CHAPTER 2

During the ninth month of the pregnancy of Mary, the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus gave an order that a population census must be taken of the entire Roman Empire. He commanded that all people travel to their home towns to register their names.

So Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea to register, for he belonged to the lineage of David. While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to her first baby, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger (an animal’s feeding trough), for there was no place for them in the guest room.

At the time of Jesus’ birth there were shepherds living in the fields near Bethlehem. Shepherds were among the lowest occupations in the first-century. They lived outside with their sheep during the warmer months of the year to keep guard over their flocks during the night.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the majestic glory of God’s presence shone all around them. The shepherds were terrified, but the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. Today in Bethlehem—the town of David—a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby boy wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Then a great army of heavenly angels appeared, worshiping God and declaring, “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace to all people on whom his grace rests!”

After the angels went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has made known to us.” So the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told Joseph and Mary what the angel had declared to them. Joseph and Mary were amazed at what they heard the shepherds tell them. Mary remembered everything the shepherds said, and she pondered them in her heart.

Then the shepherds went back to watch over their sheep in the fields. And they glorified and praised God for all the things they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told by the angel.

Joseph and Mary circumcised their son eight days after his birth and named him Jesus. Forty days after Jesus’ birth, it was the time for Mary’s birth purification sacrifices required by the law of Moses, and also time to dedicate Jesus to the Lord. So Joseph and Mary took Jesus up to the Jerusalem temple to dedicate him to the Lord, as it is written by Moses in Exodus 13:2, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord.” At the temple, Joseph and Mary offered a sacrifice for the birth purification of Mary. Their temple offering was according to Leviticus 12:8, “a pair of doves or two young pigeons,” the sacrifice required for the lower class of society.

Now there was a man living in Jerusalem named Simeon who was waiting in prayer for the restoration of Israel. He lived a holy and righteous life before God and the Holy Spirit was upon him. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die before he saw the coming of the Messiah.

Then one day, the Holy Spirit led Simeon into the temple at the same time that Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to be dedicated to the Lord. After Simeon greeted them, he took Jesus in his arms and praised God saying, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised; you can now dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation—a light for revelation to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.” Joseph and Mary marveled at what Simeon said about Jesus. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, “Jesus will cause the falling and rising of many people in Israel. The thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” Then Simeon said, “Mary, a sword will pierce your soul,” in which he prophesied about the crucifixion of Jesus.

At that time in Jerusalem there also lived a prophetess named Anna, who was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher located in the region of Galilee. Anna was 84 years old. She was married for seven years before her husband died, and then she remained a widow and consecrated herself to God.

Every day she worshiped God from morning to evening through fasting and prayer in the temple Court of the Women. Coming up to Joseph and Mary in the temple, Anna gave thanks to God and told everyone who was looking for the redemption of Jerusalem about Jesus.

Some time after the birth of Jesus, wise men with their caravan traveled about 900 miles from the east in the Babylon region to Jerusalem. While in Jerusalem they were asking people, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his guiding star rising in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

When King Herod the Great heard about the arrival of the wise men and their caravan in Jerusalem, he was overcome with alarm and was greatly troubled along with all of Jerusalem. So King Herod quickly gathered together the Jewish religious leaders in his spacious palace and asked them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for it is written in Micah 5:2, ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Bethlehem was located around 5 miles south of Jerusalem.

King Herod met privately with the wise men at his palace and found out from them the exact time the guiding star had appeared to them. Then King Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem saying, “Go and search for the child. And as soon as you find him, report back to me, so that I too can go and worship him.”

As the wise men left Jerusalem the guiding star again appeared and led them to the house where Jesus was in Bethlehem. They went into the house and saw Jesus, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and gave Jesus the gifts of gold and the sweet-smelling resins of myrrh and incense. After worshiping Jesus, the wise men were warned by God in a dream not to return to King Herod in Jerusalem, so they quietly went back to their own country in the east by another route.

After the wise men had left Bethlehem, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take Mary and Jesus and escape to Egypt, for King Herod will search for the child to kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you when to return to Israel.” So Joseph immediately got ready and left that night with Mary and Jesus. They traveled about 300 miles to the Roman province of Egypt. They lived there until the death of King Herod, fulfilling what is written in Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

King Herod was known for his outbursts of murderous anger, and he was furious when he realized that the wise men had fooled him. Full of rage, he commanded his Roman soldiers to kill every boy in Bethlehem and its surrounding area. He ordered them to kill every boy two years old or younger, based on the time that he had learned from the wise men. This fulfilled what is written in Jeremiah 31:15, “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, for they are no more.” Ramah was about 5 miles northwest of Bethlehem and it was where Rachel, the wife of Jacob, had died.

After King Herod died a painful death from kidney disease that included the maggot-infested gangrene of the genitals, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take Mary and Jesus and go to the land of Israel, for King Herod is dead.” So Joseph immediately got up, and took Mary and Jesus and traveled to the land of Israel. But when Joseph heard that Herod Archelaus was now ruling over Judea in the place of his father King Herod, he became afraid for Herod Archelaus was even more brutal than his father.

Having been warned from God in a dream, Joseph immediately traveled to the region of Galilee in northern Israel and lived in Nazareth. Nazareth was located about 12 miles southwest of Lake Galilee; it was a small village with a population of about 1000 people. So this ful- filled what was said through the prophets, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.

In Nazareth, Jesus grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom and God’s grace was on him. During the life of Jesus, the region of Galilee was governed by Herod Antipas, another of King Herod’s sons.

Every year Joseph and Mary went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Feast. The Passover was the Jewish festival that commemo- rated the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. So according to their practice, they went up to Jerusalem for Passover when Jesus was 12 years old.

When the Passover was over, Joseph and Mary returned to Nazareth, but they did not realize that Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem. They thought he was traveling with them in the Passover caravan of their family and friends. After a day’s journey, they asked their family and friends if they knew where Jesus was. When they could not find him, Joseph and Mary hurried back to Jerusalem to look for Jesus.

After searching frantically for Jesus over three days, they finally found him sitting among the religious teachers in the temple courts, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard Jesus was amazed at his understanding and his answers. Joseph and Mary were shocked when they found Jesus in the temple. Exhausted, Mary said to him, “Son, why have you scared us like this? We have been looking for you everywhere.” Jesus said calmly, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know that it is necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?”

Joseph and Mary did not understand what Jesus was talking about, but Mary remembered all these things in her heart.

Then Jesus returned back to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary, and he was obedient to his parents. Jesus grew in wisdom, in years, and in favor with God and the people. Before his public ministry, Jesus’ early life in Nazareth covers about 18 years, from when Jesus was 12 to when he was about 30.

During these years, Jesus worked as a craftsman with his father Joseph.