The Birth of Jesus Christ
Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone should be registered. Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem because that is the city of David. Mary was with child and gave birth while they were there. They laid him in a manger because there was no room at the inn.
I've heard it pointed out that it is silly that everyone had to travel "each to their own town" to get registered. Seems like you should be counted where you live now, not where you are from.
The Shepherds and the Angels
Angels appeared to some shepherds nearby and told them about Mary and said that her son would be a savior. The shepherds went to see Mary and told her about the angels. After 8 days the boy was circumcised and named Jesus.
There is that 8 day thing again. I guess they didn't used to name children right away.
Jesus Presented at the Temple
Now they have to travel to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice of two turtledoves or young pigeons because he is the first born son. This was the law of the lord.
they really have to do a lot of travelling here.
A man in Jerusalem named Simeon was told by the holy spirit that he would see the Lord Christ before he died. He went to the temple in spirit and took the baby up in his arms. Everyone thought it was cool.
The Return to Nazareth
When they were done with fulfilling the law, they went back to Nazareth and the boy grew and became strong and filled with wisdom. The favor of God was upon him.
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
When Jesus was twelve years old the family went on a trip to Jerusalem thinking Jesus was with them. But he had stayed behind and went to the temple to learn from the teachers. He asked a lot of questions and the teachers were impressed with his knowledge. His mother asked why he treated them so badly as they were worried about him. He didn't realize it was a big deal and then went with them.
Interesting passage. Jesus wanted to learn and the teachers seemed eager to help him learn. Also, he seemed sorry to make his parent worry.
This was silly. There is no account of this happening. As I stated before, imagine how impractical it would be if we were to try that today. Imagine having to return to the places of your parents' birth, even if they grew up in the same town. Now think about a whole country doing that. There is no real reason for doing so. I think I pointed out some of the following stuff in a previous chapter, but as usual I will repeat it here for someone who might jump in here. It's hard to say when Jesus was born because here Quirinius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirinius was governor in 6AD, which would mean that Jesus would have to have been born after that. In Matthew we are told that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, w hich would place him ten years earlier. Ten years is a really big difference. Especially when they are not naming years or “relative time ago” but trying to align it with historical events. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_of_Quirinius
ReplyDeleteIt's also a bit much to use “a census be taken of all the inhabited earth” in verse 1. This is something I would expect someone with first century knowledge of geography and other civilizations to write, not something divinely inspired. I'll admit I am speculating here, but I think even the Romans wouldn't have made that “decree” since they were constantly conquering other civilizations.
Here, they live in Nazareth before he was born and traveled to Bethlehem for the census, which as I stated above is absurd. In Matthew they lived in Bethlehem then moved back Nazareth after returning from Egypt.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/passage.aspx?q=luke+2:1-7;matthew+2:1-2;matthew+2:11;matthew+2:22-23
Here is an interesting look at the whole historical “Jesus.” http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/1fact97.html
Jumping around a bit here about the order of events, in Matthew they go to Egypt but here, maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any references to their Egypt. http://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/passage.aspx?q=matthew+2:14;luke+2:39
Verse 22-23 “And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") ” What about women? Does this mean that women aren't holy? I'm making a stretch here, but would that affect Mary? I also have a note that in Revelation 15:4 it is said that God alone is holy. http://www.biblestudytools.com/revelation/15-4-compare.html
Skipping down a bit to verse 33 where “his father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.” As pointed out by Ehrman in Misquoting Jesus (I didn't note the page) some translations say “Joseph and his mother” in order to avoid calling Joesph his father.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/luke/2-33-compare.html
Okay. The temple story. So Jesus leaves without his parents permission then he seems to blame them for not knowing where he went. He says in verse 50 “But they did not understand the statement which he had made,” in response to Jesus' remarks about him being in his father's house. I can understand that they did not know why he was there, but I don't understand why they didn't understand what he was saying about “his father's house.” Maybe they had short memories.. http://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/passage.aspx?q=matthew+1:20;luke+1:32
As far as the men and women thing, women were basically property back then right? It is not a surprise that women are not mentioned. It doesn't speak well to a timeless benevolent God, but it is easy enough to rationalize with "God was speaking to the people of this time".
ReplyDeleteYour last comment, I didn't even notice that. They were confused why he was calling the temple his father's house but that was just covered last chapter. I was thinking that there might be some context or something that clears it up, but I read the surrounding verses too and as far as I can tell it is just a silly detail.