Luke 2
Encyclopedia
Luke 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke
in the New Testament
of the Christian
Bible
. It contains an account of Jesus
's birth and an incident from his childhood
.
be conducted of the "..entire Roman World
", during Quirinius
's governorship of Syria
and that this is the reason that Joseph and Mary, who lived in Nazareth
, were in Bethlehem
, King David's place of birth, when Jesus was born.
There is no record of a census that would meet this description. The emperor Augustus
reported in his Deeds of the Divine Augustus
making censuses of Roman citizens in 28 BC, 8 BC and AD 14, but clearly this would exclude Joseph, who was not a Roman citizen. There was a provincial census conducted by Quirinius
in Iudaea Province
and Syria
in AD 6
or 7
. Luke, however, in Luke
1:5 implies that John
and Jesus were conceived during the reign of Herod the Great
, who died in 4 BC
, a decade earlier. If Jesus was conceived during the reign of Herod, then Luke must be wrong about Jesus being born during the census. According to Luke, however, the census was the reason Joseph
and Mary went to Bethlehem
, where according to both Luke and Matthew
2:1 Jesus was born. Matthew records nothing about a census, and appears to imply that the family lived in Bethlehem; both agree Jesus was born there but raised in Nazareth
.
who tells them that in Bethlehem, the "...town of David...Christ
the Lord." had been born. More angels appear and Luke has them saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." The angels go back to heaven
and the shepherds go to town to see for themselves and find Joseph and Mary and the infant Jesus
. They then "...spread the word..." about the angels and Jesus, then return to their flocks. Luke makes no mention of the Magi
, the Massacre of the Innocents
, nor the escape of Jesus's family to Egypt
found in Matthew 2
on the eighth day after birth, and name him Jesus, as Gabriel had told Mary to do in Luke 1:31.
and to provide the sacrifice specified in the Law of Moses
. Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb) in , sacrificing "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
In the Temple, they meet Simeon
and Anna
. Simeon had been waiting for the Christ, and believes Jesus is him. Simeon prays the Nunc Dimittis
(Canticle of Simeon) and tells Mary "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." Anna, an old widowed woman who spent all her time in the temple praying, comes and praises Jesus as well.
festival. Then they leave with a large group of their relatives and friends and after a day they realize Jesus is not with them. They go back to Jerusalem and after three days of looking find him in the temple talking with the temple teachers. His parents scold him for running off, but Jesus replies that they should have known where he was. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?". His family doesn't understand what he is talking about. They all then go to Nazareth.
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. It contains an account of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
's birth and an incident from his childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
.
Jesus's Birth
According to Luke, Caesar Augustus ordered a censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
be conducted of the "..entire Roman World
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
", during Quirinius
Quirinius
Publius Sulpicius Quirinius was a Roman aristocrat. After the banishment of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus from the tetrarchy of Judea in AD 6, Quirinius was appointed legate governor of Syria, to which the province of Iudaea had been added for the purpose of a census.-Life:Born in the neighborhood...
's governorship of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and that this is the reason that Joseph and Mary, who lived in Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
, were in Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, King David's place of birth, when Jesus was born.
There is no record of a census that would meet this description. The emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
reported in his Deeds of the Divine Augustus
Res Gestae Divi Augusti
Res Gestae Divi Augusti, is the funerary inscription of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The Res Gestae is especially significant because it gives an insight into the image Augustus portrayed to the Roman people...
making censuses of Roman citizens in 28 BC, 8 BC and AD 14, but clearly this would exclude Joseph, who was not a Roman citizen. There was a provincial census conducted by Quirinius
Quirinius
Publius Sulpicius Quirinius was a Roman aristocrat. After the banishment of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus from the tetrarchy of Judea in AD 6, Quirinius was appointed legate governor of Syria, to which the province of Iudaea had been added for the purpose of a census.-Life:Born in the neighborhood...
in Iudaea Province
Iudaea Province
Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in AD 6
6
Year 6 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Arruntius...
or 7
7
Year 7 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Nerva...
. Luke, however, in Luke
Luke 1
Luke 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It describes the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. It is written to Theophilus, who could be a real person or could simply mean a fellow Christian as theo philus is Greek for God lover...
