God has His reasons and men have theirs. It is more than fortuitous when they all effect the same end. While there was obviously a divine plan in operation, there were also multiple mundane motivations for Joseph and Mary to journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The context speaks meaningfully to the latter. Why Bethlehem? Why then? Doug Greenwold had much to teach on these matters in both his writings and his broadcasts. Let’s examine the possibilities:
In Luke 2, we are told of the Roman census that Caesar Augustus had decreed. The scant historical records that survive inform us that Rome regularly conducted two different kinds of census. One was to obtain population data to assist in planning budgets, infrastructure and the distribution of public welfare. The other was for taxation purposes. Luke 2:3 explains that Joseph went to Bethlehem “to register with Mary”. The likely reason is that, as a member of the Davidic clan, Joseph owned property in the Bethlehem area and was required to be present to certify his ownership. Interestingly, the Romans typically allowed up to two years for the citizens of their conquered territories to comply with the taxation census so, ostensibly, Joseph could have chosen anytime during that two-year period to arrive. Why would he choose a time close to Mary’s delivery date? Poor planning? Or might they actually have made that arduous 5-day uphill trek as much as a month or two prior to the birth? Luke 2:6 tells us only that “While they were there the time came for the baby to be born.” The context hints that our traditional view — that theirs was a late night arrival on the night of the birth — is unlikely.
The Mishna is the major written compilation of the rabbinical oral tradition that was spawned during the intertestamental period and through the time of the Second Temple. It was published around 200 A.D. and informs us of many of the protocols and the priestly organization in service to the Temple at Jerusalem. Among the details is responsibility for the monthly wood provision to the Temple which was allocated across the various tribes and clans of Israel. Interestingly, the Davidic clan was responsible for bringing wood to the Temple in early summer — late June and early July by our calendar. Might it be that Joseph saw the opportunity to “kill two birds with one stone” by combining his response to the census with fulfilling the wood obligation for his clan and thereby holding theirs to a single journey? Granted, that’s pure speculation, but it is prompted by the context.
Also, appreciate God’s sense of timing. Luke tells us of the unusual presence of shepherds in the fields at night. Late spring and early summer occur after the wheat crop is harvested permitting sheep to graze harmlessly. It is also the time when the paschal lambs were birthed along the hillsides of Judea, including Bethlehem. Coincidence?
Then, of course, there was that prophecy. The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah. He gave us the following in Micah 5:2 …
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
The residents of Nazareth, among them Joseph, Mary and their families, were zealous in regard to their belief that the prophet Isaiah had designated them as the people who would prepare all Israel for the arrival of Messiah (see our streaming video series “That Dustup in Nazareth”). In addition to the Isaiah and Micah prophesies there was the belief (derived from Daniel 9:24-27) that the Messiah would arrive 490 years (7 times 70) after Artaxerxes’ command to return to and rebuild Jerusalem (457 B.C.). That would be about now, they calculated. And, after all, both Mary and later Joseph had been visited by an angel telling them of the most unusual baby they would receive. How could they not have thought that this baby must be born in Bethlehem?
That the appointed place was Bethlehem is a matter of history. The Bible gives us that much. That the Son of God was born there comports perfectly with prophesy. The day and month remains unknown to us though we’re given some tantalizing clues. Even the precise year is open to question. What we can be sure of is that the timing was perfect. Now, as for the timing of those however-many-wisemen? That’s for another day (and year) … ~~ Jim Park, for Preserving Bible Times
