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. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn
Luke 2: 1-7
This morning while listening to Alistair Begg to start my day, he mentioned that the miraculous sign of the virgin birth of Christ was recorded around real-life events that could be corroborated. Jesus’ birth was not only foretold in the method and location, but Luke goes into great detail to describe the current day circumstances to establish these events as more than a fable.
When Caesar commissioned the census that required Joseph to return to Bethlehem, God was not even pleasantly surprised. When Scripture was fulfilled by the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, God was at work in the details.
Do you think Joseph and Mary understood the reason for the trip to Bethlehem? Did it seem like an inconvenience for the man and the pregnant woman? We don’t have any indication of any additional pieces of information outside of the confirmation provided by the angel. Maybe they remembered Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah’s birthplace, maybe not.
I don’t often see the details of the “big picture.” Sometimes I am discouraged. How about you? Still, given what is revealed about God’s character and plan in our lives we should follow the advice of the writer of Hebrews as we live our lives –
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised”(Hebrews 10-35-36).