This census brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, the city of David the king to whom the promise had been made concerning his seed, and both Joseph and Mary were his descendants. The time of year was probably the Autumn. It certainly was not December because shepherds did not tend their sheep on the hills in the freezing winter. The reason 25th December is given as the date of Jesus’ birth is that, when the whole world was made “Christian” three hundred years after the birth of Jesus, the pagan midwinter festival was renamed “Christmas”(Christ’s Mass) and celebrated wrongly as Jesus’ birthday.
The shepherds were informed of Jesus’ birth by an angel telling them tidings of great joy - the Saviour and Messiah, for which the whole of Israel looked, had been born. Then a great company of angels burst into song in which they declared: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”. This exclamation is often quoted by religious and secular leaders, especially at Christmas time, but they usually omit the first clause and cite only the benefits to men. However, there will not be “peace on earth and good will toward men” until there is first “glory to God in the highest”. The Bible tells us a great deal about this future, so we too can rejoice at the prospect of that glorious time.
The birth of the Messiah and Son of God brought great joy to those who heard of it because they knew that in due time he would deliver Israel, re-establish the kingdom of God, and glorify the LORD in the earth, as prophesied in the Old Testament.
Before Jesus could fulfil the prophesies about him being the savior recorded in the Old Testament, he had to grow to manhood, and throughout his childhood he “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man”. At the age of twelve in the temple in Jerusalem he demonstrated he had a profound knowledge of both the scriptures and the purpose of God so that the religious leaders of the Jews “were astonished at his understanding and answers”. This was, of course, because he was God’s Son and had divine mind Psalm 22:9-10Waiting for response for Psalm 22:9-10
Verses 1-2
Waiting for response for Luke 2:1-2God had declared five hundred years earlier that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2Waiting for response for Micah 5:2 but Mary lived in Nazareth, therefore God moved the supreme ruler of the world to bring the circumstances into line with his purpose. This is a good example of what is taking place all the time because God controls events in the world according to his own will. He “rules in the kingdom of men” Daniel 4:17.Waiting for response for Daniel 4:17 On this occasion he moved the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, to order the whole Empire be subject to census. We are told incidentally that this was the first census conducted when Cyrenius was governor of Syria for there was another one conducted ten years later Acts 5:37.Waiting for response for Acts 5:37 Sometimes people confuse these two censuses and find fault with the record in Luke, but close study always demonstrates that the Bible is true despite supposed contradictions.