Sermon and Worship Resources

Luke 2:1-7 · The Birth of Jesus

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

It's All About the Messiah

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon
by Derl G. Keefer

I read an old legend about a Christmas party that Satan and his pack of demons were having in hell. As the demonic guests were departing, one laughed and grinned and sarcastically said to Satan, “Merry Christmas your majesty!” At that, Satan replied with a growl, “Yes, keep it merry. If they ever get serious about it, we’ll all be in trouble.”

Today the focus is all about the Messiah and we need to be serious about it. It is the birth of the baby Jesus, the Messiah. It is the coming of God…the doctrine of incarnation. It is the intervention of God’s presence among humanity.

As someone observed — it was the year of destiny. According to Greek theology, the planet Jupiter entered the Great Conjunction by proclaiming the coming ruler of the final Golden Age. In Rome Augustus was at the apex of his career. On the Nile in Egypt the Emperor was being celebrated as the freedom-giving god, Jupiter. On the Euphrates the astrologers were setting out for Palestine to see the promised king of peace. The country of Israel was a different setting. There was a tempest brewing.

Stauffer related to his readers that Herod had been demoted several months before Quirinius’ census-takers were spreading like a swarm of locusts descending upon all the towns and small villages of Israel, with swords in their hands. The bureaucracy ran rampant and the people fought back with resistance including rebel bands. Six thousand Pharisees refused to take the imperial oath to Jupiter that Rome demanded. Herod, the puppet king of Israel was nervous. He did all within his power to satisfy Rome’s tax collectors and commissioners. There was sedition and plots whispered throughout the land. Herod’s ears were everywhere and whenever he suspected that a plot to overthrow his government was bubbling up, he acted with vengeance. In Samaria he had the two Hasmonaean princes killed. Along with the princes he had three hundred officers faithful to the Hasmoneans assassinated. His eyes were on anyone who might be a descendent of David.

It is this apocalyptic environment that Jesus came into the world…the son of David born in the ancient, holy, royal city of Bethlehem.

Christmas is about the birth of the Messiah (Luke 2:1-7).

People in Western culture who have grown up in the church know the elementary elements of the story. Today the story is different. With the decline of Christianity and church attendance many have no idea of the events. Let me just recount some of the events.

Rome decided it would be a strategic decision to find out the population of their Roman states and satellite lands. The Gospel writer, Luke begins the Christmas story with the quick mention of Caesar Augustus, who was the biological nephew of Julius Caesar and Augustus, who became Julius’ adoptive son. It was Augustus who led Rome’s transformation from a republic form of government to an empire that would last for 200 years. Augustus shrewdly combined military might, institutional building projects and lawmaking tenants to lay the foundation for his rule. There would be no time in history where the birth of the Messiah could have been more appropriate up to that time.

Luke told us that Joseph and Mary went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to the sleepy village of Bethlehem because Joseph’s heritage was from there. Old Testament prophet Micah wrote 700 years before the birth of Jesus that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1-2). The meaning of Bethlehem is “house of bread.” What an appropriate place for Jesus to be born. He said of himself, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35a) and continued in that verse to say to people, “Whoever goes to me will never go hungry” (John 6:35b).

The gospel writer sketched in another character in his story…the innkeeper. This businessman has been painted as a villain by most of us. Probably more accurately he was busy and his inn was full. He had no idea who he was refusing a room to at that moment. Tell me what paying customer would he kick out? Wouldn’t you be upset if he tried to take your room? He did the best that he could with the situation at hand. He was being expedient like most of us today. So don’t be too hard on him. “In the season when we celebrate this birth we get so busy with Christmas cards and presents, with year-end internal revenue matters, with shopping and cooking, that there is no room in our lives for the most important guest of all. Like the innkeeper, we are not villains; we’re just preoccupied and harried.” (Bruce Larson, The Communicator’s Commentary — Luke, p. 48).

Joseph and Mary took the stable offered by the innkeeper. It was there that Mary gave birth to her son Jesus. This little baby who fit so snuggly into his mother’s arms, who felt so light in the rough hands of his stepfather, Joseph…this baby was the Messiah sent from God the Father to become the Messiah to Israel and the world. The etymology Meshiac means “anointed one.” In the Old Testament when it was applied to persons, the term indicates induction into a sacred office. It was applied exceptionally to prophets, occasionally to the chief priests and most commonly to the king of Israel, who was called Messiah of Yahweh (1 Samuel 24:6, Ezekiel 29:7, Isaiah 54:1).

Once Judea was destroyed in 586 BC the Jews found their hopes centering upon an earthly establishment of the monarchy by a descendant of David. But the prophets began to help their people to understand that the Messiah was so much more than an earthly king.

This new Messiah would spread the knowledge of the true God to the very ends of the world. His plan was to do it by not imposing his will on others, but by uncomplaining endurance of contempt, injustice, suffering, and death. Who was this Messiah? It was the one who lays bare the kingdom of God and the realities of God’s redemptive work. It was Christ who calls a wayward Israel and world back to a loving holy God. The baby Jesus who would grow into manhood and become God’s Messiah for the world. He is also our Messiah and he comes directly from heaven for our salvation!

Christmas is about the Incarnation of God (Luke 2:8-14).

Entering the scene were shepherds and angels…humans and celestial beings from the realm of glory. Going about their nightly duties, these shepherds of the temple flocks encountered a sobering and life-changing event. As they were watching over the sheep sleepily — suddenly an angel stood by them, and the glory of God — that radiating, brilliant splendor or majesty of God dazzled them. The Old Testament called it the “Shekinah glory” of God.

Their unexpected guest told them not to fear for he had wonderful, glorious news for them. He was there on God’s behalf to tell them a secret. But the secret would soon be out for all the world to hear! He was there to tell them about the Savior….the one who would take away their sins…help them in their most desperate moments…who would save them from eternal hell…that Savior was being born that very night! He was the divine Savior the very incarnation of God himself.

We Christians firmly believe that the eternal second person of the triune Godhead joined himself with a complete human nature and was born as Jesus, the God-man. The apostle John wrote, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us!” (John 1:14).

James Montgomery Boice’s chapter in his book, God the Redeemer, stated that Paul also wrote about the incarnation. According to Boice, Paul traced Christ’s life from eternity past, when he was in the form of God and equal to God through the events of his earthly life and eternity future, where he once again glorified with the father in Philippians 2:5-11. Boice said that Paul used two words in speaking of the position that Jesus enjoyed with the Father. The first is the Greek word, “morphe” found in the phrase, “the form of God.” It referred to the internal fitness of the two together. As someone said, “(Jesus) possessed inwardly and displayed outwardly the very nature of God.” The second word is “equal.” It is like the isosceles triangle with two equal sides. It means that the two are equal. Jesus is fused as God and man in such a way that he became our one and only hope of salvation.

A legend is told about the casting of a great bell in Peking. It is the bell on which midnight is sounded, and it was cast a century and a half ago. Two attempts at casting were made and ended in failure. The emperor sent for Kuan-Yin, the official in charge of the task. The emperor informed Yin that if he failed again he would be killed. The legend continues that the man’s daughter, Ko-ai, consulted an astrologer, who told her that unless a virgin’s blood was mingled with the metal the third casting it, too, would fail. She asked permission to be present when the attempt was made. As her father and his helpers were rushing to get the white-hot metal from the furnace into the great mold the devoted daughter sprang forward with the cry, “For my father!” and leaped into the fiery stream adding her life-blood into its composition, and won her father’s safety and success.

The unknown author of the story makes the spiritual application as he wrote that the great bell of humanity was out of tune. It swung gloomily and sadly, and its music was all harsh, grating, and discordant. Then our Savior threw himself from the heights of heaven. His life-blood entered into a world’s alloy, and ever since, the vast bell has been growing sweeter and more attuned to the heavenly music for those who have found the redeemer.

Christmas is about sharing the story of God (Luke 2:15-20).

The shepherds journeyed to find the baby. At The Bethlehem Inn they found Mary, Joseph, and the focus of their search, Jesus. The Bible says that after they had seen the child, they spread the word concerning what had been told them…and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” They were truly the first evangelists of the gospel of Jesus!

That is our job once we have encountered this Jesus…incarnate God…Savior…we are to share with others the good news that we are loved by God. He has given his Son to us for our salvation!

They went back to the fields, back to being shepherds, back to the routine of life, but with a whole new perspective. This is true of us. Each year as we celebrate the joyous services, countless cantatas, the festive parties, all of the excitement and thrill of the season what have they done to change our lives? What difference will this Christmas mean when we go back to the lives we lead in our schools, jobs, homes and lives? If we believe the message of the angels we go back to the ordinary with a new focus…a better focus…a spiritual focus on Jesus!

Conclusion

Joseph Bayly wrote a wonderful poem about the meaning of Christmas. The last two lines inspired me years ago when I read it.

“I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,

Who became most finite, a baby who would one day

Be executed for my crime.

Praise him in the heavens, praise him in the stable, praise him in my heart.”

Friend, can you praise him? Do you know him? Is he your Christ, your Lord, your Savior? He wants to be. That’s the reason he came into this world!

Amen.

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Focus on Jesus: Cycle C sermons for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany based on the Gospel texts, by Derl G. Keefer

Overview and Insights · The Birth of Jesus (2:1–20)

Because Joseph belongs to the house and royal line of King David, he goes to Bethlehem, the town of David, to register for the census. Jesus is born around 6–5 BC, about six months after John was born (1:26). There is no room for the couple in the “inn,” likely a guest room in a regular house (Luke 22:11). Because that room is occupied, Mary gives birth in the place where the animals stayed and lays the bab…

The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Luke 2:1-7 · The Birth of Jesus

Commentary · The Birth of Jesus

Luke’s interest in history becomes evident as he dates the birth of Jesus in relationship to world history. Augustus (2:1) was officially the Roman emperor from 27 BC to AD 14, and under his reign the Roman world experienced unparalleled peace and prosperity. During the reign of Augustus censuses were conducted for the purposes of taxation. The main purpose of this incident is to show that Jesus was born in the town of David, which was Bethlehem (2:4; cf. Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:4–6). Thus, God in his sovereignty used the decree of Augustus to accomplish his purposes (cf. Isa. 45:1–6). Verse 5 seems to indicate that Mary is now married to Joseph, although the marriage has not yet been consummated. The wrapping of Jesus in strips of cloth (2:7) was the usual way mothers took care of their children (cf. Ezek. 16:4). A second-century tradition places Jesus’s birth in a cave, but there is no compelling evidence for that here. The newborn Jesus was laid in a manger—that is, a place where domesticated animals were fed. The inn in verse 7 was probably a public place where a number of travelers would spend the night under one roof. Possibly the manger was located under the open sky or in a barn somewhere, although the text says nothing about other animals being present. Another possibility is that Jesus was born in the small home of a Jewish peasant family who kept their animals indoors with them.

