests on top and storage/warm place for animals underneath.

There is no mention of a grumpy inn keeper (named Guido). The word inn is also imagined more by us than what it probably was. The Greek word kataluma is the same word used for the upper room in Luke 22:11, so it's a guest room, not a commercial inn.

Conclusion

In The Last Battle, Lucy said, “in our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”

What is significant: BC and AD, abbreviations for Before Christ and anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord.” The monk, Dionysius Exiguus, first reckoned years this way in 525 (while trying to calculate the date for Easter). We've got people pushing BCE/BE (Before Common Era and Common Era) these days, but if anyone asks why the change, it still gets back to the same thing: Jesus' birth. The years of the world’s history are measured according to God’s visit (remember Zechariah’s song, Luke 1:68 and 78).

Luke describes the most significant birth in human history…and just moves on? The Messiah, the Son of David, the King of kings, the Most High in flesh, in the form of a humble baby. This is the pivotal moment in eternity. The birth of our Lord is when history hinged.

God was sovereignly orchestrating world events to deliver on an ancient promise, and it arrived without any of the fanfare we'd expect.

What is God putting into place today?

Charge

We are given apostolic application from the history and theology of Christ’s birth. Have the mind of Christ among yourselves (Phil 2:5). You do have this mind in Christ Jesus, you have the example of Christ. So, as you have been encouraged in Christ, seek the good of one another.

Benediction:

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5–6 ESV)