2:15-16 The shepherds went “straight” to Bethlehem. (Luk 2:21-24) The circumcision and presentation of Jesus. -------------------- i. The only place where there was room for him was on a cross.” (Barclay). It is impossible to say when, in the context of the self-imposed limitations of His humanity, Jesus realized who He was and what He was sent to do, but it was early – this is probably the not when it began, but when it was in full flower. 5. i. Luke especially would have picked up on these subtleties. i. He was not so much as eight days in this world till he began to be numbered with the transgressors. Yet, we see Him even as a baby, identifying with sinners, as He also later did at His baptism and on the cross. 3. It may well be that up to that point there had never been a man with power over more lives than Caesar Augustus. If you really want to hear God’s voice and have His word speak to you, what are you going to change in your priorities to make that happen? When it came time for Mary to deliver, the inn would have been a better setting, as women helpers would have been available. Note Simeon’s responses to meeting Jesus. It came to pass in those days: Luke clearly tells us that he recorded actual history and real events. 11:1). The incarnation of the word, God’s ultimate act of love, is unrecognized by the world. Finally, note that the angel is standing before them, not hovering above them in the air, as is depicted at Christmas. (Read Luke 2:21-24) Our Lord Jesus was not born in sin, and did not need that mortification of a corrupt nature, or that renewal unto holiness, which were signified by circumcision. John’s naming was according to the Law, he being the last of the Old Testament prophets. It was both a great privilege and a great burden. 2:20 What is the response of those who come into the presence of the Savior? Return to Chapter 1 ••• Bottom of Page ••• Continue to Chapter 3. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. As God had planned since the beginning of time, the Messiah, the “stem of Jesse,” would be born in the City of David (Isa. The surprise implied by these words of Jesus means that He knew that Mary and Joseph did know of His special relationship with God His Father. Angels may go, but Jesus remains. “Jesus was born in the reign of Augustus. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth: Growing up in Nazareth, Jesus would mature in boyhood and then in His young adulthood. As the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would see the Christ, the Holy Spirit also revealed to him a mystery that most Jewish leaders did not see—that the Messiah must first suffer and die. In verse 50, Joseph and Mary “did not understand the statement” because He had not disclosed Himself as the Son of God, and because they had no idea the cross was coming. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. Mary and Joseph would not have returned to Jerusalem after being warned by the angel (Matthew 2:13), and they would not have offered only two birds after receiving the rich gifts from the wise men (Matthew 2:11). 2:32 “…a light of revelation to the Gentiles….” This quotation from the prophet Isaiah had more meaning than Simeon imagined at the moment, but it was not lost on the Gentile Luke. They returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him: As we would expect from diligent and godly parents, they took the effort to find their son Jesus. Therefore, they probably arrived later the next day when their watch was over. Overall, Caesar Augustus was a good ruler. i. 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”. The contrast between the angelic glory and the humble Jesus must have seemed extreme. Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. We are not told that anyone assisted Mary in the birth, though someone may have. There were years of bloody, brutal fighting for power and money in Rome and the provinces. It’s pretty heady to think, “I make the command and the whole Roman world has to obey it.”. Would Joseph and Mary have traveled all the way to Bethlehem when she was nine months pregnant had not Caesar called for a census? (Luk 2:1) A decree from Rome reaches the whole Mediterranean world. i. Trapp points out that the word translated swaddling cloths comes from the ancient Greek word meaning “to tear,” meaning they were torn strips of cloth wrapped around Jesus. God hath now taken this honour from the angels, and put it upon the ministers, who in Scripture are called angels, Revelation 2:1.” (Trapp). Jesus was not born a superman. b. In the crucifixion, Jesus will go “missing” for three days, and then He will be “found” in His Father’s house—that is, in a resurrected state. d. She brought forth: This phrase is filled with wonder. To satisfy this curiosity, men wrote their own so-called “Infancy Gospels.” They contain spectacular and silly miracles like Jesus talking from the manger; healing a man made into a mule by a spell; bringing clay birds to life with a clap of His hands; healing people with a sprinkling with his old bath water, and so forth. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. “That there was no room in the inn was symbolic of what was to happen to Jesus. Because, like most of us, no one wanted to deal with the seriousness of personal sin and the cost of the sacrifice that would be needed to reconcile God to man. In this chapter, we have an account of the birth and infancy of our Lord Jesus: having had notice of his conception, and of the birth and infancy of his forerunner, in the former chapter. But out of love, we will forgive church tradition for these inaccuracies, as in the end, they are superiorly overshadowed by the superb truth that “the word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:12).