Bethlehem
If you happen to be traveling towards Jerusalem around 1 B.C.1, you might have encountered Joseph and Mary, on their way to Bethlehem. She is around 16, sitting on a donkey. He is not much older, but somehow somber and wise for his age, already burdened with cares perhaps only an older man should carry.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, … with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
Luke 2:4–5
Why are they traveling now?
Wouldn’t it be better to wait until this child is born? Most immediately, because of a census:
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Luke 2:1–2
Herod the Great had built a new artificial harbor, new fortresses, and the comforts expected of a Roman city. It also had not been all that long since Roman troops protected Judea from Persian invaders.
The Empire needed money. One way to justify increasing taxes was to count the people and figure out how much they can be taxed. Counting people, and discovering their financial situation, meant taking a census.
But also—and more importantly—because God decreed this this child be born at this time in history. Three different prophets gave vital clues about the birth of this child.
Daniel prophesied there would be seventy weeks, meaning weeks of years, from the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the end:
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
Daniel 9:26
This was widely accepted to describe when the Messiah would come and make Israel into a great nation again—and according to Daniel, the time was right for the Messiah to make his appearance.
This is the first Dispatch in a series on the Life of Christ.
Why are they traveling to Bethlehem?
God chose this spot for the birth of the Messiah:
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
Micah 5:2
The census, as well, decreed they travel to Bethlehem:
And Joseph also went up … to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David…
Luke 2:4
Couldn’t Rome count people wherever they already were? All records in Rome were hand-written. Scribes and paper were not cheap. It was easier to move people than carrying records from town to town or collating the information.
Wasn’t travel a burden, though? In some places, perhaps, but almost every religion of the time had some requirement to travel to a central location once a year. Jews were required to travel to Jerusalem three times a year, so this kind of travel was already part of the rhythm of life. If Rome gave everyone two or three years to make the journey, they were almost certain to get a good idea of changes in population and wealth.
How did Rome know each family’s city? Much of the ancient world—and the Jewish nation in particular—was obsessed with origins and family lines. Any Jew could go to the Temple in Jerusalem and ask a scribe to find their family history all the way back to Jacob. Everyone knew their tribe. Everyone knew their ancestral lines at several generations.
History tied the people together. They weren’t just a people who spoke the same language and shared their religious beliefs. They were a family. They were a tribe. Being descended from someone like David was important to Joseph and Mary.
Beyond Rome’s demands, as shameful being pregnant before being married was, the young couple needed the support of their families—and their families were concentrated in Bethlehem. Even though there was shame, there would also be help. The shame would fade into the past once the child was born, and the family would come together to take care of their newest member.
How did David’s family become associated with the small town of Bethlehem?
Another woman walked this way nearly a thousand years before. While she was not nearly as famous as Joseph and Mary, she impacted history. Naomi brought her daughter-in-law, Ruth, to this same little village. It was here that Boaz would marry Ruth to redeem Naomi’s family.
Ruth would give birth to a son who would give birth to a son, Jesse, who would then give birth to a son named David.
The common date given is around 4 B.C., but the timing of Eclipses in the area, along with the record of Herod’s death, point to 1 B.C.