The historical accuracy of Luke’s description of the census is plagued by various problems, the most serious being the date of Quirinius’s governorship. Quirinius began his governorship of Syria in AD 6, and this is obviously too late to accord with the date of Jesus’s birth, for Jesus was born before the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC. Scholars have suggested various solutions to the problem, but we will mention only two. (1) Quirinius conducted several military operations in the eastern part of the empire, and he may have had extraordinary authority to order a census during the governorship of Saturninus (9–6 BC). (2) Perhaps the census began during the reign of Herod the Great and was not finished until the governorship of Quirinius. No easy resolution of this problem is available, and we must be content with some uncertainty since our historical records are incomplete.

The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Big Idea: The Messiah is born in humble circumstances, but a blaze of heavenly glory shows his true significance.

Understanding the Text

With this scene, the fulfillment of the angel Gabriel’s announcements (1:11–20, 26–37) is complete. Both John and Jesus have been unexpectedly conceived, celebrated in prophetic songs, and born in remarkable circumstances. Each is already revealed as having a central role in God’s plan of salvation, but the angel’s words now emphasize that the good news is centered on the Messiah rather than on his forerunner.

Historical and Cultural Background

Luke’s account of an empire-wide census does not fit comfortably into the period when Herod was still king of Judea (1:5; cf. Matt. 2:1). The first recorded Roman census in Judea (not in the empire as a whole) was in AD 6, ten years after Herod’s death, when Judea had been newly incorporated into the Roman province of Syria, under Quirinius. There is evidence from Egypt of a later census that required people to return to their ancestral homes, but no such provision is known in the rest of the empire. Perhaps Luke is referring here to a local census that was part of Caesar Augustus’s empire-wide reorganization of the provinces.1

Luke’s mention of a “manger” has led most Western readers to assume that Jesus was born in a stable, and that idea has become fixed in our Christmas traditions, even though Luke does not speak of a “stable.” Rather, an ordinary Palestinian village home was a one-room house in which the animals were kept on a lower level (not in a stable), with the mangers set along the side of the family’s living area. The manger was therefore part of an ordinary living room, and there is no basis in Luke’s account for the sentimental idea that Jesus was born excluded from human society. Since Bethlehem was Joseph’s ancestral home, we may assume that they were staying with relatives.2See also the comments on the “inn” in 2:7 below.

Interpretive Insights

2:1 Caesar Augustus. Augustus was effectively emperor from 31 BC to AD 14. Luke mentions him here not only to provide a basis for the census that took Joseph to Bethlehem (see above) but also to set up an ironical contrast between the great commander and statesman who was celebrated as the political “savior” of the Roman world and the child born in an ordinary village home whose “salvation” was to be on a far higher level.

2:4 from the town of Nazareth . . . to Bethlehem the town of David. Even if Joseph and Mary had a donkey (Luke does not say so), this was a long and hazardous journey for a heavily pregnant young woman. Since the two were not yet married, it is surprising that Mary came too rather than giving birth among her family in Nazareth. But it was symbolically important for the child to be born in the place where the Messiah was expected to be born (Matt. 2:4–6; John 7:42).

2:6 her firstborn. This implies that Mary subsequently had other children, Jesus’s “brothers” (8:19; cf. Mark 6:3). It prepares us for the ceremony of the dedication of the firstborn in 2:22–24.

2:7 there was no guest room available for them. The Greek word traditionally translated “inn” (katalyma) normally denotes a guest room in a private house (as in 22:11); Luke uses a different word for a commercial inn in 10:34, and it is questionable whether Bethlehem was a large enough settlement to have an “inn” as such. A slightly more affluent village home might have an additional room for guests either alongside the main living room or built on the roof (cf. 2 Kings 4:10). Perhaps it was already occupied by other relatives who were in town for the census. So Jesus was born among the family in the living room (see above for the “manger”). The circumstances were humble and perhaps inconvenient in contrast to an emperor’s palace, but the scene is one of warmth and acceptance in a family home, not of rejection and squalor.

2:8 there were shepherds. Jews did not share the Egyptian disdain for shepherds (Gen. 46:34); after all, King David had been a shepherd. But these are ordinary workers, of no social standing, who are chosen to be the first witnesses of the Messiah’s birth. Contrast the foreign dignitaries who fill a similar role in Matthew 2:1–12.

2:9–10 an angel of the Lord. The angel is not named this time (cf. 1:19, 26), nor is he alone. In the rest of Luke’s Gospel angels appear only at the empty tomb (24:23). The striking concentration of angelic testimony in these first two chapters underlines the supernatural significance of these events that take place in such down-to-earth circumstances.

Whereas Matthew and Mark use the noun euangelion, Luke uses the verb euangelizomai, to “bring good news.” It occurs frequently in this Gospel and Acts not only for the message proclaimed by Jesus (e.g., 4:18, 43; 8:1) but also for any communication that comes to people from God, whether through angels or humans (1:19; 3:18; 9:6). This Christian “good news” is thus on a different level from the “good news” of the achievements and honors of the emperor, for which similar terminology was used.

for all the people. “The people” is a term specially used for Israel, God’s chosen people. The focus remains firmly on Jesus’s mission as the Jewish Messiah (note “born to you” in 2:11), even though the angels’ song in 2:14 hints at a wider relevance when it refers to “the earth” and to “people on whom his favor rests” (see below).

2:11 a Savior . . . the Messiah, the Lord. This remarkable collection of titles spells out much of Luke’s teaching about Jesus. He is the bringer of “salvation” (a key term for Luke), and he is the fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises to his people. Luke is the only Gospel writer to use “the Lord” editorially as a title for Jesus, and perhaps it is such later Christian usage that is anticipated here. But we have noted in 1:76 that at the time of Jesus’s birth the title could be understood only as referring to God himself, so that there may be a further hint here that when Jesus comes, God comes to visit his people.

2:14 on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. The last phrase in Greek is literally “people of good will” (the traditional “good will to men” derives from a probably later reading of the Greek text). This might mean those who are well disposed, but it is better attested as a Jewish phrase describing those who enjoy God’s favor. So this is not about peace for those whose “good will” deserves it, but about the unmerited grace of God, which brings salvation to those who enjoy his “good will.”

2:18 all who heard it were amazed. Just as the events at John’s birth led to popular speculation as to his future greatness (1:65–66), so now too for the birth of Jesus. But whereas in John’s case the observers had to draw their inferences from uninterpreted events, now we have a direct divine communication through the angels, mediated through the shepherds who heard their song.

2:19 Mary treasured up all these things. Mary will do likewise in 2:51. Unless this is mere speculation on Luke’s part, these comments suggest that he had personal access to Mary, and the fact that his first two chapters focus so consistently on Mary’s experiences (whereas Matt. 1–2 is mainly about Joseph’s) has suggested to many that she was the main source of Luke’s information about the births of John and Jesus.

Theological Insights

Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus is much more than a memorable story for children or the script for nativity plays. The words of the angel in 2:10–11 provide its theological focus. The “good news” is focused not so much on Jesus’s birth as such, but on the role he has come to fulfill, as the promised Messiah and the source of salvation. This salvation is in the first instance for “all the people” (Israel), and Luke’s account, unlike Matthew’s, introduces no non-Israelites into the nativity scenes. But the song of the angels also offers a hint of blessing for the whole earth, and Simeon will make this theme explicit in 2:31–32.

This is a story of contrasts. The imperial pomp and political dominance of Caesar Augustus contrast with the humble village home in which the new world ruler is born. He is born in the royal “city of David,” but he is there only as a visitor, without even a proper guest room. Although the news of his birth comes in an astonishing manifestation of heaven’s glory, it comes to the most ordinary of mortals, agrarian workers, probably dirty and smelly. All this speaks of the God of the Magnificat, who brings down rulers from their thrones but lifts up the humble. The first are last, and the last first.

Teaching the Text

One good approach for teaching this passage is to focus on the strong contrast noted above between the glorious predictions for the coming of the Messiah and the lowly circumstances of Jesus’s birth. The angel’s words in 2:11 offer the teacher a strong christological framework: Jesus is born in the town of king David; he is the Savior, Messiah, Lord. An angelic choir announces his birth! Yet the audience is lowly shepherds and the birth is to poor peasant parents in a humble place where animals are kept. This is the paradox of the gospel. The great and glorious God has stooped down to become one of us, to meet us in our lowly fallen humanity.

The angels’ song in 2:14 invites us to reflect on the true significance of the Messiah’s coming. The balancing themes of heavenly glory and earthly peace point to a restoration of the pre-fall harmony between God and his creation, and eudokia (“good will”) places the emphasis where it should be—on the unmerited grace of God, on which our salvation depends. “Peace” here, as usually in the Bible, is a more holistic concept than mere absence of conflict: it is shalom, the state where all is as it should be.

Luke’s continuing focus on Mary also offers the teacher an opportunity to invite the congregation to enter into the story through her experiences. When she “pondered these things in her heart” (2:19), what did she make of it all? Remember that she was a very young village woman from a conventional Jewish home. This was quite an adventure, despite the physical discomfort and inconvenience. What would she have made of the shepherds’ account of what they had seen and heard? At least she had been forewarned by Gabriel. What about the friends and neighbors, to whom it came without preparation? No wonder they were “amazed” (2:18).

A similar approach might be to compare the reactions of the three groups mentioned in 2:18–20: the onlookers “amazed,” Mary “treasuring and pondering,” and the shepherds “glorifying and praising God.”

Most Western readers still take it for granted that Jesus was born in a stable. In my experience, a discussion of the likely domestic setting as noted above, though perhaps initially unsettling to some, usually leads to a welcome new perspective on the familiar story. It is easier to envisage Jesus as truly “one of us” if his entry into the world was in such an ordinary domestic scene rather than in the abnormal setting of a stable or cave (the latter was a persistent tradition in the early church).

Illustrating the Text

God’s miraculous work and self-revelation bring different responses in different people, but all of them bring him glory.

Personal Stories: Tell about a time when you and a close circle of companions or family members all experienced the same miraculous moment, but each processed it differently. Perhaps you might reflect on the birth of a child, and how older siblings, mother, father, and doctors all responded differently. Some hearts need to process quietly and reflect, others need to talk about it, some give gifts, and still others feel led to do something celebratory or explicitly worshipful. All of these responses, though, have the potential to bring glory to God and to make us focus on his mighty acts.

