CHAPTER 2

(A.D. 1)

THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus (Caius Octavius, the adopted son and successor of Julius Caesar, reigned 29 B.C. to A.D. 14) that all the world should be taxed (a figure of speech; a whole is put for a part; it was only the part of the world of which it spoke).

²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) (This Verse should have been translated, This census was before Cyrenius was Governor of Syria.)

³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) (It was a distance of about 80 miles.)

⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child (the trip must have been very difficult for her).

⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered (this concerned the most important delivery of a baby in human history; God would become flesh, and offer up Himself on the Cross as a Perfect Sacrifice in order to deliver humanity).

⁷And she brought forth her Firstborn Son (this is meant to emphasize the fact that there were no other children up to this time; as well, it refutes the error of the Catholic Church, which claims that Mary, thereafter, had no other children, and remained a Virgin throughout her life; actually, Jesus had four brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude, as well as two or three sisters [Mat. 13:55-56]), and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger (spoke of a feeding place for animals); because there was no room for them in the inn (the Inn of Bethlehem was of ancient duration, being mentioned in Jer. 41:17; this type of Inn was for the poorest of the poor, and offered little more than the shelter of its walls and roof).

THE ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT

⁸And there were in the same country (referred to the area around Bethlehem) shepherds abiding in the field (pertained to the lowest caste in society at that time), keeping watch over their flock by night (gives indication that December 25thwas not the day on which Jesus was born; it was the custom to send flocks out after the Passover, which was in April, to stay until the first rain in October or November).

⁹And, lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them (proclaims the fact that the Birth of the Lord was not announced to the notables of Israel, but rather to obscure shepherds), and the Glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid (this was the visible token of the presence of the Eternal, which appeared first in the bush before Moses, and then in the pillar of fire and cloud, which guided the desert wanderings, and then in the Tabernacle and the Temple).

¹⁰And the Angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people (includes all races).

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (this Baby was not to become a King and a Saviour He was born both).

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying (many other Angels had been with the Angel who spoke to the shepherds, but now the shepherds can see them as well; this presents sinless Angels praising God for sending the Redeemer; if they did so, certainly we should as well),

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men (Jesus is that Peace; during His approximate 33 years of life on this Earth, the Roman Empire was relatively at peace; it was because the Prince of Peace was here; peace will not return until Jesus returns).

THE SHEPHERDS

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the Angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the Shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us (proclaims one of the greatest honors in the whole of human history; the Lord would dispatch Angels only to these lowly shepherds in exclusion of all others).

¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph (means they had to do a small amount of searching), and the baby lying in a manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen it(should have been translated, and when they had seen Him; theirs were the first human eyes to see Jesus after His Birth, other than His foster Father and His Mother), they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child (they were the first Preachers to proclaim His Birth, as Mary Magdalene was the first to proclaim His Resurrection).

¹⁸And all they who heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart (means that she thought about them almost constantly, and no wonder!).

²⁰And the shepherds returned (to their flocks), glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them (this proclaims the fact that these men truly knew the Lord, hence, at least one of the reasons that the Angels appeared to them).

THE NAMING OF JESUS

²¹And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the Child (this was according to the Law of Moses; it is said that the blood did not properly coagulate in the little baby boy until he was eight days old), His Name was called JESUS (meaning Saviour), which was so named of the Angel before He was conceived in the womb.

THE PRESENTATION

²²And when the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished (speaks of forty days after the Birth of Jesus; it was eighty days in the case of a daughter [Lev. 12:1-6]), they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord (all the firstborn of the boy babies belonged to the Lord, and were to be presented to Him as a token of His rightful claim to them [Num. 3:44; 18:15]);

²³(As it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be called Holy to the Lord;) (refers to the firstborn only).

²⁴And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the Law of the Lord (Lev. 12:8), A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons (proclaimed that which could be offered in place of a lamb, providing the offerer could not afford the lamb; this tells us that Mary and Joseph were poor, at least as far as this worlds goods were concerned; it also tells us that Mary was not sinless, as claimed by the Catholic Church; if so, she would not have had to offer these Sacrifices for her impurity).

THE PROPHECY OF SIMEON

²⁵And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel (is a term describing the Coming and Ministry of the Messiah): and the Holy Spirit was upon him (he was being led by the Spirit).

²⁶And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lords Christ (consequently, each day he was anticipating this great event).

²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the Temple (the Spirit of the Lord had pressed upon him strongly that at this particular time he was to go to the Temple): and when the parents (Joseph and Mary) brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the Law (Jesus was made of woman under the Law [Gal. 4:4]; the Law is mentioned five times in this Chapter, and so confirms the statement in Galatians; to save man justly doomed to death by the Law, it was necessary that Christ should be born under the Law),

²⁸Then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said (proclaims Simeon the first on record to have handled the Word of Life, other than Mary and Joseph),

²⁹Lord, now let Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Your Word (indicates that it had been a number of years since the Lord had revealed to Simeon that he would actually see the Lords Christ):

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your Salvation (Simeon didnt have to ask Mary Who the Child was; he recognized Him at once by inspiration as Jehovahs Anointed; Jesus is Salvation, and Salvation is Jesus),

³¹Which You have prepared before the face of all people (opens the door of Salvation to every human being on the face of the Earth, regardless of color, nationality, or country);

³²A light to lighten the Gentiles (once again, the Holy Spirit includes all people), and the glory of Your people Israel (regrettably, Israel would not accept Him).

