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.”
Luke opens the birth narrative with the decree from Caesar Augustus that “the whole world” should be enrolled. In context, that phrase points to the Roman world rather than every nation on earth. Luke is not only giving a time marker. He is placing God’s saving action in a world where rulers issue commands and ordinary people must comply.
That framing matters because Augustus was praised as the bringer of imperial “peace” and could be hailed as a “savior” and even honored with divine honors, but Luke makes clear that the true Savior and true giver of peace is the child born in Bethlehem. The decree becomes the instrument by which Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem, so that the promised birthplace is fulfilled (Mic. 5:2; cf. Mt. 2:3-6). God’s plan moves forward through events that look purely political on the surface.
Luke’s mention of Quirinius and the census raises a known historical difficulty. The dating associated with Quirinius’ governorship does not neatly align with other chronological markers Luke himself gives elsewhere, and attempts to harmonize the data face real problems. The tradition of an “enrollment” may also be functioning in Luke’s telling to place the birth within the framework of the wider world and its authority structures, underscoring the worldwide significance of the Savior’s coming (cf. Acts 5:37). Luke is writing from the viewpoint of salvation history, anchoring the birth of Christ in the public world of his time while proclaiming its meaning.
Joseph goes to Bethlehem because he belongs to David’s line. Bethlehem is David’s hometown and the place where David was anointed (1 Sam. 16:1-13), which strengthens Luke’s insistence that the Messiah is born in David’s city. The journey is long and real, and Luke’s restraint about the birth itself is striking. He gives only what he needs: Mary gives birth, wraps the child, and lays him in a manger.
Luke adds, “because there was no room for them in the inn.” Modern readers can easily mishear this line. The sense can be that the family guest space was already full in a time of crowding, rather than a picture of a commercial inn refusing them. The point is not that Bethlehem slammed the door on them. The point is the humility of the setting in which the Savior enters the world.
Luke then calls Jesus Mary’s “firstborn.” In biblical usage, that term is a legal designation tied to the rights and status of the firstborn; it does not, by itself, imply later children. It underscores Jesus’ lawful standing and the concrete reality of his birth. The swaddling cloths likewise stress true infancy. Luke’s wording can recall Wisdom’s description of ordinary birth, even for a great king (Wis. 7:4-6). The manger is a feeding trough, and Luke repeats it as part of the sign. The image may also echo Is. 1:3 (LXX), where a feeding place becomes a quiet witness. Luke is showing a Savior who comes without fanfare.
The announcement is given, not to people of rank, but to shepherds living in the fields and keeping watch at night. This fits Luke’s recurring theme that God’s favor rests upon the lowly. Shepherds were not people society usually treated as important, which makes Luke’s choice of first hearers all the more striking. Their presence also fits a wider biblical pattern in which shepherds appear repeatedly in salvation history, so this choice is not random but fitting.
When the angel appears, Luke says “the glory of the Lord shone around them,” and they are seized with fear. The “glory of the Lord” points to a visible manifestation of God’s presence, like the glory associated with the tabernacle in Exodus and Numbers. The first word of the angel, then, is mercy: “Do not be afraid.” God’s saving revelation begins by quieting fear.
The heart of the passage is the angel’s proclamation: “I proclaim to you good news of great joy… For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” Luke’s infancy narrative is interpreted by these titles. “Savior” points to God’s rescue from sin and from separation from God. “Messiah” names the promised anointed king in David’s line. “Lord” declares authority and dominion that go beyond any merely human ruler. Luke is not presenting a political program. He is announcing God’s saving work in the person of Jesus.
The sign given to the shepherds matches the message: an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Heaven then widens the revelation. “A multitude of the heavenly host” appears, and the scene becomes a chorus of praise. The song the angels sing is the hymn known in Latin as Gloria in Excelsis Deo (“Glory to God in the highest”).
The hymn’s final line can be read in two closely related ways in the ancient manuscript tradition. One form reads, “on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests,” and another reads, “on earth peace, good will toward men.” Either way, Luke’s “peace” is not simply the absence of conflict, and it is not the imperial “peace” associated with Augustus. It is the deeper peace of reconciliation and well-being that comes from God’s saving initiative. Luke’s Christmas proclamation is not that the world has become calm. It is that God’s favor has come near, and peace is offered through the Savior who has been born.
Lord Jesus Christ, you entered our world in humility, and heaven proclaimed your coming as good news of great joy. Draw our hearts out of fear and into the peace that comes from your Father’s favor, so that we may receive you as Savior, Messiah, and Lord. Amen.
___________________
Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), including NABRE notes on Lk. 2:1-14.
- The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke, pp. 108, 110.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Luke (Four Courts/Scepter), commentary on Lk. 2:1-21 (pp. 249-251).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (Paulist Press, 2018), commentary on Lk. 2:1-21 (pp. 1040-1043).
- Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, 1990), Luke infancy narrative notes (pp. 682-683, sections 27-30).
Comments