Road Trippin With Rachael

As we prepare for Christmas this week, we are coming up on our last Advent study for the 2024 Season. This week we are looking to the Birth of Christ, and we are going to explore Luke really taking the time to set us up for what is coming.

S a review from the previous weeks, Luke has established his credibility by sharing another miracle that happens before the birth of Christ – the conception and birth of the baby that would grow to be John the Baptist. Because of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s advanced age, without supernatural intervention, they would not have been able to conceive. The last time something of this extreme nature happened was when Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah.

As Luke presents chapter 2 of his Gospel, he is going to focus on three major points: historical data, location of the Holy Family, and the declaration of Christ’s birth.

Historical Setting

Luke, if you have been following along, is a physician. If you have ever seen your charts at a doctor’s office, you will know that the health industry runs on details and facts. Luke opens this second part of the Gospel with a historical fact: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So everyone went to be registered in his own hometown” (Luke 2: 1-2).

Here we are told that there are two historical figures that we need to be aware of: Caesar Augustus and Quirinius. Both of these men are a part of the historical record and there are additional extrabiblical documents that support the statements that are made by Luke.

A census took place. A census is normally conducted by a government to gain statistical data about the country. For example, the US does its census every ten years. They ask questions about the number of people who are in the household, ages, employment, and a variety of other statistical information. Rome had fairly recently become the power house that we knew it to be. Naturally, they wanted to know who was a part of their empire. How many men to they have to pull for their military? How many people are a part of the lands they have conquered? Are the lands adequately divided for govenors to oversee, and are the right people overseeing the right areas? All these are reasons to conduct a census at the time of the part of the Gospel.

Necessary Travel

The way that the census was going to be conducted required that every man register in his ancestral home. If we go back to Numbers 34, where Moses told the people where their tribal lands would be, Judah’s descendents would be in the land that housed Bethlehem. Since Joseph was descended from King David (Matthew 1:5-16), Joseph and his family – which included Mary – were legally obligated to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for the census.

Looking at it from 2000 plus years in the future, we can see that having the census take place at this specific time is what allowed the fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah 5:2a, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler of Israel for me.” Under normal circumstances, Mary would not have traveled like she did; however, history shows that Rome was not sympathetic to the needs of a pregnant woman close to the time to deliver.

We are not given in scripture a specific time to know exactly how far along Mary was. We do know that travel between Nazareth and Bethlehem was approximately 90 miles. If they traveled 15 miles a day, it would take 6 days to make it to Bethlehem (assuming they traveled aboutb8nhoura a day and didn’t take long breaks – personally, I think it was probably a little longer since Mary was pregnant and theybdidnt have Mcdonald to swing through on their journey). What we can conjecture is that she was far enough along that she would give birth to a healthy baby.

Christ is Born!

Mary has successfully given birth to her first born son. All will call her blessed! But Luke chooses to focus on another detail: how he was was announced and to whom.

Jesus’ birth is first announced to shepherds. Why is this significant? There are a few reasons. First, this shows that Christ is not only for the high rollers. The very nature of his birth was humble and happened with very little fan fair. Second, shepherding had become a lowly occupation. Shepherding in and of itself was actually what the Hebrew people had been called to (we seenthis in Genesis when we look at the lives of Jacob and Esau), and it forced the people to be more reliant on God. Third, the Savoir coming was a joyous occasion, and a time for celebration. Jesus did not come as a conquering king, he came to dwell among his people (John 1:1).

As for the response of the shepherds, they had the response we would hope they would have – they hurried to see the Messiah they had been waiting for. The most glorious experience was offered to the most humble of individuals. And although they were afraid when they first saw the angels (remember that the only person with an abnormal response was Mary), they still responded appropriately once they understood what they were hearing.

But it doesn’t end there! These shepherds were the the first missionaries – they went and saw Jesus and then they dispersed to tell others what they had seen. They were able to tell them what the Angela told them – that would have been a sight to behold all on its own. Then they could tell if the tiny baby who had been born. This Son of David who had come to be the Messiah, the Christ, who would take away the sins of the world, who would cause all nations and peoples to be blessed. The good news was.goingbout long before the cross, and it was the most lowly of individuals who were trusted to share.

Final Thoughts

I hopenthat you have enjoyed this time that webhave spent together through Advent. One of the things I love most about writing foe the blog (especially now that I’ve made some changes to have more time for it) is that it forces me to spend more time in God’s Word and to think aboutbwhat I write and how I want to phrase things. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!