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| Chapter 2 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the City of David which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David) 5 to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, who was great with child. 6 And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 ¶ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." 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!" 15 And it came to pass, when the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. 21 ¶ And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the Child, His name was called Jesus, who was so named by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord: "Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord: "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." 25 ¶ And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him after the custom of the law, 28 then he took Him up in his arms, and blessed God and said, 29 "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; 30 for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, 31 which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, 32 a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." 33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against 35 (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, 37 and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years. She departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she, coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city, Nazareth. 40 And the Child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him. 41 ¶ Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the Feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and His mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances. 45 And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 And it came to pass that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw Him they were amazed, and His mother said unto Him, "Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing." 49 And He said unto them, "How is it that ye sought Me? Knew ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?" 50 And they understood not the saying which He spoke unto them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. But His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. |
The head of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus, wants to take a census, to count the number of people under his control so that he can tax them, each had to return to the place of birth. This is what Caesar thought was being done, but in fact God was about to deliver a special baby to Bethlehem and needed the parents to be in Bethlehem as prophesied in Micah 5:2. Joseph was of the family of David so he and Mary had to travel to the town of Bethlehem to register. Luke still refers to Mary as being "his espoused wife," though from Matt 1:24 they may have gone through the marriage ceremony but they had not consummated the union because Mary was carrying the baby Jesus. v6,7 Luke briefly explains the situation, the population of Bethlehem had been greatly increased due to the census. Mary was about to give birth and needs some privacy, all the hotels,(inns) were full, all that was available to Mary and Joseph was the crowded, smelly animal stable in one of these inns. Surrounded by these animal Mary gives birth to the baby Jesus, the Messiah has arrived, the eternal King has just been born. v8-14 God is very selective as to who He informs of this event. A group of shepherds on the hills somewhere local to Bethlehem are suddenly terrified as an angel appears with the message "Do not be afraid, I have come with a wonderful message of joy for all the world. In the city of Bethlehem is born the Saviour who is the Messiah. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes (strips of cloth wrapped around a new born baby.) and lying in a manger (an animal food trough, container)." Immediately after the message the sky is split open to reveal many thousands of angels from heaven, praising God. v15-18 The shepherds, once they have recovered from their fright, rush down to Bethlehem to see this wonderful Child. They then spread the news round the town. v19 Luke records that Mary treasures all these events. We must wonder what was going through her mind as she looks at this baby, face to face with the Creator, the eye’s which look back at her were the eye’s of God. Jewish culture. There were three ceremonies for the new parents following the commands of God. 1) Redemption of the First born. According to Exodus 13:2 every first born male, human or animal, was special to God. This instruction created a ceremony called the Redemption of the First born. Numbers 18:16, parents could buy back their son from God for the sum of five shekels, which was paid to the priests. 2) Circumcision. Every Jewish boy had to be circumcised on the eighth day after the birth, this ceremony was so important and sacred to the Jews that it could take place on the Sabbath if necessary. Also on this day the boy child would be given its name. 3) Purification after child birth. Any woman who had a baby was considered unclean, for a male baby she was unclean for forty days, for a female, eighty days. During this period she was allowed to carry out her normal house hold duties but could not enter the Temple or be involved in any religious event. Leviticus 12:1ff. At the end of the period she had to bring a burnt offering to the temple, as laid down in Leviticus 12:6-8. v21-24 Mary & Joseph take part in all of the commands of the Jewish customs. Jesus was circumcised and named on the eighth day, and Mary offered the purification offering. Note that the offering, "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." indicated that Joseph was unable to buy a lamb, this indicates they were financially poor. v25-35 Simeon - The Man of God. Only Luke tells us about this event. Simeon was very devout and the Holy Spirit was on him, he has been told probably by dreams or by visions, that he will see the Messiah before he dies. The Holy Spirit brings him into the Temple on the day Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus come to make the offerings according to the Law. Some how God reveals to Simeon who this child was, he takes the child and praises and blesses God, Simeon thanks God that He is fulfilling His promises. Having seen God’s Salvation for the world, Simeon is now happy to enter the presence of the Lord. v33-35 The initial words of Simeon must have encouraged Mary and Joseph, then Simeon makes a prophecy which must have caused heart ache, "spoken against" rejected, opposition - "a sword will pierce her heart," little did she know that one day she will stand at the foot of the cross where she watches as the life pours out of her son Jesus, but the Son of God will be pierced and take on the sins of mankind. v36-38 Anna, the elderly Prophetess. Anna had lost her husband only after seven years of marriage, since then she had served the Lord in the temple. She also joins the group and continues the praise of God for this baby, telling many, who were also looking for the Messiah, of this child. Between v38 and 39 of Luke’s record a number of important events happen, we need to turn to Matthews Gospel to find what happened, Matthew 2:1-23. v38,39 It appears that Mary and Joseph may have stayed in Bethlehem for some time after the birth, because, it would have taken some time for the Magi, following the star, to make the journey to find the "One born King of the Jews." After they had found the child, worshipped and departed for home, we are told that the evil Herod had all the baby boys of two years and younger killed. Matthew 2:2-18. Thankfully God had warned Joseph and the family had already moved to Egypt, where they remained until Herod died. They then returned to Nazareth, where Luke takes up the story again. v40 We are not told very much about the childhood of Jesus. Here Luke tells us that the child grows up like any other boy, but the Spirit and grace of God are present in this human body. v41-52 The Jerusalem visit. It was common practice for adult Jews to visit Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover each year. At the age of twelve Jesus would still be considered a child, this is why Luke refers to Him as "child" in the passage. Jesus would be classed as an adult at the age of thirteen when He would become bar mitzvah, "son of the law." When Joseph and Mary sets out on the return journey, they lost track of Jesus. How did this happen? It was often practice for the women and children to travel as a group together and the men as a group with the older boys, Joseph and Mary may have assumed each had Jesus or he was with friends. They travelled a full day before they realized that Jesus was not with them. It took a full days travelling back to Jerusalem then on the third day they find Jesus in the temple sitting with the teachers of the Law. The questions He was asking were making these teacher astonished and amazed with the understanding of this child. v48 Mary and Joseph were naturally angry at the behaviour of Jesus, calling Him "son" remind Him that His parents were speaking. v49 The reply showed His unique relationship with God, even Mary and Joseph had a problem in understanding this reply and relationship. v51,52 However, Jesus submits to the human parents authority back in Nazareth, now a young man who is growing in His relationship with God and people. |
Easy English Translation
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