Personal Testimony: Ask a variety of individuals to tell, in ten words or less, the first reaction they had when they comprehended the good news of the gospel. Some will say they cried, some will say they danced, some will say they called a friend, and so on. Compile these mini-testimonials into a short video, or have a panel share them in person. Explain that all of these different responses give great glory to God for his mighty works of salvation. (This would also be a great time to end by sharing the gospel concisely and offering listeners a chance to accept the gift of salvation and add their own response to those they have witnessed.)

Biblical “peace on earth” is more than the absence of conflict—it is reconciliation and restoration established by Jesus on the cross and conveyed to humanity by sheer grace.

Everyday Life: Talk about the difference between a home filled with the stillness that arises from cold disinterest and disconnection and a home filled with the real, chaotic, messy joy that comes from satisfying connection, true safety, hard-fought honesty, and unvarnished intimacy. Both families may claim they are experiencing a “happy, peaceful home,” but one is defining peace and happiness as the mere absence of chaos and struggle, the situation that settles in when people stop caring and live in spite of each other. The other is defining these gifts as the hard-won fruit that blossoms when people live for God and each other. This fruit is messy and costly, but precious. Explain that peace on earth is not a matter of God and others merely leaving us alone and free to do as we please. Rather, it is the full reversal of the alienation brought on by sin; it is the restoration of all things begun by Jesus on the cross as he reconciled all things to himself. It will culminate in God and his church dwelling together forever, face-to-face.

Drama: Select two young people ahead of time and supply them with fencing foils, toy lightsabers, squirt guns, or foam dart launchers. Have them come onto the platform unexpectedly in the midst of a fierce battle. Stop them, and insist that they make peace with one another. They can reluctantly agree, then act out an uneasy ceasefire in which they keep circling, eyes locked, and weapons still pointed and ready as they twitch and posture. Try to resume the message, as they jockey for position around you and the pulpit, use you for a shield, and so on. Ask your listeners whether they have really made peace yet. Explain to your actors that the peace you want for them is not just a momentary ceasefire. Rather, you want them to fully release enmity and be restored to one another. Disarm them, place their hands in a handshake, and ask them to sit down side by side and enjoy the rest of the message together in the front row. Explain to your listeners that this is the kind of peace Jesus establishes. Our sin has put enmity and wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice—we are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God based on self-righteousness or cheap grace. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God’s own family and eat at table with him in unbroken fellowship forever!

Teaching the Text by R.T. France, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Dictionary

Direct Matches

Augustus

Rome began as a city-state but soon became a transcontinental empire reaching over parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Rome emerged as the most dominant force in the Mediterranean after it defeated Carthage in the Second Punic War (218 201 BC). Thereafter, Rome began to expand its control and power over the various Hellenistic city-states in the east, including Macedonia, Illyria, and Asia Minor. By the mid-first century AD, Rome had also conquered or annexed Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrene, Gaul, Spain, North Africa, and Armenia.

The transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire took place under the Roman emperors beginning with Julius Caesar (100–44 BC), who, after crossing the Rubicon and defeating Pompey, was proclaimed dictator perpetuus (“dictator for life”). The period after Julius Caesar’s assassination (44 BC) was a time of political upheaval as Rome was marred by a series of civil wars. The first was between Octavius and Antony against Caesar’s assassins Brutus and Cassius. This climaxed in the Battle of Philippi (42 BC), which the former allies of Julius Caesar won. The second was between Octavius and Antony, where Antony and Cleopatra were defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, leaving Octavius as the undisputed leader of Rome.

Tiberius, Augustus’s adopted heir, reigned in the years AD 14–37. He was a highly successful military general, but as emperor he was remembered as being gloomy and melancholic. It was during the reign of Tiberius that Jesus conducted his ministry in Palestine.

Tiberius was succeeded by his adopted grandson Caligula, who reigned in the years AD 37–41. Caligula was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicus, who died in Antioch in AD 19. Historical sources are not favorably disposed toward Caligula, who was remembered as a malevolent tyrant given to self-aggrandizement and sexual perversity. In AD 39/40 Caligula departed from imperial policy that permitted emperor worship in the east and veneration of deceased emperors in Rome, and he often appeared dressed as a god in public and demanded worship as a living god. During this time he deposed Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, on suspicion of consorting with Parthia (Josephus, Ant. 18.7). Caligula also ordered that his statue be placed in the holy of holies in the Jerusalem temple (Philo, Embassy 203). Petronius, the governor of Syria, knowing that such an act would lead to civil war, refused to comply and appealed to Caligula to reverse the order. In response, Caligula sent an order to Petronius that he commit suicide. Fortunately, news of Caligula’s assassination by a conspiracy involving the praetorian guard and senators reached Petronius first.

Claudius, Caligula’s uncle, reigned in the years AD 41–54, and his rule was defined by numerous public works, a reordering of the judicial system, a torrid series of marriages, the conquest of Britain, and a number of attempted coups by the Roman senate. In AD 49 he expelled the Jews from Rome because of disputes about a certain “Chrestus,” probably Christ (cf. Acts 18:2). No one is sure whether Claudius was murdered or died of old age, but he remained a sharp contrast to the brutal excesses of Caligula and Nero.

Nero, the stepson of Claudius, reigned in the years AD 54–68. The early period of his rule was marked by cultural endeavors and diplomatic efforts. The later years were, in contrast, distinguished by tyranny and self-aggrandizement. There was a Jewish revolt against Rome in Judea (AD 66–70) during Nero’s reign, and Vespasian was sent to pacify the territory. According to ancient sources, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire of Rome in AD 64 and subjected them to the cruelest of punishments, including crucifixion, being thrown to wild animals, and even being burned alive. It probably was during this time that the apostles Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. Nero eventually was declared a public enemy by the Roman senate, and he committed suicide before he could be captured in AD 68. There arose a “Nero redivivus” legend, whereby many hoped or feared that Nero had not died in AD 68 but had fled to Parthia and would return to Rome in order to destroy it (Sib. Or. 4.119–24; 5.137–41, 361–96), and this arguably stands behind the imagery of Rev. 13:3; 17:8–11.

The suicide of Nero left a power vacuum in Rome, and AD 69 saw no less than four emperors ascend the throne: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and finally Vespasian. Galba was governor of Hispania Tarraconensis and was invited to become emperor by the senate, but he was killed by the praetorian guard after they were bribed by the praetor Otho. Otho himself committed suicide after his forces were defeated by Vitellius, the commander of the legions on the Rhine. Vitellius became emperor, but he was fiscally irresponsible and murdered many of his rivals. The legions in the Danube, Egypt, Syria, and Judea had declared Vespasian emperor and marched on Rome. Vespasian controlled the grain supplies to Rome from Egypt and had a superior force. Vitellius’s forces were defeated at Bedriacum, and Vitellius went into hiding but eventually was killed in Rome. Vespasian was declared emperor by the senate, and so began the Flavian dynasty, which restored order after the chaos of civil war.

The Flavians ruled in the years AD 69–96. Vespasian (r. AD 69–79) consolidated the empire after its year of strife and instituted new taxes, such as the fiscus judaicus, a war reparation tax placed on all Jews and paid to the temple of Jupiter in lieu of the Jerusalem temple tax. Vespasian was succeeded by his sons Titus (r. AD 79–81) and Domitian (r. AD 81–96). When Vespasian sailed to Rome from Judea, Titus was left in charge of the siege of Jerusalem, which he completed and celebrated in a triumph in Rome in AD 72. This triumph is memorialized in the Arch of Titus, which depicts Roman soldiers bringing the vessels of the temple to Rome as part of the booty taken. Later Roman writers regarded Domitian as a malevolent and malicious tyrant (e.g., Tacitus, Suetonius), but this probably is an exaggeration caused partly by a desire to highlight the greatness of succeeding emperors such as Nerva and Trajan. It probably was during the reign of Domitian that some Christians in Asia Minor were being persecuted for their failure to worship the emperor, as depicted in the book of Revelation.

The birth of the church and the growth of Christianity took place within the wider social, religious, and cultural context of the Greco-Roman world. The politics and power of the Roman Empire provide the backdrop for the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1), and since Rome was considered to be the center of the world, it was necessary that Paul himself testify to Jesus Christ there (Acts 19:21). The history, literature, and cultural background of Rome form an important background to the NT and should be studied along with the history and literature of Judaism during the time of Jesus and the apostles. Although the Romans were the primary threat to the survival of Christians in the ancient world, after the conversion of Constantine in the fourth century AD, they became the primary means by which Christianity spread to the rest of Europe and western Asia.

Bethlehem

The well-known town about four miles south of Jerusalem in Judah, situated on a couple of hills about 2,300 feet above sea level. The ancient name was “Ephrath” or “Ephrathah” (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11; Ps. 136:2; Mic. 5:2; see also Bethlehem Ephrathah).

Bethlehem first enters biblical history when Jacob’s wife Rachel dies there while giving birth to Benjamin (Gen. 35:16 19). After the conquest, the town was inhabited by Ephrathites descended from Caleb, one of whom was called “father of Bethlehem” (in the sense of civic leader; 1 Chron. 2:51; 4:4; cf. 2:54). Judges mentions two Levites passing though, one who moved from Bethlehem to Ephraim (Judg. 17:7–9), and another who lived in Ephraim but took a concubine from Bethlehem (19:1). The most important references to Bethlehem from this era, however, are in Ruth. It was from Bethlehem that Elimelek’s family set out for Moab (Ruth 1:1), and to Bethlehem that Ruth and Naomi returned (1:22). Two generations later, it was into this same Bethlemite family that the future king David was born (Ruth 4:18–22; 1 Sam. 16:1).

Bethlehem is mentioned frequently as David’s hometown (e.g., 1 Sam. 17:12, 58; 20:6). Several of the mighty men on whom David depended so much were from there, including the brothers Joab, Abishai, and Asahel (2 Sam. 2:18, 32) and Elhanan (2 Sam. 23:24). At one point, when Bethlehem was temporarily garrisoned by Philistines, some of the mighty men risked their lives to fetch David water from the town well (2 Sam. 23:14–17; 2 Chron. 11:16–26). Bethlehem was later fortified by David’s grandson Rehoboam (2 Chron. 11:6).

In the eighth century the prophet Micah promised that although Judah’s defeat was inevitable, a new king would arise from this otherwise insignificant town to save the whole of Israel (Mic. 5:2). Both the place and the clan retained their identity through the exile, and 123 men of Bethlehem returned to Judah (Ezra 2:21; see also Neh. 7:26).

Birth

Births in the ancient world were the domain of women. The women who bore children were often assisted in the birthing process by midwives (Gen. 35:17; 38:28; Exod. 1:15 20).

