Read or listen The Gospel of Luke, chapter 2 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

The Christmas Gospel – Luke 2:1-20

Luke connects salvation history and secular history. Augustus was the first emperor of Rome. He ruled from 30 BC to 14 AD. Before that, the empire had been a republic. In verse 1, Luke uses the Greek word "oikoumene", which meant the entire inhabited earth. To the Romans, it meant the Roman Empire.

Luke’s knowledge of history was previously questioned, but papyri found in Egypt have shown that Luke’s information about taxation is correct. Rome organized a tax every 14 years and it applied to everyone who was fourteen years old. The reason for starting the tax at that time was the tax exemption granted to Roman citizens. It has been speculated that Luke is not describing the actual taxation here, but rather the entry in the tax lists. The Jewish historian Josephus says that the actual taxation took place in 7 AD (to which Luke refers in Acts 5:37).

Quirinius held various positions in the eastern Mediterranean. At that time he was a legate, a governor. He became governor of Syria only in 6 AD.

The birthplace of Jesus is well located in the earliest Christian tradition. As early as 130 AD, pilgrims are known to have come to the site where the first Christian emperor of Rome, Constantine, at the request of his mother Helena, had the Church of the Nativity built in 333 AD. There is still a church on that site today, which is probably the oldest church in the world. Below the altar of the church is a cave where Jesus is believed to have been born. Justin Martyr (150 AD) already speaks of the cave as the birthplace of Jesus.

In Palestine, animals were often kept in caves. When the sheep were in the pasture (the ox and donkey depicted in the art come from Isaiah 1:3), the shelter of the animals could be given to Joseph and Mary as a place for the night. The manger was probably a recess carved into the wall of a cave. The sheep were outside from March to April to November to December, but in mild weather years and in sheltered places all year round, so we don't get any clues about Jesus' birthday from that.

Bethlehem is located about ten kilometers (6 miles) south of Jerusalem. The prophet Micah had predicted that it would be the birthplace of the Messiah (Micah 5:1, compare Matthew 2:5-6). The area was where the sacrificial lambs for the Jerusalem temple were raised.

Shepherds were considered inferior in pious circles because their work prevented them from observing all the requirements of the Law of Moses, such as the Sabbath. According to the Pharisees, shepherds and women were not qualified to be witnesses in court. But they were qualified to be witnesses of the Savior’s birth.

The Old Testament called God the Lord of hosts. Verse 13 mentions these heavenly hosts.

Note also that Jesus is called Mary’s firstborn. Mary and Joseph also had other children (Mark 6:3), so the Roman Catholic Church's doctrine of Mary's eternal virginity is not based on the Bible.

Mary also did not understand everything that had happened (also in verses 50-51), but she wanted to explore God's plans and will, and treasured up all these things in her heart.

Who did it?

The old King James Bible began the Christmas Gospel (verse 1): "And it came to pass in those days, that..." The reason for this was not Luke's poor Greek but the influence of Judaism on the text's formulation.

Since the second commandment forbids the uttering of God's name in vain, the Jews practically never said God's name. This is why it is not 100% known for sure how the name of God in the Old Testament, the so-called tetragrammaton YHWH, should be pronounced. Of course, it is known that Jehovah(h) is based on a misunderstanding, because instead of the tetragrammaton, the Jews said "adonaj", i.e. Lord, whose vowels over time became connected to the tetragrammaton. Jehovah(h) is a word that has the consonants of one word and the vowels of the other. Yahve is probably the correct pronunciation (compare Exodus 3:14.) Anyway, in ordinary speech, the passive is used when you want to say that God acted, i.e.: "And it happened...". Unfortunately, some of the Bible translations are not interested in such theological things, but fluency of language has been given priority.

Jesus' First Visit to the Temple – Luke 2:21-40

This passage (especially verse 39) is talking about the same thing as Paul in Gal 4:4:

"But when the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth his Son,
born of woman,
born under the law..."

The Old Testament law required that the firstborn of cattle and humans be consecrated to the Lord (Exodus 13:2), but human children were to be redeemed for five shekels of silver (Numbers 18:15-16), which for Joseph was about two months’ wages. The Levites served in the temple in place of the firstborn of Israel (Numbers 3:11-13, 8:17-18).

After giving birth to a son, a woman was ritually unclean for 40 days, after which she was to bring a one-year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a pigeons as a sin offering. The poor were allowed to bring two pigeons (Leviticus 12:2-8), so Joseph and Mary were poor (verse 24).

Next we meet two people who were waiting for the Messiah (compare Luke 10:23-24): Simeon and Hannah. Again, the names have their meaning: Simeon - "He has heard," Hannah - "grace," Penuel - "the face of God" or "the presence of God," and Asher - "happiness" or "salvation." Asher was one of the ten tribes of the northern kingdom, of which only remnants remained.

Simeon was relieved of his task: the waiting for the Messiah ended when Jesus came to the temple (verse 29). Simeon first declared that Jesus was the Savior of the whole world (verses 30-31):

..."for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

He also gave the first prophecy about Jesus' suffering and death (verses 34-35). Jesus will divide all generations into two: we are either for him or against him (Mark 9:40).

It is interesting that Luke says that the Holy Spirit was permanently upon Simeon (verse 25). During the Old Testament, it was believed that the Spirit of God only stayed upon people for a short time. But Simeon is on the border between the old and new covenants.

Luke does not tell us more about the events in Bethlehem (the wise men, the infanticide, etc. Matthew 2:1-23). ​​Matthew tells things from Joseph's perspective and is therefore more interested in the events in his hometown.

Jesus at the Temple at the Age of Twelve – Luke 2:41-52

Again Luke emphasizes Mary and Joseph's obedience to the law (verse 41). The law required three annual visits to Jerusalem: at Easter, the Feast of Weeks (=Pentecost) and the Feast of Tabernacles (in autumn). But it had become a practice that Jews living in Palestine sought to visit Jerusalem annually at Passover, and Jews in the Diaspora (=dispersion) once in their lives. The law required visits only from men - for women they were voluntary, although usually the feasts were attended by families.

The law required visits only from men - for women they were voluntary, although usually the feasts were attended by families.

Jesus was not yet a "son of the law", which one became at the age of thirteen. At that time, one was committed to the Torah. The fact that Jesus called God his Father was exceptional (compare Psalm 89:27-28 and 2 Sam 7:14, which were considered Messianic prophecies). Israel as a nation called God his Father (Isa 63:16), but the individual Jew did not do so.

Verse 49 contains the first words of Jesus that we have preserved for us. From the beginning, Jesus knew that he was the promised Messiah. Obedience (verse 51) means that Jesus agreed to God's order, to God's plan (compare Eph 5:35 - 6:9).

Verse 51 is Luke’s last mention of Joseph. Christian tradition states that Joseph died when Jesus was nineteen years old. In any case, Joseph was dead when Jesus began his public ministry at about thirty years of age. Mary is said to have died in Ephesus, after John took her into his care (John 19:26), and John is known to have spent the last years of his life in Ephesus.

Thus little is known about the life of Jesus before the beginning of his public ministry. We can say that the evangelists tell us only about the last three years of Jesus’ earthly life, or rather, only about the last week. We do not have the life of Jesus, but rather accounts of his work and significance.