Luke 2

1 – 3

At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order to all people in the countries that were under Roman rule. The order said that they must list their names in a register. This was the first registration taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own towns to be registered.

God used the Roman laws to make it so that Jesus would have to be born in Bethlehem. Do not fight it when God is using some situation to bring you to a place He wants you to be.

4. So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee. He went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea. This town was known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David.

Micah said this would happen and the Jewish leaders knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. They thought Jesus was born in Nazareth so this shows they did not look hard enough!

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the tribes of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Micah 5:2

5 – 7

Joseph registered with Mary because she was engaged to marry him. Mary was now pregnant. While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have the baby. She gave birth to her first Son. There were no rooms left in the inn. So she wrapped the baby with cloths and laid Him in a box where animals are fed.

Mary had no help while having the baby. Many times we have room for everything else in our lives except for Jesus!

8 – 10

That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep. An angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and suddenly they became very frightened. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, because I am bringing you some good news. It will be a joy to all the people.

These shepherds took care of the sheep which would be brought to the Temple. Shepherds were thought of as unclean people. God uses people that nobody would look up to for His work sometimes!

11 – 15

Today your Savior was born in David’s town. He is Christ, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a feeding box.”

Then a very large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel. All the angels were praising God, saying: “Give glory to God in heaven, and on earth let there be peace to the people who please God.”

Then the angels left the shepherds and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened. We will see this thing the Lord told us about.”

God comes to the earth and shows us that He brings peace and will do only good to us. The devil says the opposite. Anything that brings fear instead of peace is not of God.

16 – 19

So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph. And the shepherds saw the baby lying in a feeding box. Then they told what the angels had said about this child. Everyone was amazed when they heard what the shepherds said to them. Mary hid these personal sayings in her heart; she continued to think about them.

The original language shows that Mary told Luke that she felt that these things spoke to her personally. So she knew that some of these things were not meant for someone else but for her! Learn to know the difference!

20. Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking Him for everything that they had seen and heard. It was just as the angel had told them.

If we think that we cannot share the Gospel to lead someone to Christ then we can at least tell what we have seen and heard! The shepherds may have told the priests about this later when they brought some sheep to the Temple.

21. When the baby was eight days old, He was circumcised, and He was named Jesus. This name had been given by the angel before the baby began to grow inside Mary.

Jewish babies were named on the eighth day.

22 – 24

The time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses taught about being made pure. They took Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.

It is written in the law of the Lord: “Give every firstborn male to the Lord.” Mary and Joseph also went to offer a sacrifice, as the law of the Lord says: “You must sacrifice two doves or two young pigeons.”

This shows us that Jesus came from a poor family because the Old Testament says this is what is offered by people who do not have money for the larger sacrifices.

25 – 29

A man named Simeon lived in Jerusalem. He was a good man and very religious. He was waiting for the time when God would help Israel. The Holy Spirit was in him. The Holy Spirit told Simeon that he would not die before he saw the Christ promised by the Lord.

The Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple to do what the law said they must do. Then Simeon took the baby in his arms and thanked God: “Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant, die in peace as you said.

Simeon would always be checking the Temple because it would be where he thought the Messiah would be found. Do not give up on what the Lord has told you He will do!

30 – 32

I have seen your Salvation with my own eyes. You prepared Him before all people. He is a light for the non-Jewish people to see. He will bring honor to your people, the Israelites.”
Simon had been reading his Bible! I will make You a light to the Gentiles, and You will bring My salvation to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49:6

33 – 35

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about Him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, “Many in Israel will fall and many will rise because of this child. He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept. The things they think in secret will be made known. And the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too.”

God prepares us for hard days that are coming. Some things happen that we cannot explain and later we see how God was getting us ready to live through those days.

36 – 38

Anna, a prophetess, was there at the Temple. She was from the family of Phanuel in the tribe of Asher. Anna was very old. She had once been married for seven years. Then her husband died and she lived alone. She was now 84 years old. Anna never left the Temple.

She worshiped God by going without food and praying day and night. She was standing there at that time, thanking God. She talked about Jesus to all who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.

When Anna was younger she would have seen the Romans take over Jerusalem and General Pompey go into the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The Temple walls were broken down and thousands of Jews were killed.

39 – 40

Joseph and Mary finished doing everything that the law of the Lord commanded. Then they went home to Nazareth, their own town in Galilee. The little child began to grow up. He became stronger and wiser, and God’s blessings were with Him.

Remember that Mary is telling the story to Luke. She may have left out the part about Herod killing the babies and the family escaping into Egypt because those were bad days for her.

Hosea talked about this and it makes us see that God has left clues for us to follow. As people trace the life of Jesus to see if He was the Messiah, God seems to be saying, “How much do you want to know? Have checked every Scripture?”

I called my son out of Egypt. Hosea 11:1

41 – 42

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. When Jesus was 12 years old, they went to the feast as they always did.

When a Jewish boy is twelve years old the Jews have a ceremony where the boy reads from the Old Testament and is said to now be a man.

43. When the feast days were over, they went home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents did not know it.

There is an old painting of young Jewish boys singing Psalms together with their arms locked together as they walked during the Jewish holidays. Joseph and Mary thought that Jesus was with the boys His age or some family members.

44 – 45

Joseph and Mary traveled for a whole day. They thought that Jesus was with them in the group. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends, but they did not find Him. So they went back to Jerusalem to look for Him there.

Have you lost the presence of Jesus? Can you tell when He is missing from your day?

46 – 47

After three days they found Him. Jesus was sitting in the Temple with the religious teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. All who heard Him were amazed at his understanding and wise answers.

Jesus is an example to us to be a good listener! If you do not listen to people then they will not listen to you! We see some examples of Jesus asking the Jews questions about the Messiah and explaining the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. There is reason to believe He did the same with these Jewish leaders.

48 – 50

When Jesus’ parents saw Him, they were amazed. His mother said to Him, “Son, why did you do this to us? Your father and I were very worried about You. We have been looking for You.”

Jesus asked, “Why did you have to look for Me? You should have known that I must be where my Father’s work is!” But they did not understand the meaning of what he said.

We say things like, “I know I should have said something for the Lord” or something else that we should have done. It is a beautiful feeling when we say, “I must be doing my Father’s work!”

51 – 52

Jesus went with them to Nazareth and obeyed them. His mother was still thinking about all these personal sayings . Jesus continued to learn more and more and to grow physically. People liked Him, and He pleased God.

Mary again tells Luke that she had many things to think about. She was careful to first ask herself what God was teaching her instead of thinking that God is teaching someone else.

Remember that Jesus limited Himself when He became a man so that He would have to grow and learn as the rest of us do. Philippians 2:7