Luke 2 (Extended Commentary)
A Walk through Luke and Acts
For week 1 of A Walk through Luke and Acts, we covered chapter 1 of the Gospel of Luke. This first chapter consisted of the prologue (1:1-4) and the first half (1:5-80) of the first major section of Luke (1:5-2:52). Luke 1:5−2:52 is focused on beginnings for John and Jesus: the announcement of the birth of John (1:5−25); the announcement of the birth of Jesus (1:26−38); the meeting of the two mothers (1:39−56); the birth of John (1:57−80); the birth of Jesus (2:1−20); the presentation of Jesus in the Temple (2:21−40); and the boy Jesus in the Temple (2:41−52). Notice that in chapter 2, John recedes to the background, with Jesus taking center stage. There will be a few places in the Gospel of Luke, however, where John the Baptist will return for the story of Jesus.
E. The Birth of Jesus (2:1−20)
Luke 2:1−20 centers on the birth of Jesus. After the history-changing event of Jesus’ birth in verses 1−7, Luke’s Gospel then turns its attention to the praise of God for this birth in verses 8−20. While Zechariah praised God for the miraculous and promised birth of John, it was a group of Jewish shepherds who praised God for sending the promised Messiah to Israel.
Because he knew that Jesus changed the course of history, Luke wrote this Gospel (and Acts) with an eye on history and Jesus’ impact on it. Verses 1−3 set the historical context for Jesus’ birth. From a purely historical perspective, Jesus was born in Bethlehem as a result of a “decree” of the Roman Emperor Augustus. According to this decree, the peoples of “the entire Roman world” were required to return to their own towns for a census. With a more accurate accounting of its population, the Roman Empire could then more effectively gather taxes for its administration and prosperity. The parenthetical note in 2:2 is difficult to relate to what is known conclusively about Roman history. (Note that since the governance of Judea and Syria was sometimes connected, this decree would have affected Bethlehem, which is in Judea.) Luke commented on Quirinius’ governorship to help place the census in the context of history for Luke’s early readers (2:1−3). Luke’s interest in history shaped his presentation of the story of Jesus. We can learn from Luke about how to focus on the historical dimension of the Christian faith, especially for the sake of understanding Jesus’s identity and significance.
From a more theological perspective, the birth of Jesus occurred because of the plan of God. According to Micah 5:2, the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, the town of David. God, in His sovereignty, used the actions of Augustus to have Joseph and Mary be in Bethlehem and thus ensure that Jesus, the Messiah, would be born there. Since both Joseph and Mary were originally from Bethlehem, they went there, from Nazareth in Galilee (cf. 1:26−27), to register. Luke highlighted Joseph’s royal heritage, but it was through Mary that Jesus was a descendent of David (see 3:23). When Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, they were married (“pledged to be married”) and Mary was pregnant with Jesus (2:4−5). (Matthew 1:24−25 states that Joseph married Mary but had sexual union with her only after Jesus’ birth.) During their time in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus, “her firstborn, a son.” The birth of Jesus seems to have taken place in a room that was attached to a house and that was a location where animals lived; Jesus’ crib was a feeding trough (“a manger”). No guest room (“the inn”) was available because of the influx of people in Bethlehem to register for the census (2:6−7).
The events of 2:8−20 seem to begin on the night of Jesus’ birth. The focus of these verses is the shepherds’ praise of God for Jesus’ coming. An angel of the Lord directed them to visit Jesus. Shepherds were living in fields near Jesus’ birthplace and were taking turns watching their flocks (2:8). When an angel (Gabriel?) appeared to them, they were terrified by the glorious appearance (as Zechariah was by Gabriel’s appearance in 1:11−12). The angel’s message to them was about “good news” and “a sign.” The good news that deserved proclamation and the response of “great joy” was the birth of the Savior of the world, Israel’s expected Messiah and the Lord. (The angel was aware that these Jewish shepherds knew that Bethlehem was “the town of David.”) Implicit in this message was the exhortation to go there and see this special newborn. To guide the shepherds and confirm the divine message, the angel gave the sign of finding the baby “wrapped in clothes and lying” in a feeding trough. The unusual sight would have been the resting place for the baby (2:9−12). Immediately after giving this message, the angel was joined by “a great company” of angels. These other angels praised God by (1) giving glory to God in heaven and (2) proclaiming the “peace” (i.e., restoration and wholeness) of God’s Kingdom to be given to all whom God is gracious to “on earth” (2:13−14). This “peace” may have been contrasted in the minds of some early readers of Luke’s Gospel who knew about the Pax Romana (“the Roman peace”) the Roman Empire proclaimed and fought to keep.
When all the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds immediately decided to see for themselves what the Lord had told them through the angels (2:15). They quickly went to the town of David and found Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The shepherds’ response to seeing the angel’s sign was to “spread the word” concerning the angel’s message about this child (2:16−17). All who heard them wondered about this child, but Mary cherished the memories of these events and considered their significance (2:18−19). During their return to their fields, the shepherds gave glory and praise to God for being blessed with the opportunity to see the promised Messiah at the time of His birth (2:20). The shepherds provide readers with a model of joyful praise in response to encountering Jesus as the Savior of the world. If the lowly shepherds are invited to meet Jesus, then all are welcome!
