In those days a decree went out from Caesar
Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of
Syria. 3 So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea,
to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
family of David, 5 to
be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She
wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no
room for them in the inn. 8 Now there were shepherds in that region living
in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. 9 The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were struck with great fear. 10 The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you
good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is
Messiah and Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find
an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was a multitude of the
heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his
favor rests.”’
In
Luke's narrative, a central theme emerges concerning God's promise and its
ultimate fulfillment. His primary focus
is theological, and he does not try to be historically precise (vv. 1-3). It is worth noting that Quirinius governed
Syria around AD 6-7 not during the reign of Herod who ruled from 37 BC to 4
BC. Beyond the New Testament, there is
no historical record of a worldwide census mandated by Caesar Augustus requiring
universal registration. However, there
is a historical record of the Roman Empire conducting a census in Judea under
the governance of Quirinius around AD 6 or 7 to register the population for
taxation purposes which led to a Jewish revolt (Acts 5:37). However, Luke used the census as a literary device
to explain Mary and Joseph going from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David,
linking Joseph to the line of King David.
The length of time Joseph and Mary spent in Bethlehem before God’s
perfect timing for the fulfillment of His promise was not specified. The Firstborn Son, which could mean the firstborn
of God (Col. 1:15,18), entered the human world in a humble and lowly
state. Jesus was wrapped in thin pieces
of cloth tied together and placed in a cattle trough. The manger could also represent that Jesus
was food for the world in keeping with the Bethlehem (house of bread)
theme. It is noteworthy that when Jesus
was born there was no room for him in the inn, but the Last Supper was held in
the upper room of an inn. The angel
proclaimed the great joy of Jesus’ birth to shepherds who lacked religious
status because they were considered unclean and therefore outcasts. To underline the significance of Jesus’ birth,
there was an army of angels praising God for the shepherds to see, a moment of
divine glory.
Almighty God, you
choose the lowly and despised of the world to reduce to nothing those who are in
worldly positions of prestige. You lift
up the lowly by your great power and give them the hope of your everlasting
kingdom. Grant us the grace to praise
you with the heavenly hosts so that we too may one day share eternity with you. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
__________________________________
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
Comments