Many women utilized a birthing stool (Exod. 1:16). Upon birth, the newborn often was washed with water, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloths (Ezek. 16:4; Luke 2:7, 12). The OT required women to undergo a rite of purification following childbirth (Exod. 13:2, 20; 34:20; Lev. 12:6–8; Luke 2:22–24). This purification lasted forty days after the birth of a son and eighty days after the birth of a daughter and concluded with the sacrifice of both a burnt offering and a sin offering.

Birthing was valued, and women who were considered to be infertile often faced great shame (1 Sam. 1:10–11; Luke 1:25). Pain in childbirth was associated with the sin of Eve (Gen. 3:16), and conversely, absence of pain was interpreted as a sign that a woman was particularly righteous. According to Josephus, Moses was born with no pain to his mother, and the Protevangelium of James indicates the same about Mary’s labor with Jesus.

The Bible sometimes employs the language of birth as a spiritual metaphor. In John 3:3–6 Jesus instructs Nicodemus about the need for spiritual birth by explaining that he must be born again. In Rom. 8:22 Paul describes the whole of creation as experiencing the pain of childbirth as it awaits redemption, and in Gal. 4:19 he says that he is in labor for a second time with the Galatians as he desires the formation of Christ in them.

Caesar

The family name of the Roman emperors following Julius Caesar (100 44 BC). Emperors after Nero retained the title “Caesar,” although they no longer belonged to the family line. The NT alludes to four Caesars: Augustus, also called “Octavian” (r. 31 BC–AD 14), called for the census (Luke 2:1) that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem prior to Jesus’ birth. Tiberius (r. AD 14–37) is named in Luke 3:1 and was the Caesar ruling when Jesus was questioned about paying taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:17–21; Luke 20:22–25). The famine predicted by Agabus occurred during the tenure of Claudius (r. AD 41–54) (Acts 11:28), the emperor who prompted Aquila and Priscilla’s relocation to Corinth (Acts 18:2) when he expelled the Jewish population from Rome (AD 49). Nero (r. AD 54–68) was the Caesar to whom Paul appealed (Acts 25:10) and from whose household Paul sent greetings to the Philippians (Phil. 4:22).

Census

There are several censuses in Scripture, and their concern is not simply to account for the number of people or the number of men available for military service; they also have a literary and theological function.

In the book of Numbers there are two census accounts (actually, military registrations). These are important to the structure and theme of the book. The theme of Numbers has to do with the judgment on the first generation (the object of the census in Num. 1) and the hope for the second generation, which will enter the promised land (the object of the second census).

David conducted a census to measure his military power, but this is condemned by God and regarded as satanic (2 Sam. 24:1 17; 1 Chron. 21:1–30). For the Chronicler, any attempt to account for the total number of Israelite men twenty years and older, similar to the census in the book of Numbers, is regarded as challenging God’s promise to make Israel as numerous as the stars (1 Chron. 29:23–26).

Ezra and Nehemiah contain census lists of the returnees from exile: under Zerubbabel, 42,360 men returned (Ezra 2:1–66; Neh. 7:4–73), and under Ezra, 1,496 men (Ezra 8:1–14).

In the NT, Jesus participates in the universal census that encompasses not only Israel but other nations as well—a census of the entire Roman world (Luke 2:1–7). The census motif reaches its fulfillment when a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language will stand before the throne and in front of the Lamb, symbolized by the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel, 12,000 from each tribe (Rev. 7:4–10).

City of David

According to 2 Sam. 5:6 9 (see also 1 Chron. 11:5), David captured the “fortress of Zion” from the Jebusites and renamed it the City of David since his personal army captured it. The fact that it was the personal domain of the royal family rather than a tribal allotment made it an ideal capital of Israel, since it did not favor a particular tribe.

David

The second king of Israel (r. 1010 970 BC), founder of a dynasty that continued with his son Solomon (r. 970–931 BC), who ruled all of Israel; subsequently the remaining “sons of David” ruled the southern kingdom, Judah, until 586 BC.

Human kingship is a late development in Israel, but a number of ancient texts anticipate the establishment of the institution (Gen. 17:6; Deut. 17:14–20) and specifically the rise of a king from Judah (Gen. 49:8–12; Num. 24:17). Thus, it is surprising that the first king of Israel is not from Judah, but from Benjamin. When the people ask Samuel for a king, he anoints Saul (1 Sam. 8–12), who proves to be a tremendous disappointment. He forfeits the establishment of his dynasty when he shows a lack of confidence in God by rashly offering prebattle sacrifices (13:13–14). God then rejects Saul as king because he does not execute God’s full judgment against the Amalekites as he knows he should (15:23).

Eventually Saul’s moment of judgment comes. Saul’s final battle is against the Philistines, the major foreign force still inside the borders of the promised land. Both Saul and Jonathan meet their end on Mount Gilboa, and David sings songs that express his sadness over their deaths (1 Sam. 31–2 Sam. 1).

Even with Saul out of the way, David’s rise to kingship is not easy. He is immediately crowned king of Judah (2 Sam. 2:1–7), but the northern tribes choose to follow Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul. War erupts between the two kingdoms. Eventually, though, the powerful general Abner abandons his support of Saul’s son, sealing the end of that dynasty. Ish-Bosheth is killed by his own men, and soon David becomes king over all Israel (5:1–5).

David’s kingship leads to significant victories that, in essence, complete the conquest of Canaan by finally subduing all the internal enemies. His men take the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites, and he makes it his capital (2 Sam. 5:6–16). He also defeats the Philistines, who have been a thorn in the side of Israel for years (2 Sam. 5:17–25; for other victories, see 8:1–14). In celebration, David brings the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6).

The David narrative reaches its apex when God enters into a covenant with him that establishes his dynasty (2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 17). After David dies, his son will succeed him, and indeed his dynasty lasts for many hundreds of years (see below).

David is a good king, but not a perfect king. A turning point in his reign comes in 2 Sam. 11. Up to this point, David has been content with what God has given him. He does not grasp for anything that does not belong to him. However, when he sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing, he sends messengers to bring her to his house, where the two have sexual intercourse and she becomes pregnant. In an attempt to conceal this sin of adultery, he orders the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. Thus, he adds the crime of murder to that of adultery.

David thinks that the sin is secret, but nothing is hidden from God, who sends his prophet Nathan to confront David (2 Sam. 12; cf. Ps. 51). The difference between Saul and David is not that the latter is perfect but rather that David, as opposed to Saul, repents when he sins. Thus, God allows his reign to continue. Even so, David feels the consequences of his sin. First, the son that Bathsheba bears from her illicit union with David is struck with illness and dies. And ever afterward, David’s family life is troubled, with great impact on the political life of Israel. Son is pitted against son (Amnon and Absalom [2 Sam. 13]), as well as son against father (Absalom and David [2 Sam. 15–18]). Absalom temporarily deposes his father from the throne, but David eventually regains the kingship, though at the cost of the heartbreaking loss of his son.

Even at the very end, there is conflict within David’s house. When David has grown old, another son, Adonijah, attempts to take the throne, with support from powerful people such as Joab and Abiathar. At the instigation of Bathsheba and Nathan, however, David places the son of his choosing, Solomon, on the throne (1 Kings 1). David then dies after a reign of forty-one years, seven in Hebron and the rest over all Israel (1 Kings 2:10–12).

David’s greatest legacy is the dynasty that bears his name. Beginning with Solomon, however, his successors do not continue his spiritual legacy. Although a number of kings do some good, only Hezekiah (r. 727–698 BC) and Josiah (r. 639–609 BC) are given unqualified approval. Eventually, the Davidic rule comes to an end in Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians (586 BC). But God is not done with his redemptive purposes, and his promise to David is that he will have a ruler on the throne “forever” (2 Sam. 7:16). The NT recognizes that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this promise. He is the greater son of David, the one who is the Christ or Messiah, the anointed king. Jesus is the one who reigns forever in heaven. The life and the rule of David foreshadow the messianic rule of Jesus Christ.

Family

People in the Bible were family-centered and staunchly loyal to their kin. Families formed the foundation of society. The extended family was the source of people’s status in the community and provided the primary economic, educational, religious, and social interactions.

Marriage and divorce. Marriage in the ancient Near East was a contractual arrangement between two families, arranged by the bride’s father or a male representative. The bride’s family was paid a dowry, a “bride’s price.” Paying a dowry was not only an economic transaction but also an expression of family honor. Only the rich could afford multiple dowries. Thus, polygamy was minimal. The wedding itself was celebrated with a feast provided by the father of the groom.

The primary purpose for marriage in the ancient Near East was to produce a male heir to ensure care for the couple in their old age. The concept of inheritance was a key part of the marriage customs, especially with regard to passing along possessions and property.

Marriage among Jews in the NT era still tended to be endogamous; that is, Jews sought to marry close kin without committing incest violations (Lev. 18:6 17). A Jewish male certainly was expected to marry a Jew. Exogamy, marrying outside the remote kinship group, and certainly outside the ethnos, was understood as shaming God’s holiness. Thus, a Jew marrying a Gentile woman was not an option. The Romans did practice exogamy. For them, marrying outside one’s kinship group (not ethnos) was based predominantly on creating strategic alliances between families.

Greek and Roman law allowed both men and women to initiate divorce. In Jewish marriages, only the husband could initiate divorce proceedings. If a husband divorced his wife, he had to release her and repay the dowry. Divorce was common in cases of infertility (in particular if the woman had not provided male offspring). Ben Sira comments that barrenness in a woman is a cause of anxiety to the father (Sir. 42:9–10). Another reason for divorce was adultery (Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). Jesus, though, taught a more restrictive use of divorce than the OT (Mark 10:1–12).

Children and parenting. Childbearing was considered representative of God’s blessing on a woman and her entire family, in particular her husband. In contrast to this blessing, barrenness brought shame on women, their families, and specifically their husbands.

Children were of low social status in society. Infant mortality was high. An estimated 60 percent of the children in the first-century Mediterranean society were dead by the age of sixteen.

Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean societies exhibited a parenting style based on their view of human nature as a mixture of good and evil tendencies. Parents relied on physical punishment to prevent evil tendencies from developing into evil deeds (Prov. 29:15). The main concern of parents was to socialize the children into family loyalty. Lack of such loyalty was punished (Lev. 20:9). At a very early stage children were taught to accept the total authority of the father. The rearing of girls was entirely the responsibility of the women. Girls were taught domestic roles and duties as soon as possible so that they could help with household tasks.

