Birth of our Lord
Jesus Christ
Luke 2:1-14
1. And it
came to pass in those days that a degree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
During
the reign of Augustus Caesar (31 BC and AD 14) the Romans reorganized their
administration in several parts of the Empire and carried out fresh censuses of
the population for the purpose of taxation.
2. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing
Quirinius was the governor of
3. So all went to be registered,
everyone to his own city.
4. And Joseph also went up from
God’s
providence working through Caesar Augustus and the imperial enrollment decree
made it possible for Joseph and Mary, who lived in Nazareth of Galilee, to
fulfill the prophecy of Micah relating to the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2)
Notice
that Joseph “went up from
The
distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem is about 70 miles as the crow flies, but
the winding mountain trails that Joseph and Mary had to travel is about 90
miles, and the climb is about 400 meters (1,312 feet). At walking pace it would take them more than
a week to cover that distance and height.
5. to be registered with Mary, his betrothed
wife, who was with child.
The fact that Mary traveled with Joseph means they were
legally married, but the description of her as “betrothed wife” to him shows they had not consummated the marriage (cf. Mt.
1:25).
6. So it was, that
while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
The
description “while they were there” indicates
Joseph and Mary had arrived in
7. And she brought
forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Our Lord
Jesus Christ was born in the most difficult circumstances “because there was no
room for them in the inn.” Unlike the modern health conveniences that we
have today, there was no hospital, no sanitized labor or delivery room, no
specialist doctor or midwife to deliver the baby, no nurses to assist in the
delivery, no anesthetic to ease the labor pain and no comfortable bed to rest
after the birth.
The
infant Jesus was “wrapped Him in swaddling cloths” which are strips of cloths to keep the baby warm and also to
give a sense of security. These cloths
were believed to protect the baby’s internal organs as well. The “King of kings and Lord of lords” was born in a
manger which is a trough from which livestock eat.
Jesus
was born to a poor family and remained poor throughout His life on earth. He said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Mt. 8:20) Have you
ever thought why He was so poor? Here is
the reason. “For you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became
poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9) Praise and thank God for His amazing grace.
8. Now there were in the same country shepherds
living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Bible scholars interpret this verse to indicate the time of
Christ’s birth to be from Spring to Autumn since
shepherds in
Please go to :à Timeline of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ
9. And behold and angel of the Lord stood
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly
afraid.
There may
be a good reason why God chose to reveal the birth of His Son to the shepherds
before anyone else. The shepherds were
often despised by others like young David was despised by his elder brother (1
Sam. 17:28) Shepherds were regarded as
inferior to others yet were responsible for keeping the sheep for the temple
sacrifices that were performed for the atonement of sin. God chose the simple folks so “that no flesh should
glory in His presence.” (1 Cor.
1:25-29) Here the angels invited these
shepherds to greet the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the whole
world forever.
10. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be
afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all
the people.
An
angel is a messenger of God. In the New
Testament the words “good tidings” means
good news and is called the “gospel.” The first gospel message of God is the birth
of the Savior Jesus Christ. Although
this message was first announced to the shepherds but it is given to “all the people” in the world throughout the ages.
11. For there is born to
you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
This is
the essence of the gospel message. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only Savior of mankind.
12. “And this will be the sign to you: you will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling
cloths, lying in a manger.
The word “sign” in Greek is “semeion” which means a signal or a mark of identification. The “sign” is
the confirmation of the unusual significance of the Child as the Savior of
mankind by the unusual place where He was to be found.
13. And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14. Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men!”
Please go to :à Glory to God in the Highest
May God bless you
A Bible Study based on this article was conducted by Paul Wong
to a
Congregation in
For comments please write first to: ark@pdq.net
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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