³³And Joseph and His Mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him (if it is to be noticed, the Holy Spirit through Luke wrote Joseph and His Mother, and not His Father and Mother; the reason is obvious! Joseph was only His foster Father, so to speak).

³⁴And Simeon blessed them (refers only to Joseph and Mary, and not Jesus; while Christ blesses all, none are qualified to bless Christ; sometimes the word, blessed, is used in the sense of praise, which then becomes not only acceptable, but desirable), and said unto Mary His mother, Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel (according to the acceptance or rejection of Christ); and for a sign which shall be spoken against (men who have agreed in nothing else have agreed in hating Christ);

³⁵(Yes, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also,) (pertained to the rejection of Jesus Ministry by the religious leaders of Israel, and ultimately His Crucifixion on the Cross) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (presents the purpose of the Gospel of Christ; Marys own heart, being carnal as all others, had to come under the rays of this great light, and her soul had to feel the piercing of the Divine Sword of the Word of God; she was indeed blessed as the chosen Vessel of the Incarnation, but all women who follow Jesus are as blessed [Lk. 11:27]).

THE ADORATION OF ANNA

³⁶And there was one Anna, a Prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel (presents this dear lady as a Preacher of the Gospel; in the Bible the first woman to Prophesy was Rachel, even though she is not called a Prophetess [Gen. 30:24]), of the Tribe of Aser (refers to the Tribe of Asher): she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity (means that her husband died seven years after they were married, and she never remarried);

³⁷And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years (it had been eighty-four years since her husband had died; consequently, she was well over one hundred years old), which departed not from the Temple (she had literally lived in the Temple, probably being provided a small room or chamber, and was assigned some small tasks), but served God with fastings and prayers night and day (notes her wonderful consecration to the Lord).

³⁸And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord (proclaims the fact that the Holy Spirit revealed unto her that this Child was indeed the Messiah), and spoke of Him to all them who looked for redemption in Jerusalem (she related to all her experience at seeing the Child, and the Lord had revealed to her that He was the Messiah; they both, Simeon and Anna, loved the Courts of Jehovahs House, and He met them there).

³⁹And when they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord (referred to the Law of Moses), they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth (Luke does not mention the visit of the Wise men, or the flight into Egypt as Matthew does not mention the shepherds).

⁴⁰And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit (Jesus did not have a sin nature, so this means that He was never sick, and neither did He ever sin), filled with wisdom (there is every evidence that Jesus began studying the Bible from the time He learned to read): and the Grace of God was upon Him (the Goodness of God).

JESUS AS A BOY

⁴¹Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover (the word, went means that they were accustomed to going, for they were Godly people).

⁴²And when He (Jesus) was twelve years old (refers to the age at which every Jewish boy became a son of the Law), they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the Feast (Jerusalem was where the Feast was held and, in fact, must be held).

⁴³And when they had fulfilled the days (pertained to seven days, which actually incorporated three Feasts: The Feast of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Firstfruits), as they returned (were leaving Jerusalem to go to Nazareth), the Child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem (at twelve years of age, every Jewish boy from henceforth was treated as an Adult, which meant that there was now much less supervision than had previously been); and Joseph and His mother knew not of it(Joseph and Mary were not being lax in their supervision; they were treating Jesus as an adult, which the custom then demanded, and felt that He would join up with them at a given point).

⁴⁴But they, supposing Him to have been in the company (with another group going to Nazareth), went a days journey (again, this was the custom in those days, with all groups headed to a certain destination, meeting at a particular point, and then going together); and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

⁴⁵And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him (refers to a diligent search; it also speaks of concern and anxiety).

⁴⁶And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the Temple (probably refers to the third day after originally leaving Jerusalem; they spent the first day traveling from Jerusalem to the designated meeting point; upon not finding Jesus, they then journeyed back to Jerusalem the next day; on the third day, they found Him in the Temple), sitting in the midst of the doctors (included the most famous Bible Scholars of that day), both hearing them, and asking them questions (what a sight this must have been, these most famous doctors of the Mosaic Law with this twelve-year-old Boy sitting in their midst, and with most of the attention directed toward Him; it is believed that Nicodemus was in this group).

⁴⁷And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers (the word, astonished in the Greek Text refers to amazement to such an extent that one is beside oneself; in truth, His understanding and answers were far beyond that of these learned Doctors).

⁴⁸And when they saw Him, they were amazed (referring to His parents): and His mother said unto Him, Son, why have you thus dealt with us? (The possibility does exist that the Holy Spirit had Jesus to do this purposely, in order to awaken Mary and Joseph to His true Mission and Purpose, even though it would not truly begin until He was thirty years of age.) behold, Your Father and I have sought You sorrowing (Mary used the phrase, Your Father, and Jesus gently reminded her in the next Verse Who His Father actually was; legally, Joseph was His Father, but only in the foster sense).

⁴⁹And He said unto them, How is it that you sought Me? (He gently reminded them that they should have known Who He was, and His Mission.) wist you not that I must be about My Fathers business? (This was His first recorded utterance; with the words, It is finished, His last recorded utterance before His Crucifixion [Jn. 19:30], which means He Finished the Fathers Business.)

⁵⁰And they understood not the saying which He spoke unto them (they should have understood!).

⁵¹And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them (concerns the next eighteen years): but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart (refers to all that pertained to Jesus).

⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (this means that He perfectly kept the Law of God, and did perfectly the Will of God).