Family identity was used as a metaphor in ancient Israel to speak of fidelity, responsibility, judgment, and reconciliation. In the OT, the people of Israel often are described as children of God. In their overall relationship to God, the people of Israel are referred to in familial terms—sons and daughters, spouse, and firstborn (Exod. 4:22). God is addressed as the father of the people (Isa. 63:16; 64:8) and referred to as their mother (Isa. 49:14–17).

The church as the family of God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a call to loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26), a call to fictive kinship, the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50; Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call to community. Entrance into the community was granted through adopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and the initiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–63; John 1:12; 3:16; 10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9). Jesus’ presence as the head of the community was eventually replaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18). Through the Spirit, Jesus’ ministry continues in the community of his followers, God’s family—the church. See also Adoption.

Firstborn

The first child born to a married couple. In the OT it most commonly refers to the first male child, upon whom special privileges were bestowed. The OT describes some of the privileges associated with being the firstborn son: he would receive a double portion of the inheritance (a privilege codified in the law in Deut. 21:17), the paternal blessing (Gen. 27; 48:17 19), and other examples of favoritism (e.g., Gen. 43:33). The importance ascribed to the firstborn is also attested in the legislative requirement that the firstborn—people, animals, and produce—belong to Yahweh (Lev. 27:26; Deut. 15:19; and of people, note Num. 3:12–13), so stressing his primacy over Israel.

“Firstborn” language is also used figuratively in the OT. It is used of Israel as Yahweh’s firstborn in Exod. 4:22–23, wherein Pharaoh’s failure to release Yahweh’s firstborn results in the destruction of Egypt’s firstborn. God also declares the Davidic king to be his firstborn son in Ps. 89:27, highlighting the special favor that he would enjoy. “Firstborn” language can also be used figuratively to describe anything that receives a greater share, such as “the firstborn of Death” in Job 18:13 (NRSV) and “the firstborn of the poor” in Isa. 14:30 (NRSV).

Somewhat surprisingly, God does not adhere to the significance of primogeniture, frequently bestowing his favor on those who were not firstborn: Abel over Cain, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph and Judah over Reuben, Ephraim over Manasseh, Moses over Aaron, David over his brothers, and Solomon over Adonijah.

The NT presupposes an understanding of the significance of the firstborn. Jesus is specifically identified as Mary’s firstborn (Luke 2:7, 23). However, the description extends beyond mere notions of human primogeniture when Jesus is described as “firstborn over all creation” (Col. 1:15) and “firstborn from among the dead” (Col. 1:18; cf. Rev. 1:5). These expressions, in line with figurative use of “firstborn” language in the OT, express Jesus’ privileged place in both creation and the new creation.

Galilee

The northern region of Israel. Determining the region’s precise boundaries is difficult, but in Jesus’ time it appears to have encompassed an area of about forty-five miles north to south and twenty-five miles east to west, with the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee forming the eastern border. Josephus divides the region into Upper and Lower Galilee. Upper Galilee contains elevations of up to about four thousand feet and is composed mostly of rugged mountains, while Lower Galilee reaches a maximum height of about two thousand feet and is characterized by numerous fertile valleys. Lower Galilee was the site of most of Jesus’ ministry.

Galilee appears several times in the OT (e.g., Josh. 20:7; 1 Kings 9:11; 1 Chron. 6:76). It was part of the land given to the twelve tribes (Josh. 19). Since Galilee was distant from Jerusalem, which played the most prominent part in Jewish history, much of its history is not mentioned in the OT. Many of the references that do occur are military references, such as Joshua’s defeat of the kings at the waters of Merom (Josh. 11:1 9) and the Assyrian removal of the northern kingdom of Israel (Isa. 9:1). However, its great beauty, particularly of mountains such as Carmel, Hermon, and Lebanon, was the source of numerous images and metaphors in the poetic and prophetic literature (e.g., Ps. 133:3; Isa. 33:9; 35:2; Jer. 46:18).

Galilee figures more prominently in the NT. Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and conducted much of his early ministry there. Luke specifically identifies Galilee as the place where Jesus’ ministry began before spreading to Judea (Luke 23:5; Acts 10:37). Galilee is also portrayed as the place where Jesus will reunite with his disciples following the resurrection (Mark 16:7) and where he gives them the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16–20).

Governor

There are several notable governors in the OT. After being sold into slavery in Egypt, Joseph was exalted to governor of Egypt, second only to the king. Thus, his brothers bowed before him (Gen. 42:6). Solomon, during his reign, established twelve governors, each one responsible for supplying provisions to the king one month out of the year (1 Kings 4:7), and Solomon received tribute from them (1 Kings 10:15; 2 Chron. 9:14).

One notable governor was Gedaliah, ruler of the Jewish remnant left in Judah during the deportation, who reported to the king of Babylon (Jer. 40:11). Later, he was assassinated by Ishmael (41:2). This provoked great fear, causing some to flee to Egypt (41:17 18).

Another notable individual who governed the Jewish people upon their return to Jerusalem after the captivity was Sheshbazzar, governor under Cyrus (Ezra 5:14). He had been entrusted with the vessels for the house of God in Jerusalem that had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar (1:7–8). This same Sheshbaz-zar had begun building the foundation of the temple by the legal decree of Cyrus the king (5:14–6:6). Subsequently, Zerubbabel (under Darius I) became governor and completed the foundation and the rest of the temple (Ezra 3–6; see also Hag. 1:1–15). He and the other workers are said to have had their spirits stirred to do the work (Hag. 1:14).

Nehemiah, who led the people in restoring the wall of Jerusalem for the safety and restoration of the city, was governor over his people (under Artaxerxes I) and had a true heart of compassion toward the poor. His sympathy for them was so deep that he did not take the regular allotment of food and other goods that the other governors took by right (Neh. 5:14–15). The governors who had gone before ruled and taxed heavily. Nehemiah deemed this an illegitimate way to live among God’s people. At the reading of the law along with Ezra the priest and the other Levites, Nehemiah directed the attention of the people to the proper response to the word of God (8:9–10).

In the NT, the most common word for governor is hēgemōn. As in the OT, governors were appointed by higher authorities who delegated to them the authority to rule.

The office of governor was very important in Israel during the NT period. Herod the Great had ruled Israel during the years 37–4 BC. At his death in 4 BC, three of his sons took over the kingdom with the approval of Caesar Augustus. Archelaus ruled Judea and Samaria, Herod Antipas (Herod the Tetrarch) was tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and Philip was tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitus (see Luke 3:1; Josephus, J.W. 2.93–97). The Jewish people revolted against Archelaus in the ninth year, and he was stripped of his rulership and banished in AD 6 (Josephus, J.W. 2.111). His kingdom was turned into a Roman province, with Coponius ruling as governor. From this time until the reign of Herod Agrippa I, Judea was ruled by a line of governors (called “prefects” or “procurators”). In AD 41 Herod Agrippa I began to rule and eventually governed roughly the same territory as did Herod the Great, his grandfather. His rule, however, lasted only three years. In the period AD 44–66 governors again ruled in Judea, among them Felix and Festus, with whom the apostle Paul had audience.

Of note among these governors was Pontius Pilate, appointed in AD 26 by Tiberius. Pilate’s fortunes seemed to wax and wane with those of General Sejanus, with whom he shared many political and social views. When he first arrived in Palestine, Pilate provoked protests by secretly bringing army standards bearing the images of Roman emperors—idols in Jewish eyes—into Jerusalem (Josephus, Ant. 18.55–59). On another occasion demonstrations broke out when Pilate used money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct for Jerusalem (18.60–62). Pilate sent soldiers to surround and attack the protestors, many of whom were killed. Luke 13:1 refers to a similar episode near the Temple Mount in which Pilate massacred some Galileans, “whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” Typical of the Romans, Pilate met protest with ruthless and overwhelming force. At Jesus’ trial, though Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent (John 18:38), he condemned Jesus to crucifixion to avoid antagonizing the religious leaders. This kind of action was characteristic of Pilate. He was an unscrupulous and self-seeking leader who loathed the Jewish leadership but feared antagonizing them. Josephus notes that during the tumult of the Samaritans (to assemble at Mount Gerizim), Pilate put them to flight, killing some of them. The Samaritans complained about Pilate’s murderous ways to Vitellius, who was friendly to them, and he recalled Pilate to Rome to answer before Tiberius, but Pilate took so long getting there that Tiberius was dead when he finally arrived (Josephus, Ant. 18.85–89). Pilate was eventually removed from office, and we hear nothing else from him.

Two other Judean governors who appear in the NT are Felix and Festus, who played a role in the apostle Paul’s trial (Acts 24–26). Felix’s wife, Drusilla, was a Jewess, and she was with him at Paul’s second hearing. On this second occasion Paul reasoned powerfully with Felix, so much so that Felix became frightened about the future and sent Paul away. His fear notwithstanding, Felix sought to exploit the situation for monetary gain (no doubt bribes were common), but Paul made no response. Two years later Felix was replaced by the next governor, Porcius Festus. Festus heard the defense of Paul (Acts 26) and sent him to Rome after his appeal, though both Festus and Herod agreed that Paul could have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar (Acts 26:30–32).

Joseph

(1) The eleventh son of Judah and the first by Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel (Gen. 30:24; 35:24).

Joseph was Jacob’s favorite, and so Jacob “made an ornate robe for him” (37:3). While shepherding with his brothers, Joseph had a dream indicating that he would one day rise to prominence over them. This was too much for his brothers to bear, and so they decided, after some deliberation, to throw him into a cistern and, rather than kill him, sell him to passing Ishmaelite/Midianite merchants (37:25 28).

Upon arriving in Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh, and then thrown in jail after Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of making sexual advances (chap. 39). While in jail, he accurately interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (chap. 40). Two years later, he was called upon to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams (chap. 41). Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams plus his administrative skills saved Egypt from famine, which resulted in his elevation to being “in charge of the whole land of Egypt” (41:41).

It was the famine that brought Joseph’s family to Egypt to find food, which eventually led to their warm reunion, though not without some testing on Joseph’s part (chaps. 42–45). After Joseph made himself known to his brothers, they reconciled and sent for the elderly Jacob, who was awaiting news in Canaan. Thus, Jacob and his twelve sons lived in Egypt, and their descendants were eventually enslaved by a king “to whom Joseph meant nothing” (Exod. 1:8).

Joseph died in Egypt and was embalmed (Gen. 50:20–26). The exodus generation took his bones out of Egypt (Exod. 13:19), and he was later buried in Shechem (Josh. 24:32).

