Luke

2:1-7

The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50

1. Prophecies concerning the coming messiah, 1:5-2:40

v] The vision glorious, 2:1-21

a) The birth of Jesus

Synopsis

Luke now recounts the birth of Jesus, identifying its moment in history (around 6/4 BC), its place and humble circumstance.

 
Teaching

The gospel's infant narratives herald the dawning of the messianic era, testifying that Jesus is the long-awaited messiah.

 
Issues

i] Context: See 1:5-25. The birth of Jesus is part of the fifth episode covering the dawn of the messianic age, 1:5-2:40.

 

ii] Background: The Census.

Jesus was born during the reign of the first Roman emperor, Augustus - 27BC to 14AD. Augustus unified the empire, extending the power of government, and this included the implementation of an imperial census. The registration referred to by Luke was most likely initiated by Herod the Great around 6BC (he died in 4BC) while Palestine was still a vassal kingdom under Roman authority (Sentius Saturninus being the governor of Syria at the time). Luke distinguishes this registration from the census initiated by Quirinius in 6AD, the governor of Syria after the death of Herod. The NIV translation implies that the census referred to in v1 took place "while" he was governor; Luke probably means "before".

In a Roman census people were not normally forced to return to their place of birth to be registered. Egypt and Palestine seem to have been exceptions. Both Joseph and Mary are from the Bethlehem region and so return together. Jerusalem is normally spoken of as the "city of David", but Bethlehem is the town of David's origin and of messianic fulfilment, Mic.5:2.

 

iii] Structure: The birth of Jesus:

Setting, v1-3:

The census ordered by Caesar Augustus.

Joseph and Mary journey to Bethlehem, v4-5;

The birth of Jesus, v6-7.

 

iv] Interpretation:

In the birth of Jesus, we find the moment of messianic fulfilment, the moment when God's eternal plan comes to fruition. Although Luke doesn't say that the story fulfils prophecy, it is more than likely that he draws on the imagery of Micah 5:2-5 to shape the story of Jesus' birth. Micah prophesies concerning a mother who gives birth to a prince of Israel in Bethlehem, and how that prince will shepherd scattered Israel, bringing peace, not just to Israel, but to the whole world. Along with this prophetic imagery, Luke underlines some powerful symbolism. For example, even the Roman Empire is employed by God to achieve this moment of messianic fulfilment. That there is no room in the inn also serves as a powerful symbol; it alludes to the coming humiliation of the Son of Man - instead of a throne he will be lifted up on a cross.

 

v] Synoptics / Source:

The lack of agreement between Matthew's account of Jesus' birth and Luke's account seems to imply that both worked off independent traditions without knowledge of each other's account of the gospel. This would indicate that the birth narratives were not part of the apostolic kerygma, forcing both Matthew and Luke to do their own independent research.

Numerous source theories are proposed:

iA reworked pre-Christian legend;

iA reworking of the birth of John;

iAn independent Hellenistic creation derived from Old Testament allusions;

iA Palestinian Jewish tradition that took shape in the early years of the Christian church and was incorporated by Luke in his gospel; see Marshall.

iA Lukan creation based on minimal traditional material, such as the birth of Jesus being in Bethlehem, the hometown of Nazareth, etc.; see Fitzmyer.

iTradition that derives from Mary, preserved in the early church, and adopted by Luke, even possibly confirmed by Mary; see Bock. This seems the most likely source of the story.

 

vi] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

 
2:1

The birth of Jesus: v1-7: Luke introduces this episode by explaining the presence of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, recounting the story from within the frame of the messianic promise contained in Micah 5:2 which text references the town of Bethlehem.

i] Setting, v1-3: Luke plays the part of the historian and dates the birth of Jesus for us.

de "-" - but/and. Here transitional, indicating the next step in the narrative; "now", or untranslated as NIV.

en + dat. "in" - [it became, happened] in [those days]. Here adverbial, introducing a temporal prepositional phrase. The period of time is not identified, but it does face us with time-line problems. The annunciation takes place while Herod is king. Herod dies in 4BC. Caesar reigns from 27BC to 14AD, but Quirinius is governor of Syria from 6-7AD. The date and extent of the census also gives us problems, see below. Has Luke got his facts wrong, or are we to take it that Jesus was born some ten years after the annunciation? The implication is that Jesus was born during the reign of king Herod; See "Background" above.

para + gen. "-" - [that an imperial decree was sent out] from [caesar augustus]. Here expressing source / origin; "from beside." Caesar's full name was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.

apografesqai (apografw) pres. pas/mid. inf. "that a census should be taken of" - to register. If middle, the sense is "to register oneself." The infinitive is epexegetic, specifying / explaining the content of dogma, "a decree"; "that ....", as NIV; "for a census of the whole Empire", Weymouth.

