Luke 2

Merry Christmas everybody! http://www.esvbible.org/Luke+2 The chapter that even non-Christians have probably read before in the Bible.

While Mary was pregnant, Caesar Augustus declared that a census should be taken of all the Roman world. Every man had to go with his wife to the land of his ancestors. Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, went to Bethlehem because Joseph was from the line of David, who had been born in Bethlehem. At the time, Mary was pledged to be married to him, so she went with him. Once they arrived, Mary felt the baby coming, and she gave birth to a son, named Him Jesus, wrapped Him in cloth, and laid Him in a manger since there was no room for Him in the inn. God set all of this in motion so that it would happen exactly the way He said it would many years earlier. The baby had to be from the line of David, so He made sure that Mary would marry Joseph so that Jesus would technically be considered part of the royal blood line from David. He also had to come from the city of David, so God laid it on Caesar's mind to take a census at that time so that pregnant Mary would head over to Bethlehem because she had to follow the law. God doe not forget, and He does not lie. When He told the prophets that He would do things in a specific way, He already had in mind exactly how He would do them.

Nearby, Shepherds grazed their flocks in the field. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and they were terrified. The angel told them not to be afraid because he brought a message of great joy. He told them that a savior, Christ the Lord, had just been born in David's city. The sign of how to recognize Him was that He would be lying in cloth in the manger. Then, a whole army of angels appeared singing "Glory to God in the Highest, and peace on Earth to those on whom His favor rests!" And just like that, the disappeared. Immediately, the shepherds ran to Bethlehem and found the baby just like the angel had told them. When they saw Him, they repeated what the angel had told them. Everyone who heard the story was amazed. Mary listened to these things and hid them in her heart to ponder always. As the shepherds returned to their flocks, they glorified the Lord for what had happened. It is amazing the God decided to share the news first with shepherds because they were considered the bottom of society. God knows what He does, however. He knew that the "king" would try to kill Jesus, the Pharisees and High Priests would reject the truth, and the wealthy wouldn't care because they thought they could buy their way to Heaven. The shepherds believed when they heard. When the angels left the shepherds didn't scoff and continue their work, the went to see the Savior. They had faith, and God rewarded them by telling them first. Have faith.

Most people stop reading there, but there are still thirty-two verses left in Luke 2. Jesus' parents obeyed all of Moses's Teachings. They took Him to the temple to have Him circumcised and officially named. Then, they waited for the time to pass for the mother to be considered clean and the went to Jerusalem. There, they presented Jesus in front of the Lord and followed the tradition where He was considered set apart and holy in front of God by sacrificing a pair of mourning doves or two young pigeons. It only makes since that all of the rules were followed where Jesus is concerned. It wouldn't make since if they didn't circumcise Him since He was Jewish or to not present Him to the Lord since God was His real Father. This begins a pattern of Jesus keeping the rules perfectly throughout His life. That way, when He died, He was innocent and a pure sacrifice.

Nearby, a prophet named Simeon who was filled with the Holy Spirit lived. God told Simeon that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. One day, Mary and Joseph took the child Jesus to the temple courtyard to follow more of Moses's Teachings. When Simeon saw Jesus, he knew Jesus was the one, so he ran up and held Jesus in his arms, praising God. He prophesied once more and told God that He was allowing His servant to leave in peace because he had seen the Salvation which all people will see. He will be the one to save all of nations. The Holy Spirit moved in Simeon, so he knew without asking or an angel telling him that Jesus is Lord. The Holy Spirit can begin to move in anyone, even if He does not yet dwell with them. They can begin to feel that Jesus is the Savior. Even deep into faith, we don't even have to see, but we know that Jesus is the one who brought us God's salvation. Then, Simeon turned to Mary and told her that many Israelites would be condemned because of Jesus but many others would be saved. He will be sign to expose those who reject Him. We have already seen in John and will see in the other three gospels that Jesus did indeed expose those who rejected Him and staked His claim as Son of God many times.

Anna, another prophet, was also in the courtyard. She hailed from the tribe of Asher. She was a widow for 84 years! Her husband had died after only seven years of marriage. She never left the temple courtyard but stayed there to fast and pray. When she saw the new family, she went up to Mary and Joseph and began praising God for what He has done. Then, she began to tell all of the people about Jesus who waited for Israel's freedom. Anna and Simeon accepted this boy on faith even more so that we do now. Jesus was still a child. He had not performed miracles or spoken of who He was, yet faith was enough for them. We have a book that tells us of all that Jesus did, so it should be easier for us to accept the truth. After completing the Lord's teachings, Mary and Joseph went back to Nazareth in Galilee where they lived. Jesus grew and became strong. He was wise and had God's favor.

The last story in chapter two is the only one between birth and adulthood in the current Bible. Jesus went with Mary and Joseph every year to Jerusalem for the Passover festivals, and when He was twelve, nothing changed. On their way back, however, Jesus stayed behind, and his parents did not realize it. There were a lot of people travelling with them, so they assumed He was around. After a day, they realized they could not find Him. When they went back to Jerusalem, they looked for Him for three days and finally found Him in the temple courtyard. He was talking to the teachers and His knowledge and answers amazed everyone who heard Him. His mother scolded Him and told Him she and Joseph had been worried sick. He asked why they had looked for Him when they should have known He'd be in His Father's house. At the time, Mary and Joseph didn't get what He meant. Even with the foresight that they had into Jesus' birth, they could not fully understand Him. God is a mystery now and forever, but that's one of the reason's He is so worthy of our praises. Later, the family went home and Jesus was obedient. Mary treasured everything about Jesus in her heart. He grew in maturity and wisdom and already began gaining favor with God and people.