(2) The husband of Mary, mentioned only by name in Jesus’ birth stories in Matthew and Luke. According to Matt. 1:16, Joseph is a descendant of David, which establishes Jesus’ royal bloodline. Luke’s genealogy (3:23–38) downplays Jesus’ relationship to Joseph. In Matthew, Joseph is a recipient of several divine communications by means of dreams, announcing Mary’s conception (1:18–25) and commanding the flight to Egypt (2:13) and the return to Nazareth (2:19–23). In Luke, Joseph takes Mary to Bethlehem to give birth (2:4–7), presents Jesus in the temple for consecration (2:21–24), and brings Mary and Jesus to Jerusalem for the Passover feast when Jesus is twelve (2:41–52).

(3) A Jew from Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin who did not agree to put Jesus to death (Luke 23:50–51; John 19:38). He asked Pilate for Jesus’ body, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in his own tomb (Matt. 27:57–60). (4) Also known as Barsabbas or Justus, he was one of the two men proposed to take Judas Iscariot’s place among the disciples (Acts 1:23).

Manger

A container or basin that holds the feed for domesticated farm animals such as cattle, sheep, or horses (Prov. 14:4; KJV: “crib”). For want of a room at the inn, Mary wrapped Jesus in cloths and placed him in a manger shortly after his birth (Luke 2:7). Nearby, shepherds were told by angels that Christ the Lord had been born in Bethlehem, and that the sign to them would be a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger (2:12). They journeyed to Bethlehem and found Jesus just as the angels had said (2:16).

Mary

(1) The most important Mary of the NT is the mother of Jesus, who becomes pregnant through the Holy Spirit while still a virgin. In contrast with Matthew’s birth narrative, where the emphasis falls on Joseph, Luke’s focuses on Mary. Luke’s Gospel introduces Mary as the one to whom God sends the angel Gabriel (1:26 27). Gabriel announces that Mary will be the mother of the Messiah from David’s line, who will reign over the house of Jacob and have a unique father-son relationship with God. Mary responds in humble obedience as “the Lord’s servant” (1:29–38). When she visits her relative Elizabeth, Mary breaks forth in the Magnificat, a song praising God for caring for the humble, humbling the mighty, and remembering his covenant with Abraham (1:46–55).

After the birth of Jesus and the visit from the shepherds, Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (2:19). An old man, Simeon, announces that although Jesus will be a light of revelation for the Gentiles and Israel’s glory, Mary will be deeply grieved, and her soul will be pierced by a sword (2:35). This is the first hint in Luke’s Gospel that Mary’s child, the Messiah, will suffer. In the only episode from Jesus’ childhood in the Gospel, Mary scolds her son for remaining in the temple while his family traveled back to Galilee (2:48). In Luke’s Gospel, Mary is a humble and obedient woman who reflects deeply about her experiences surrounding the birth of Jesus and cares greatly for him as well. Beyond the birth narratives, Mary does not figure as a prominent character in the Gospels. In John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks sternly to his mother when she wants him to perform a miracle before his “hour has . . . come” (2:4); however, at the crucifixion, Mary is present, and Jesus places her into the care of the Beloved Disciple (19:25–27). Later traditions about Mary’s immaculate conception, perpetual virginity, sinlessness, and roles as co-mediator of salvation and answerer of prayer are not taught in the Bible.

(2) Another Mary mentioned in the Gospels is the sister of Martha, who is praised by Jesus for not busying herself with domestic duties as Martha does, but rather sits at the feet of Jesus, “listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39–40). This same Mary is mentioned on another occasion as the one “who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair” (John 11:1–2; cf. 12:1–8). The Synoptic Gospels record a similar event in which a woman, left unnamed, anoints either the feet of Jesus (Luke 7:36–50) or his head (Matt. 26:6–13; Mark 14:3–9). With the exception of Luke, it seems as though John, Matthew, and Mark are recording the same event. In each of these three, Jesus associates the anointing with the preparation of his body for burial.

(3) Mary Magdalene makes a brief appearance during the ministry of Jesus, and Luke describes her as one who had been cured of seven demons (Luke 8:2). It is quite unlikely that she is the “sinful” woman of the preceding narrative (7:37–50), an association that has given rise to the erroneous belief that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. She is the first to witness the empty tomb (John 20:1). Likewise, she is the first to see the resurrected Lord and is commanded to go and tell the disciples about his resurrection (John 20:11–18; cf. Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1–6; Luke 24:1–10). She is even present for the crucifixion (Matt. 27:56) and the burial of Jesus’ body (Matt. 27:61).

(4) Mary the mother of James and Joses (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40) is one of two other Marys who, like Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, appear at the crucifixion. She may be the same person as #5.

(5) Mary the wife of Clopas (John 19:25) is the second of the two other Marys who, like Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, appear at the crucifixion. She may be the same person as #4.

Nazareth

In the first century, Nazareth was a small village in the extreme southerly part of lower Galilee, midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. It was near Gath Hepher, the birthplace of Jonah the prophet to the Gentiles (2 Kings 14:25), and Sepphoris, one of the three largest cities in the region. Not far was the Via Maris, the great highway joining Mesopotamia to Egypt and ultimately the trading network that linked India, China, central Asia, the Near East, and the Mediterranean. The community, whose population may have averaged around five hundred, subsisted from agriculture. Capital resources included almonds, pomegranates, dates, oil, and wine. (Excavations have located vaulted cells for wine and oil storage, as well as wine presses and storage jar vessels.) Nazareth appears to have been uninhabited from the eighth to the second centuries BC, until it was resettled during the reign of John Hyrcanus (134 104 BC), probably by a Davidic clan of army veterans. The claim that Jesus’ adoptive father, Joseph, was a descendant of David and a resident of Nazareth is therefore plausible (Matt. 1:20; Luke 2:4–5). Today, Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel.

Although Jesus’ ministry was unsuccessful in Nazareth, he and his followers were called “Nazarenes” (Mark 1:24; 10:47; John 18:5, 7; Acts 2:22; 3:6; 24:5). Descendants of Jesus’ family continued to live in the area for centuries. The epithet “Nazarene” probably was intended as a slur. Nathanael is unimpressed by Jesus’ origin in Nazareth (John 1:46). The village is not mentioned in the OT. Some even doubted its existence, until 1962, when the place name “Nazareth” was discovered on a synagogue inscription in Caesarea Maritima.

Quirinius

Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (c. 50 BC AD 21) was a successful Roman military commander and politician best known for conducting a census mentioned at the beginning of Christ’s birth narrative in Luke 2:2. Ancient historians, including Tacitus, Strabo, and Josephus, wrote about Quirinius, so a fair bit is known about his career. However, all this information lends to a historical problem when compared to the Gospel accounts. Jesus’ birth takes place during the time of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1; Luke 1:5), but only Luke’s account mentions Quirinius conducting a census as the governor of Syria before Herod’s death. Every other known account places this census in AD 6/7, some ten years after Herod’s death. For centuries a number of attempts have been made to solve the problem, but without more evidence each solution remains inconclusive.

Swaddling Clothes

Newborn infants were wrapped in strips of cloth to keep them clean and warm and to help their limbs grow properly. Mary displayed her maternal care for the infant Jesus by wrapping him in cloths (Luke 2:7, 12). Ezekiel refers to the practice when speaking of God’s care for the rescued Israel (Ezek. 16:1 7).

Syria

The Syrian-Arabian Desert is located within the hollow of the Fertile Crescent. “Syria” refers to a west Asian Semitic culture along with its distinct language, Syriac. However, Syria also was known as a province of the Roman Empire. Syrian Antioch became an important center of early Christianity. The city was located on the Old Silk Route, the international trade route along the Mediterranean Sea that extended through central Asia to China.

Direct Matches

Augustus

Title given by the Roman senate to the emperor Octavian (r. 31 BC–AD 14) in 27 BC, meaning “august,” “revered,” or “exalted.” Augustus was the ruler of the Roman Empire when Jesus was born and ordered the census that led Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1). Octavian was born in 63 BC and later adopted by Julius Caesar as his heir.

He first gained power upon Julius Caesar’s death in 44 BC. Initially, Octavian ruled as part of a triumvirate with Antony and Marcus Lepidus, supposedly in order to avenge the murder of Caesar. He gained sole control of Rome at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, defeating Antony and Cleopatra, both of whom committed suicide. In the next year, Octavian annexed Egypt into the Roman Empire. The Roman senate bestowed on him the name “Augustus” in 27 BC to honor him for his victories. From that point on, he was known as Caesar Augustus. The title “Augustus” was handed down to Octavian’s successors as emperors.

Augustus appointed Herod the Great to his position of power despite Herod’s initial support of Antony. Augustus is known for establishing the Roman Empire and becoming its first emperor. The Senate declared him a god at his death.

Bethlehem

There were at least two towns called “Bethlehem” (meaning “house of bread”). (1) A town in Zebulun, in the north, about seven miles northwest of Nazareth (Josh. 19:15).

(2) The well-known town about four miles south of Jerusalem in Judah, situated on a couple of hills about 2,300 feet above sea level. The ancient name was “Ephrath” or “Ephrathah” (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11; Ps. 136:2; Mic. 5:2; see also Bethlehem Ephrathah). With the possible exception of the story of the judge Ibzan (Judg. 12:8–10), most references to Bethlehem are to the town in Judah, which still exists.

Bethlehem first enters biblical history when Jacob’s wife Rachel dies there while giving birth to Benjamin (Gen. 35:16–19). After the conquest, the town was inhabited by Ephrathites descended from Caleb, one of whom was called “father of Bethlehem” (in the sense of civic leader; 1 Chron. 2:51; 4:4; cf. 2:54). Judges mentions two Levites passing though, one who moved from Bethlehem to Ephraim (Judg. 17:7–9), and another who lived in Ephraim but took a concubine from Bethlehem (19:1). The most important references to Bethlehem from this era, however, are in Ruth. It was from Bethlehem that Elimelek’s family set out for Moab (Ruth 1:1), and to Bethlehem that Ruth and Naomi returned (1:22). Two generations later, it was into this same Bethlemite family that the future king David was born (Ruth 4:18–22; 1 Sam. 16:1).

Luke stresses that Jesus was born in David’s city (Luke 2:4; cf. 2 Sam. 7:12–16); Joseph had taken Mary to his ancestral home, Bethlehem, for a Roman census. The angels announced Jesus’ birth to some shepherds in the vicinity of town (Luke 2:1–20). Matthew makes a more specific connection to Micah’s prophecy; indeed, it was on the basis of this prophecy that Herod decided where to send the magi (Matt. 2:1–8) and where to slaughter the baby boys (2:16). Matthew sees in this slaughter a fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy that Rachel, who died at Bethlehem, would mourn her children (Matt. 2:18; Jer. 31:15). Ironically, some Jews rejected Jesus because they thought that he came from Galilee (John 7:42). Constantine the Great, the fourth-century Roman emperor, built a church above a cave in Bethlehem, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. Today the city boasts a population of about thirty thousand and is one of the most visited sites in Israel, especially during the Christmas season, when thousands of Christians make a pilgrimage to the traditional place of Jesus’ birth.

