Luke 2:1-5 – December 14th, 2020
As we begin the birth narrative of Jesus it’s important to look back so we can get an idea as to what God is doing. It was a well known fact in Jewish tradition that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. The problem is that Mary and Joseph don’t live in Bethlehem but in Nazareth. I’m sure that Mary, being a good Bible student would have known this bit of information. She probably studied the events surrounding the birth of the Messiah especially carefully given her immediate circumstance. She may have wondered, How in the world is God going to pull this off? How will Jesus be born in Bethlehem when we live down here in Nazareth? Then one day, Joseph comes home from work and tells her of a new census put together by the emperor, and that everyone must go to their hometown to be counted and to pay a tax. Then it hit her, God is at work. So, how is God going to get the family to Bethlehem at just the right time for Mary to give birth to Jesus while they are there fulfilling old testament prophecy? God shows His power over a pagan ruler. God rules over and uses evil men to do His will. God controls all events at all times to bring about His will. It might be strange to realize that God uses unsaved pagan people who worship other gods to do what the true God wants accomplished. God placed it into the mind of Caesar Augustus to take a census at just the right time when Mary was 9 months pregnant. God also had Mary and Joseph be descendants of King David whose city was Bethlehem. Everything is working according to God’s sovereign plan. It’s important to understand that God’s power over events is big enough to affect nations and even the world and also powerful enough to affect the acts of individuals as well. Of course, Joseph and Mary went up to Bethlehem because there was a census, but if we’re being honest, we know that they went up to Bethlehem because God wanted them in Bethlehem, King David’s city. So if you’re ever feeling like you don’t know what to do just remember that no matter what, God is in control.