A Long Journey

A Long Journey

Q: Why did Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem?

• a. to visit a relative
• b. to have a better place to give birth
• c. to be counted in a census

At the time Jesus was born, Rome ruled Palestine where Joseph and Mary lived. Emperor Caesar Augustus called for a census to find out how many people there were to serve in the army and to pay taxes. The Jews didn’t have to serve in the Roman army, but they did have to pay the taxes.

Caesar Augustus’s decision to count the people fit into God’s timing for Jesus’ birth. Joseph had to travel a long way to Bethlehem, his hometown, to pay his taxes. Mary made the journey with him. She was very close to giving birth to Jesus at this time.

When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, it was crowded, and there was nowhere for them to stay other than in a stable. And that’s where Jesus was born.

God brought together all the pieces of the plan in order for the prophecies about Jesus to be fulfilled. Jesus was to be born into the family line of David, and both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David. It was prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, and that happened because of the census.

God uses circumstances to work out his will. Nothing catches him unaware, because he already knows what is going to happen before it happens.

For You

When it seems like everything is going wrong—or at least not the way you planned it—be patient and watch for God to work. He may orchestrate those very circumstances to work out his will.

Answer: c

All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.   Luke 2:3-4

(The Whole Story: Luke 2:1-7)