Betrothal

Betrothal is a commitment designed to lead to marriage, comparable to being engaged today. There are a number of instructions in the OT law regarding proper conduct involving a woman who is betrothed or engaged (Exod. 22:16; Deut. 20:7). There are also references to Mary being betrothed to Joseph prior to Jesus’ birth (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:27; 2:5). However, the most significant references are the figurative descriptions of God betrothing himself to his people: “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord” (Hos. 2:19–20). Hosea’s experience with his unfaithful betrothed and then wife, Gomer, is a classic picture of God’s faithfulness to his unfaithful people. On one occasion, Paul uses the imagery of betrothal to picture his commitment to the churches he served: “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2 Cor. 11:2).

Birth

Births in the ancient world were the domain of women. The women who bore children were often assisted in the birthing process by midwives (Gen. 35:17; 38:28; Exod. 1:15–20). Although work was forbidden on the Sabbath, Jewish law permitted midwives to assist laboring women with births on the Sabbath because childbirth was viewed as saving a life.

Birthing was valued, and women who were considered to be infertile often faced great shame (1 Sam. 1:10–11; Luke 1:25). Jewish tradition drew additional connections between childbirth and a woman’s character. For instance, death in childbirth was threatened for women who did not follow the law. Pain in childbirth was associated with the sin of Eve (Gen. 3:16), and conversely, absence of pain was interpreted as a sign that a woman was particularly righteous. According to Josephus, Moses was borne with no pain to his mother, and the Protevangelium of James indicates the same about Mary’s labor with Jesus.

The birthing process posed significant risk to both woman and child. Estimates of mortality rates for babies vary, but it is thought that as many as 50 percent of children did not survive beyond the age of five, with many failing to live through the first week outside the womb. Conservative guesses place the death rate for mothers around 5 percent. Death rates during childbirth were higher among Greek women, who often married younger than their Jewish counterparts and frequently suffered complications in childbirth due to their youth.

Caesar

The family name of the Roman emperors following Julius Caesar (100–44 BC). Emperors after Nero retained the title “Caesar,” although they no longer belonged to the family line. The NT alludes to four Caesars: Augustus, also called “Octavian” (r. 31 BC–AD 14), called for the census (Luke 2:1) that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem prior to Jesus’ birth. Tiberius (r. AD 14–37) is named in Luke 3:1 and was the Caesar ruling when Jesus was questioned about paying taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:17–21; Luke 20:22–25). The famine predicted by Agabus occurred during the tenure of Claudius (r. AD 41–54) (Acts 11:28), the emperor who prompted Aquila and Priscilla’s relocation to Corinth (Acts 18:2) when he expelled the Jewish population from Rome (AD 49). Nero (r. AD 54–68) was the Caesar to whom Paul appealed (Acts 25:10) and from whose household Paul sent greetings to the Philippians (Phil. 4:22).

Census

In the creation narrative in Gen. 1–11 the fulfillment of the creation mandate is accounted for through the genealogy of Adam (Gen. 5) and the genealogy of the sons of Noah (Gen. 9:18–19; 10:1–32), which serve as a type of census. The creation narrative has a universal scope; it attempts to account for the total human population on earth.

Census lists are given for the Abrahamic family (Abraham-Isaac-Jacob line) as it grows to become a nation in accordance with God’s promise to Abraham of a great nation and innumerable offspring (Gen. 12:1–3; 15:5). The total number of Jacob’s descendants who went to Egypt was seventy (Gen. 46:8–27; Exod. 1:1–4). This old generation of Israel passed, and a new generation was born that was fruitful, multiplied, and became exceedingly numerous (Exod. 1:6–7). The total number of men of at least twenty years of age who came out of Egypt was 603,550 (Num. 1:1–46; cf. Exod. 12:37–38), and of the new generation that stood on the verge of entering the Promised Land, 601,730 (Num. 26:1–51).

David conducted a census to measure his military power, but this is condemned by God and regarded as satanic (2 Sam. 24:1–17; 1 Chron. 21:1–30). For the Chronicler, any attempt to account for the total number of Israelite men twenty years and older, similar to the census in the book of Numbers, is regarded as challenging God’s promise to make Israel as numerous as the stars (1 Chron. 29:23–26).

Ezra and Nehemiah contain census lists of the returnees from exile: under Zerubbabel, 42,360 men returned (Ezra 2:1–66; Neh. 7:4–73), and under Ezra, 1,496 men (Ezra 8:1–14).

Cyrenius

Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (c. 50 BC–AD 21) was a successful Roman military commander and politician best known for conducting a census mentioned at the beginning of Christ’s birth narrative in Luke 2:2. Ancient historians, including Tacitus, Strabo, and Josephus, wrote about Quirinius, so a fair bit is known about his career. However, all this information lends to a historical problem when compared to the Gospel accounts. Jesus’ birth takes place during the time of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1; Luke 1:5), but only Luke’s account mentions Quirinius conducting a census as the governor of Syria before Herod’s death. Every other known account places this census in AD 6/7, some ten years after Herod’s death.

For centuries a number of attempts have been made to solve the problem, but without more evidence each solution remains inconclusive. The following suggestions have been made: (1) The census began during Herod’s reign but ended when Quirinius was governor of Syria. (2) “Quirinius” is a textual error, and Luke originally wrote of another governor in 2:2. Adherents to this theory usually cite Tertullian (Marc. 4.19), but no manuscript of Luke supports this. (3) Quirinius was governor of Syria twice, performing one census in Herod’s day and one in AD 6/7. The ancient inscription Lapis Tiburtinus may support this. (4) “First” (Gk. prōtē) in Luke 2:2 should be translated “before,” which makes Luke’s census the one “before Quirinius was governor.” However, some grammarians disagree. (5) “Governor” (hēgemoneuōn) in Luke 2:2 is ambiguous; therefore, Quirinius must have had some kind of office warranting Luke’s mention. This appeal requires more evidence.

Decree

A royal or divine command with the force of law. In the religious sense, the term “decree” is one of several synonyms that refer to divine lawgiving, as in Gen. 26:5: “Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” Here, as in numerous other places, “decree” represents the Hebrew word khuqqah (and its related term khoq) and it stands alongside “command” (mitswah) and “law” (torah). Another word that is often juxtaposed with khuqqah or khoq is mishpat, “judgment” (see Deut. 4:1). Because “decree” is frequently conjoined to synonyms, it is difficult to distinguish within biblical legal texts between decrees and other laws. Most often, “decree” is joined with one or more of the synonyms to denote divine law in general, without specific reference to its content.

In 1 Chron. 16:16–18 “decree” is used in parallel with “covenant,” and the content is specified as the promise to Abraham and the patriarchs that they would inherit the land of Canaan.

Biblical authors particularly associate the issuing of royal decrees with the Persians, including Cyrus (Ezra 6:3), Darius (Ezra 6:12; Dan. 6:8), and Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:13; cf. 6:14). Persian royal decrees are presented as immutable, irrevocable, and enforced by harsh punishments (Esther 1:19; 8:8; Ezra 6:11; Dan. 6:8). In the book of Daniel, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar rules through despotic decrees (e.g., 3:10).

The NT twice refers to Roman imperial decrees (dogma), including the ordering of a census that resulted in Jesus being born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1; Acts 17:7).

Espousal

Firstborn

The first child born to a married couple. In the OT it most commonly refers to the first male child, upon whom special privileges were bestowed. The OT describes some of the privileges associated with being the firstborn son: he would receive a double portion of the inheritance (a privilege codified in the law in Deut. 21:17), the paternal blessing (Gen. 27; 48:17–19), and other examples of favoritism (e.g., Gen. 43:33). The importance ascribed to the firstborn is also attested in the legislative requirement that the firstborn—people, animals, and produce—belong to Yahweh (Lev. 27:26; Deut. 15:19; and of people, note Num. 3:12–13), so stressing his primacy over Israel.

In some ancient Near Eastern cultures, the dedication of the firstborn to the deity manifested itself sacrificially (cf. 2 Kings 3:27; Mic. 6:7). Some have suggested that this idea is reflected in the OT, although 1 Sam. 1:11 indicates that in Israel some alternate form of dedication may have been understood. Nonetheless, Yahweh provided a redemptive alternative through sacrifice (Gen. 22; cf. Num. 3:12–13).

Governor

Old Testament

The English word “governor” is used to translate a number of Hebrew words. The term indicates one who has been designated with authority over a certain region, especially under the rule of a king or emperor. The position of governor is found throughout the Pentateuch, the Writings, and the Prophets. Notable in the OT are the governors appointed by the foreign kings both at home and in occupied territories.

One notable governor was Gedaliah, ruler of the Jewish remnant left in Judah during the deportation, who reported to the king of Babylon (Jer. 40:11). Later, he was assassinated by Ishmael (Jer. 41:2). This provoked great fear, causing some to flee to Egypt (Jer. 41:17–18).

Another notable individual who governed the Jewish people upon their return to Jerusalem after the captivity was Sheshbazzar, governor under Cyrus (Ezra 5:14). He had been entrusted with the vessels for the house of God in Jerusalem that had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar (1:7–8). This same Sheshbazzar had begun building the foundation of the temple by the legal decree of Cyrus the king (5:14–6:6). Subsequently, Zerubbabel (under Darius I) became governor and completed the foundation and the rest of the temple (Ezra 3–6; see also Hag. 1:1–15). He and the other workers are said to have had their spirits stirred to do the work (Hag. 1:14).

New Testament

In the NT, the most common word for governor is hēgemōn. As in the OT, governors were appointed by higher authorities who delegated to them the authority to rule.