thn oikoumenhn (h) "the [entire] Roman world" - [all] the inhabited earth. Accusative object of the infinitive "to register." Obviously not the "inhabited earth", but rather the Roman "Empire", Weymouth. Luke may be alluding to the world wide effect of Christ's birth, but it is more likely that he uses the term for the Roman Empire. There is no extant evidence of a census covering the entire Empire. The purpose of a census usually related to taxation and service in the military.

 
v2

egeneto (ginomai) aor. "[this] was" - [this census] became = was. Textual disruption exists at this point. The NIV takes au{th, "this", as the nominative subject and apograqh prowth, "first registration", as the predicate nominative of the verb egeneto, "became". Other translation possibilities exist, see Culy. "This was the first census, and it took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria."

prwth adj. "the first" - first, prominent, former [registration, enrolment]. Possibly standing for proteron + gen. "this census was / took place / happened before Quirinius was governor", so Nolland, Lagrange... This interpretation deals with the time-line problem referred to above, although it is not widely accepted. Taken as an adjective, "first" may mean "first of many", or even first in the sense of "the beginning of the census."

hJgemoneuontoV (hJgemoneuw) gen. pres. part. "while [Quirinius] was governor" - [quirinius] governing. The genitive participle and its genitive subject "Quirinius", forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV; "took place when Quirinius was governor of Syria", Cassirer.

thV SuriaV (a) "of Syria" - of syria. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic, of subordination.

 
v3

panteV adj. "everyone" - [and] all, every = everyone [was traveling]. Luke is only loosely describing the census activity. Evidence from a Roman census taken in Egypt indicates that a census was property based - people had to return to where they held property for a determination of their poll tax duties. If this applied in Palestine, then Joseph must have owned property in Bethlehem.

ekastoV pro. "-" - each. The nominative demonstrative pronoun stands in apposition to "everyone".

eJautou gen. pro. "own [town]" - [into the city] of one's own. The genitive is adjectival, possessive.

apografesqai (apografw) pres. inf. "to register" - to register. The infinitive introduces a final clause, expressing purpose, "in order to be registered." "Listed", CEV.

 
v4

ii] Joseph and Mary journey to Bethlehem, v4-5: The implication is that Mary and Joseph are now married, although Luke describes them as "betrothed" (some manuscripts say "married"). Luke is probably aligning with the Matthean tradition (Matt.1:24-25) that, although Mary and Joseph lived together, they did not consummate the marriage till after the birth of Jesus. The perpetual virginity of Mary is not found in scripture. The term "first-born" in v7 indicates that other children were born to the family. Luke would have used the word "only born" if Jesus were the only child, cf., 7:12.

de "so" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative. The addition of kai, "and", is common in Luke's gospel. It's function is not overly clear. It may be part of Luke's transitional move, indicating the next point; "and so." It may also be adjunctive, as NIV, "Joseph also went up."

anebh (anabainw) aor. "went up" - [joseph] went up. In Old Testament usage a person goes up to Judea, up in the sense of "up on high", Isa.7:6, 2Kgs.18:13..... Interestingly, in Australia, people go up when they go North, and go down when they go South, so "up" to Bethlehem carries a particular geographical sense which for an Australian doesn't work, given that Bethlehem is 63 miles South of Nazareth. "Journeyed to the highland town of Bethlehem."

apo ...... ek ... "from" - from [galilee,] from [city of nazareth]. The intended sense of the prepositions is not immediately clear. apo, "from", usually express source, and ek, in its context, can also express source. So ek is possibly being used for a district / province, while apo for towns / villages, so Plummer. The proper genitive "of Nazareth" is adjectival, idiomatic / identification, "a city called Nazareth." "So, Joseph went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth", Barclay.

Dauid gen. "of David" - [into judea, into city] of david [which is called bethlehem]. The assumed genitive would be adjectival, limiting "town / city", possibly possessive, or possibly idiomatic, "the city where David reigned", Culy. The definite article for polin, "city", must be assumed as it is dropped here following Semitic form; "the city of David". "Long ago Bethlehem had been king David's home town", CEV.

dia to einai "because he belonged" - because he was. The preposition dia + the accusative articular infinitive usually forms a causal clause, as NIV. "Because he was a direct descendent of David", Phillips.

ex (ek) "belonged to [the house and line]" - out of, from [house and family]. Expressing source.

