Merry Christmas Daily Scripture Reading: Luke 2
The first chapter of Luke records an announcement made to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son even though she was a virgin. Despite the shame of being pregnant outside of marriage, Mary submitted to the Lord’s will and accepted the role given her by God.
When Mary was with child, she traveled from her hometown of Nazareth to Judea to visit her relative Elizabeth who was also expecting a child despite being elderly. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy when Mary entered the house. Mary praised the Lord, stayed with Elizabeth three months, and then returned home to Nazareth.
Luke 2:1 ¶ Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of all the inhabited earth.
Luke 2:2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Syria was the geographical region north and northeast of Israel.
Luke 2:3 And everyone was going to be registered for the census, each to his own city.
Luke 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
Luke 2:5 in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child.
It is 70 miles / 115 km from Nazareth to Bethlehem if you travel in a straight line. That would be at least a three day journey. However, traveling in a straight line would have taken them through Samaria, and the Jews and Samaritans did not get along. Therefore, they probably traveled down the Jordan River Valley. That was a longer distance.
Also, on the map the brown colors are the higher elevations. That means Joseph and Mary had to travel uphill to get to Bethlehem. The floor of the Jordan River Valley is around 1,000’ below sea level. Bethlehem is around 2,500’ above sea level. Physically, that is a difficult journey, particularly for a pregnant woman.
Luke 2:6 Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth.
Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guest room.
Traditionally, it is said there was no room for them in the inn. People picture them being turned away from a hotel. However, it is doubtful their society had hotels like we think of hotels.
Joseph and Mary probably stayed with relatives. Due to the census, many relatives were in town, so there was no room in the guest room for Joseph and Mary. That is why they stayed in the room where the animals were kept.
Luke 2:8 ¶ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:9 And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
Notice the phrase “the glory of the Lord shone around them”. Imagine you were one of the shepherds outside at night, and suddenly there was a bright light all around you. Verse 9 also says they were “terribly frightened”. How bright would the light need to be in order for you to be terribly frightened? A sudden bright light in the middle of the night would be a curiosity, but it would take an extremely bright and intense light to generate strong fear.
Occasionally, there are people who claim they had a near death experience in which they went to heaven, but came back to earth. Their description of heaven is often mellow and benign. They give off the impression that they had a sweet, peaceful moment with God before they returned to earth.
However, the account of the shepherds seeing the glory of the Lord depicts a situation in which the shepherds were overwhelmed by the intensity of the glory. This indicates that when humans see heaven or God Himself, we will not have a warm, pleasant moment with God. Instead, we will be shaken by the reality of who God is.
We should be skeptical of anyone claiming to have seen heaven or God if their account does not include being overwhelmed by the experience.
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.
The fact that the angel told them to not be afraid does not change the fact that the experience was very staggering.
Luke 2:11 For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:12 And this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
This probably sounded more beautiful than the greatest choir singing ever achieved by humans.
Luke 2:15 ¶ And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
The fact that the shepherds went to find Jesus does not change the fact that their initial reaction to the glory of the Lord was profound fear.
Luke 2:16 So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
Notice the word “hurry”. The shepherds understood the significance of the occasion, so their top priority was finding Jesus.
This is something we can use to evaluate the extent to which people grasp the truth about Jesus. Once people understand who Jesus is, they should be eager to learn about and obey Jesus. If they do not have that eagerness, then perhaps they do not really understand Jesus.
Luke 2:17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
Luke 2:18 And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
Luke 2:19 But Mary was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart.
Luke 2:20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”