1:5 implies that John
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
and Jesus were conceived during the reign of Herod the Great
Herod the Great
Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...
, who died in 4 BC
4 BC
Year 4 BC was a common year starting on Tuesday or Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
, a decade earlier. If Jesus was conceived during the reign of Herod, then Luke must be wrong about Jesus being born during the census. According to Luke, however, the census was the reason Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
and Mary went to Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, where according to both Luke and Matthew
Matthew 2
Matthew 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It describes the events after the birth of Jesus. The first section deals with the visit of the magi and the attempt by King Herod to kill the infant messiah. The second portion deals with Jesus' Flight into Egypt, and...
2:1 Jesus was born. Matthew records nothing about a census, and appears to imply that the family lived in Bethlehem; both agree Jesus was born there but raised in Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
.
The Angels and Shepherds
Luke then tells of shepherds working nearby who are visited by an angelAngel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
who tells them that in Bethlehem, the "...town of David...Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
the Lord." had been born. More angels appear and Luke has them saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." The angels go back to heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and the shepherds go to town to see for themselves and find Joseph and Mary and the infant Jesus
Adoration of the shepherds
The Adoration of the shepherds, in the Nativity of Jesus in art, is a scene in which shepherds are near witnesses to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. It is often combined with the Adoration of the Magi, in which case it is typically just referred to by the latter title...
. They then "...spread the word..." about the angels and Jesus, then return to their flocks. Luke makes no mention of the Magi
Magi
Magi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BC, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which...
, the Massacre of the Innocents
Massacre of the Innocents
The Massacre of the Innocents is an episode of infanticide by the King of Judea, Herod the Great. According to the Gospel of Matthew Herod orders the execution of all young male children in the village of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth...
, nor the escape of Jesus's family to Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
found in Matthew 2
Matthew 2
Matthew 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It describes the events after the birth of Jesus. The first section deals with the visit of the magi and the attempt by King Herod to kill the infant messiah. The second portion deals with Jesus' Flight into Egypt, and...
Circumcision
Luke 2:21 tells how Joseph and Mary have their baby circumcisedCircumcision in the Bible
Religious male circumcision generally occurs shortly after birth, during childhood or around puberty as part of a rite of passage. Circumcision is most prevalent in Muslim countries and Israel, and is most prevalent in the Jewish and Muslim faiths, although also common in the United States, the...
on the eighth day after birth, and name him Jesus, as Gabriel had told Mary to do in Luke 1:31.
Presentation in the Temple
According to , a woman was ritually unclean for forty days after giving birth to a male child. After this period, Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the Temple to complete Mary's ritual purificationRitual purification
Ritual purification is a feature of many religions. The aim of these rituals is to remove specifically defined uncleanliness prior to a particular type of activity, and especially prior to the worship of a deity...
and to provide the sacrifice specified in the Law of Moses
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb) in , sacrificing "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
In the Temple, they meet Simeon
Simeon the Righteous
Simeon is the "just and devout" man of Jerusalem who, according to , met the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as they entered the Temple to fulfill the requirements of the Law of Moses on the 40th day from Jesus' birth.According to the Biblical account,...
and Anna
Anna (Bible)
Anna or Anna the Prophetess was a biblical figure mentioned only in the Gospel of Luke. According to that Gospel, she was an aged Jewish prophetess who prophesied about Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem. She appears in in the episode of the presentation of Jesus at the Temple.While Luke gave some...
. Simeon had been waiting for the Christ, and believes Jesus is him. Simeon prays the Nunc Dimittis
Nunc dimittis
The Nunc dimittis is a canticle from a text in the second chapter of Luke named after its first words in Latin, meaning 'Now dismiss...'....
(Canticle of Simeon) and tells Mary "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." Anna, an old widowed woman who spent all her time in the temple praying, comes and praises Jesus as well.
Boy Jesus at the Temple
Luke then records the only story of Jesus's childhood in the Bible. When Jesus is twelve his family travels to Jerusalem for the PassoverPassover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
festival. Then they leave with a large group of their relatives and friends and after a day they realize Jesus is not with them. They go back to Jerusalem and after three days of looking find him in the temple talking with the temple teachers. His parents scold him for running off, but Jesus replies that they should have known where he was. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?". His family doesn't understand what he is talking about. They all then go to Nazareth.