Page 38 - Advanced Life of Christ - Student Textbook

Mary trusted in the Lord and He resolved her issue with Joseph. The same angel informed Joseph that
the child was not as a result of infidelity but was to be the miraculous birth of the coming Messiah.
Willing to endure public shame along with Mary, he took her for his wife into his own home and cared
for her as if the child were his. Joseph was a loving man of God.

It is interesting that while Augustus Caesar was the Roman Emperor, Quirinius, the Roman governor of
Syria, ordered a registration of all people to sign up for a tax. Archeologists have found an Egyptian
papyrus which talked about a registration for taxation every 14 years as a general practice of Rome.

Ted Wright, “Was there really a census During the Time of Caesar Augustus?,
https://crossexamined.org/really-census-time-caesar-augustus/

Many actual census returns have been found supporting the practice. However unique in this second
registration ordered by the Syrian governor is that every Jewish person had to return to the city of their
birthright or family heritage. Normally when registering for the Roman tax, the Jews signed up in the
town in which they lived. But this one time in history, the governor required every person, including
men and women, to return to their family heritage city to register. We cannot say why he did this, other
than it was the providence of God to bring both Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem – the prophesized city of
the birth of the Messiah.

Both Mary and Joseph were distant relatives of King David (we will look at their genealogies next) whose
heritage city was Bethlehem. Joseph was required by Roman decree to return to Bethlehem because he
was a descendant of King David through Solomon. Mary was required to register because she was a
descendant of King David through his son Nathan. Thus, their son is qualified to sit on the throne of
David by blood through his physical mother, Mary, and by legal right through is adoptive father, Joseph.
There was no way around it. Even though she was great with child, they both would have to make the
4-day journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to obey the decree.

The trip was long and arduous. They probably journeyed over to the Sea of Galilee, traveled down the
Jordan River Valley to Jericho, scaled winding road up through the Judean wilderness to Jerusalem, and
then turned south for the last 6 miles to Bethlehem, a trip of about 80 miles. An alternate would be to
travel the common trade route between Nazareth and Jerusalem, but most Jews traveling alone or in
small groups did not travel through Samaria (see map for two possible routes). Both Joseph and Mary
were poor, just starting out in married life, and probably did not have the money to purchase a donkey.
In those days, a donkey was purchased for an entire month’s salary. They most likely walked the entire
journey arriving late at night. Mary was at full term. This does not gel with many Christmas cards that
show Joseph walking and Mary riding a donkey.

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