The Bible Book

182

T

he story of the birth of

Jesus, widely known as

the Nativity, is presented

as a simple tale in the Gospel of

Luke. Probably writing in the early

80s ce, the author draws on earlier

written accounts of Jesus’s life

alongside oral traditions handed

down in various 1st-century

Christian communities. It is

believed that the author was also

highlighting parallels with birth

narratives in the Hebrew Bible—

notably, the story of the birth and

infancy of the prophet Samuel.

Matthew’s account stresses the

fulfillment of Old Testament

prophecies and begins with a

genealogy tracing Jesus’s ancestry

to Abraham through King David.

The birth of Jesus

When the Roman emperor orders

a census requiring the heads of

all households to register in their

ancestral communities, Joseph

needs to return to the town of

Bethlehem. He travels there with

his heavily pregnant wife Mary,

finally arriving at an inn.

Mary and Joseph arrive too

late in the evening to find suitable

accommodations—the Greek phrase

in Luke 2:7 translates as “there was

no room at the inn”—and they must

find makeshift shelter elsewhere: a

stable, or possibly a cave, on the

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

The Nativity scene in Joan Mates’s

Altarpiece of St. James (c.1400) from

Vallespinosa, Spain, depicts a troubled

Joseph struggling to come to terms

with the divine birth.

town’s outskirts. In these unlikely

surroundings, Mary gives birth to

a son. Like all mothers of the time,

she wraps her newborn baby with

swaddling cloths. She then places

her child in the only crib available:

a feeding trough for animals. The

modest birth story of God’s son

serves to indicate how Jesus was

born as an ordinary member of

mankind—a status that would

enable Him to establish His close

relationship with the people of God.

Like the author of Matthew’s

Gospel, the writer of Luke also

places the birth in Bethlehem,

about 6 miles (10km) south of

Jerusalem. This has symbolic

significance, as it links Jesus with

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE

Luke 2:1– 40

THEME

Christ’s humble origins

SETTING

c. 6–4 bce A cave or barn on

the outskirts of Bethlehem.

KEY FIGURES

Mary A young woman from

Nazareth, Galilee.

Joseph Husband of Mary, a

carpenter, possibly descended

from the royal House of David.

Jesus Mary’s newborn baby,

who is the Messiah and

Son of God.

Three shepherds Herdsmen

watching their sheep through

the night near Bethlehem.

Simeon An old and devout

man in Jerusalem.

Anna An 84-year-old widow

in Jerusalem.

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183

See also: The Prophet Samuel 110–15 ■ The Suffering Servant 154–55 ■ The Prophet Micah 168–71 ■ The Annunciation

178 –79 ■ The Magi 186 ■ Herod’s Infanticide 187 ■ The Coming of Salvation 189 ■ The Divinity of Jesus 190–93

THE GOSPELS

as the one that was ordered by

Quirinius, the Roman governor

of Syria, in 6–7 ce. This census

provoked a revolt among the Jews.

However, this does not fit with later

references in the Gospels. Both

Luke and Matthew make clear that

Jesus was born during the reign

of King Herod the Great of Judea,

who died in 4 bce. Luke may have

confused the census that took place

under Quirinius with an earlier one

carried out by Herod within his

Mary, a

virgin, becomes

pregnant by the

Holy Spirit.

Jesus’s birth

demonstrates His humanity,

and that His message is for all,

regardless of wealth

or status.

Mary and

Joseph travel to

Bethlehem

to register for

a census.

An angel tells

shepherds news

of a Savior

born that day.

The

shepherds

express their

adoration.

With no

room at the

inn, the couple

find a stable.

Mary gives

birth to

Jesus, the

Messiah.

Joseph, husband

of Mary

Joseph is mentioned only in the

Gospels of Matthew and Luke,

where he is said to be descended

from King David. This is not

impossible: although a humble

carpenter, he might come from

a minor, impoverished branch

of the former royal house.

Matthew’s Gospel—in which

an annunciation happens to

Joseph rather than Mary—shows

a very human figure caught in a

struggle between his sense of

justice and his compassion for

Mary. According to Law, Mary,

if guilty of adultery, should be

stoned to death. Unlike Mary,

Joseph does not feature in the

ministry of Jesus, perhaps

because he had died by then.

He must have died by the time

of the crucifixion, as John 19:26

states that Mary went to live

with the “disciple whom He

loved.” From the 2nd century ce,

tradition portrayed Joseph as a

widower when he married Mary,

with children from a previous

marriage. This preserved the

doctrine of Mary’s perpetual

virginity while also helping to

explain the brothers and sisters

of Jesus mentioned in Mark 6:3

and Matthew 13:55–56.

own realms. Although still contested,

scholars generally place the birth

of Jesus between 6–4 bce.

The news spreads

Rejoicing at the birth of Jesus

extends beyond Mary and Joseph.

Just as the birth is preceded in

Luke’s account by the annunciation

of the angel Gabriel, who appears

to Mary in her home village of

Nazareth, so it is followed by an

another annunciation. An angel ❯❯

King David, who was also born in

Bethlehem, and with the prophet

Micah’s foretelling that a savior,

or Messiah, of David’s line would

be born there. Ascribing Jesus’s

birthplace to Bethlehem is not

purely symbolic, however, as

traditions in the early Church also

say that Jesus was born there.

Luke’s dating of the birth is

more uncertain. He identifies the

census that obliges Mary and

Joseph to travel to Bethlehem

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