Dauid gen. "of David" - of david. The genitive is adjectival, relational; "of David's house and linage", Cassirer.

 
v5

apograyasqai (apografw) aor. inf. "to register" - to register, enrol. Again, the infinitive is used to introduce a final clause, expressing the purpose of the journey to Bethlehem, namely, "in order to register."

sun + dat. "with" - with [mary]. Expressing association; "together with." For a Roman citizen, it would not be necessary for the wife to register for the poll tax, but for non-citizens, all women over the age of 12 had to register. It was obviously required to see who had to pay the poll tax. The "with Mary" may be linked with "he went up", v4, so "with him went Mary", REB, or as with the NIV etc., linked with "to register", "to be registered with his future wife", Phillips.

tn/ emnhsteumenh/ (mnhsteuw) perf. pas. part. "who was pledged to be married" - the one having been betrothed, engaged. The participle probably forms an adjectival clause, attributive, limiting "Mary", as NIV, but possibly serving as a substantive standing in apposition to Mary; "Mary, the one engaged to him." A strong variant reading without the article supports an adjectival translation. There are a number of readings at this point implying that Joseph and Mary are now married, but that is likely to be the meaning anyway, since it would be improper for a betrothed couple to travel together, so Plummer. The sense is possibly that, although now married, the marriage has not been consummated, ie., Mary is still a virgin. "To whom he was engaged", NRSV.

autw/ dat. pro. "to him" - to him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to be engaged to."

ou[sh/ (eimi) dat. pres. part. "was [expecting a child]" - being [pregnant]. The participle is probably adjectival, attributive, further limiting Mary; "who was with child", Cassirer.

 
v6

iii] Luke now sparingly records the scene of Jesus' birth, v6-7. A Palestinian public house would normally supply quarters for the poor, those who were priced out of standard accommodation during the peak season, eg., a census. Such accommodation would likely be adjacent to the stables. For the birth, Mary obviously moved out of the hut into the stable where the new-born Jesus is placed in an animal feeding trough. There is a strong tradition that the stable was a cave, and this is certainly not unknown - caves make excellent stables. Although the scene is depicted in Christian tradition as one of simple beauty, it is actually a scene of humiliation. The humiliation of Jesus begins in a foul-smelling cave and ends on a cross.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.

egeneto "-" - it came to pass, it came about. Always highlighting a climax in a narrative, although Luke tells the story simply and without any fuss. Note that there are many additions / assumptions in the telling of this story which have developed into an elaborate urban myth, eg., that all the accommodation was taken up in Bethlehem, that Joseph and Mary were short of funds / poor, that the innkeeper forced them into his barn, .... "Now it happened that", NJB.

en tw/ einai "while [they] were [there]" - in the to be [there]. The preposition en + the articular infinitive of the verb to-be, usually forms a temporal clause, as NIV. Again, the time is undefined, but presumably it coincides with the census, "but then ......" "The time for her to have a child arrived while they were there", Cassirer.

tou tekein (tiktw) aor. inf. "to be born" - [the days were fulfilled, completed for her] to bear a child, give birth. The genitive articular infinitive is again likely to be epexegetic, specifying / explaining "the days = the time." The accusative subject of the infinitive is authn, "her". "The time came for her to deliver her child", Green.

 
v7

authV gen. pro. "her" - [and she bore the son] of her. The genitive is adjectival, relational.

ton prwtotokon adj. "firstborn" - the firstborn. Given the article, this adjective seems to function as a substantive in apposition to "son"; "she gave birth to the / a son, her firstborn." This fact is noted to emphasise the privileges of the firstborn child, although possibly to indicate that Mary had other children, so Hendriksen, or even to express Jesus' right to inherit the throne of David, so Danker.

esparganwsen (sparganow) aor. "she wrapped [him] in cloths" - [and] she wrapped in strips of linen [him]. Wrapping in swaddling cloths was normal practice for a Palestinian mother. A similar practice is performed at death. Luke is possibly linking Jesus' birth and death at this point. "Wrapped him round", Weymouth.

en + dat. "in" - [and laid him] in. Local, expressing space. "Put him to bed", Evans.

fatnh/ (h) dat. "a manger" - a feeding trough, or box for cattle in a stable. "Stall", Moffatt.

dioti "because" - because. Causal conjunction introducing a causal clause explaining why the baby is laid in a feeding trough, as NIV.

topoV (oV) "no room" - [there was not] a place, situation, space... Lit. "there was no space for them" - there is no place of lodging for them. There may have been space for Joseph and Mary in the inn / home in which they wanted to stay, but not also for a newborn child, given that the guests may like to have a decent sleep.

autoiV dat. pro. "for them" - for them. Dative of interest, advantage.

tw/ katalumati (a) dat. "the inn" - [in] the place of lodging, inn. Possibly also a guest room or any place where a person could stay. "The village guest-house", Barclay.

 

Luke Introduction

Exposition

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Exegetical Commentaries

 

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