Of note among these governors was Pontius Pilate, appointed in AD 26 by Tiberius. Pilate’s fortunes seemed to wax and wane with those of General Sejanus, with whom he shared many political and social views. When he first arrived in Palestine, Pilate provoked protests by secretly bringing army standards bearing the images of Roman emperors—idols in Jewish eyes—into Jerusalem (Josephus, Ant. 18.55–59). On another occasion demonstrations broke out when Pilate used money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct for Jerusalem (Josephus, Ant. 18.60–62). Pilate sent soldiers to surround and attack the protestors, many of whom were killed. Luke 13:1 refers to a similar episode near the temple mount in which Pilate massacred some Galileans, “whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” Typical of the Romans, Pilate met protest with ruthless and overwhelming force. At Jesus’ trial, though Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent (John 18:38), he condemned Jesus to crucifixion to avoid antagonizing the religious leaders. This kind of action was characteristic of Pilate. He was an unscrupulous and self-seeking leader who loathed the Jewish leadership but feared antagonizing them. Josephus notes that during the tumult of the Samaritans (to assemble at Mount Gerizim), Pilate put them to flight, killing some of them. The Samaritans complained about Pilate’s murderous ways to Vitellius, who was friendly to them, and he recalled Pilate to Rome to answer before Tiberius, but Pilate took so long getting there that Tiberius was dead when he finally arrived (Josephus, Ant. 18.85–89). Pilate was eventually removed from office, and we hear nothing else from him.

Two other Judean governors who appear in the NT are Felix and Festus, who played a role in the apostle Paul’s trial (Acts 24–26). Felix’s wife, Drusilla, was a Jewess, and she was with him at Paul’s second hearing. On this second occasion Paul reasoned powerfully with Felix, so much so that Felix became frightened about the future and sent Paul away. His fear notwithstanding, Felix sought to exploit the situation for monetary gain (no doubt, bribes were common), but Paul made no response. Two years later Felix was replaced by the next governor, Porcius Festus. Festus heard the defense of Paul (Acts 26) and sent him to Rome after his appeal, though both Festus and Herod agreed that Paul could have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar (Acts 26:30–32).

On one occasion in the NT, the word “governor” is translated from the word ethnarchēs. Aretas of the Nabateans was the ethnarch in Damascus and laid siege to capture the apostle Paul, but Paul escaped through a window in the wall, probably at night (2 Cor. 11:32–33).

As opposed to a governor, a “proconsul” (anthypatos) was a ruler of a senatorial province and so was appointed by the Roman senate rather than the emperor. These provinces were usually more loyal and peaceful and thus had little need of a strong military presence. Such was the case with the proconsul on Cyprus who lived in Paphos, Sergius Paulus. This man is noted by Luke as intelligent and ready to hear the message of Paul and Barnabas. The sorcerer Elymas (Bar-Jesus) sought to turn the proconsul from the faith and so was struck blind at Paul’s command. This Roman proconsul, a man of political stature on Cyprus, then became a believer (Acts 13:4–12). Another proconsul, Gallio, ruled in Achaia during Paul’s sojourn there on his second missionary journey. From information gained from ancient written sources, chiefly the Gallio Inscription, the beginning of his tenure as proconsul in Achaia occurred between AD 50 and 52. When Paul was brought to trial before Gallio, Gallio tossed the case out as a religious squabble (Acts 18:12–16). In another reference to the proconsulate, Paul’s detractors in Ephesus were told by the town secretary to take their complaints against Paul to the proconsuls of that area, lest they be accused of provoking a riot and an illegal assembly (19:38–41).

Jesus himself had previously prophesied that the disciples would testify before kings and governors (Matt. 10:18), something that was fulfilled by Paul as he spoke before Herod, Felix, Festus, and Nero. Additionally, Luke noted Quirinius as the governor of Syria when the first census was taken, around the time of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:2).

The apostles note that the community of faith is to submit to rulers such as governors as they execute their God-ordained task, since the praise of good and punishment of evil is also the interest of the divine creator and ordainer of such persons (1 Pet. 2:14; cf. Rom. 13:1–5). The community of faith is also to pray for all in authority (including governors, though not mentioned specifically), so that the church will be able to lead a quiet existence in godliness (1 Tim. 2:1–2).

Inn

The word “inn” appears twice in most English versions of the Bible (NASB, NRSV, NKJV, ESV, HCSB, NET): in the account of the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:7) and in the parable of the good Samaritan (10:34). The former is likely a mistranslation, since the Greek term (katalyma) probably refers not to a first-century hotel (Bethlehem was too small to have an inn), but either to a “caravansary” (a stopping place for caravans) or to a “guest room” in a private home (cf. Mark 14:14; Luke 22:11; so NIV). Because of the crowds associated with the census, Joseph and Mary were forced out of human accommodations and into an area reserved for animals; the baby Jesus was laid in a feeding trough (manger). The “inn” in the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37) represents a different Greek term (pandocheion) and likely refers to a roadside inn. The Samaritan took the wounded man here for recuperation.

Line

The word “line” is used a number of ways in the Bible. Most commonly, “line” refers to the family line of descent, which emphasizes succession through fathers and sons (Gen. 19:32; Num. 26:11; Deut. 25:9–10; Ruth 4:18; 1 Sam. 2:31–32, 36; Ezra 2:6, 40; Ps. 89:4; Isa. 48:1; Luke 2:4). Secondarily, a line is a tool used by an artisan or a carpenter for measuring length (2 Chron. 4:2; Job 38:5; Isa. 44:13); it is used metaphorically, in conjunction with a plumb line, to signify God’s judgment (Isa. 28:17; 34:11). A battle line is an array of soldiers readied for an imminent conflict (1 Sam. 17:2, 8; 2 Chron. 13:3). A line is also a queue (Ruth 4:4) or a boundary (Ps. 16:6), including a standard for behavior (Gal. 2:14). Finally, it is a physical cord or thread (Josh. 2:18; Ezek. 40:3 KJV), such as a fishing line (Matt. 17:27).

Lineage

This term is used in Luke 2:4 (KJV, RSV) to refer to the family descent of Joseph from David. The Greek term, patria, is translated by the NIV as “line.”

Manger

A container or basin that holds the feed for domesticated farm animals such as cattle, sheep, or horses (Prov. 14:4; KJV: “crib”). Job speaks of a manger in relation to a wild ox, asking, “Will it stay by your manger at night?” (Job 39:9), implying that mangers are used for domesticated animals only. Isaiah laments Israel’s waywardness, unlike the donkey, which knows its “owner’s manger” (Isa. 1:3). For want of a room at the inn, Mary wrapped Jesus in cloths and placed him in a manger shortly after his birth (Luke 2:7). Nearby, shepherds were told by angels that Christ the Lord had been born in Bethlehem, and that the sign to them would be a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger (2:12). They journeyed to Bethlehem and found Jesus just as the angels had said (2:16).

Nazareth

In the first century, Nazareth was a small village in the extreme southerly part of lower Galilee, midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. It was near Gath Hepher, the birthplace of Jonah the prophet to the Gentiles (2 Kings 14:25), and Sepphoris, one of the three largest cities in the region. Not far was the Via Maris, the great highway joining Mesopotamia to Egypt and ultimately the trading network that linked India, China, central Asia, the Near East, and the Mediterranean. The village was perched 1,150 feet above sea level, overlooking the Jezreel Valley, with several terraces for agriculture cut into the mountain. A Nazarene could look south across the grand Plain of Esdraelon, west to Mount Carmel on the Mediterranean coast, east to nearby Mount Tabor, and north to snowcapped Mount Hermon. The community, whose population may have averaged around five hundred, subsisted from agriculture. Capital resources included almonds, pomegranates, dates, oil, and wine. (Excavations have located vaulted cells for wine and oil storage, as well as wine presses and storage jar vessels.) Nazareth appears to have been uninhabited from the eighth to the second centuries BC, until it was resettled during the reign of John Hyrcanus (134–104 BC), probably by a Davidic clan of army veterans. The claim that Jesus’ adoptive father, Joseph, was a descendant of David and a resident of Nazareth is therefore plausible (Matt. 1:20; Luke 2:4–5). Today, Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel.

Quirinius

In the KJV, “register” refers to a genealogical record of names (Ezra 2:62; Neh. 7:5, 64). In the NIV and other modern translations, it is used in the verbal sense of recording in formal records (Ps. 87:6), as in a census (Luke 2:3, 5).

Roman Empire

The historical origins of Christianity need to be set against Jewish history, beliefs, and culture in Palestine and the eastern Mediterranean, but they also need to be set in the context of the wider Greco-Roman world that was dominated politically and militarily by the Roman Empire.

From Republic to Empire

Rome began as a city-state but soon became a transcontinental empire reaching over parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Rome emerged as the most dominant force in the Mediterranean after it defeated Carthage in the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). Thereafter, Rome began to expand its control and power over the various Hellenistic city-states in the east, including Macedonia, Illyria, and Asia Minor. By the mid-first century AD, Rome had also conquered or annexed Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrene, Gaul, Spain, North Africa, and Armenia.

Octavius was given the honorific name “Augustus” by the senate. His reign (31 BC–AD 14) marked a period of consolidation, reorganization, and renewal of the Roman Empire. Augustus embarked on an empire-wide policy of fiscal rationalization, developed a constitutional settlement for Rome, centralized his military authority over the various provinces, and had Julius Caesar deified. Writers and artists of the era heralded Augustus’s reign as a time of unprecedented peace and security—peace from civil war and security from the Germanic tribes in the north and the Parthian Empire in the east. Worship of the emperor became more frequent especially in the Roman East, although Augustus did not permit it in Rome. What is most significant about Augustus is that it is with his reign that the Roman Empire essentially began. He was the emperor at the time of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:1). It was under Trajan (AD 98–117), however, that the Roman Empire expanded to its largest area, encompassing parts of Britain and Persia.

Emperors (AD 14–98)

Tiberius, Augustus’s adopted heir, reigned in the years AD 14–37. He was a highly successful military general, but as emperor he was remembered as being gloomy and melancholic. Tiberius even went into a self-imposed exile for a time, leaving the praetorian prefect Sejanus in charge until Tiberius finally had him executed for treason. It was during the reign of Tiberius that Jesus conducted his ministry in Palestine.

Nero, the stepson of Claudius, reigned in the years AD 54–68. The early period of his rule was marked by cultural endeavors and diplomatic efforts. The later years were, in contrast, distinguished by tyranny and self-aggrandizement. There was a Jewish revolt against Rome in Judea (AD 66–70) during Nero’s reign, and Vespasian was sent to pacify the territory. According to ancient sources, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire of Rome in AD 64 and subjected them to the cruelest of punishments, including crucifixion, being thrown to wild animals, and even being burned alive. It probably was during this time that the apostles Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. Nero eventually was declared a public enemy by the Roman senate, and he committed suicide before he could be captured in AD 68. There arose a “Nero redivivus” legend, whereby many hoped or feared that Nero had not died in AD 68 but had fled to Parthia and would return to Rome in order to destroy it (Sib. Or. 4.119–124; 5.137–141, 361–396), and this arguably stands behind the imagery of Rev. 13:3; 17:8–11.

Table 7. Roman Emperors (31 BC–AD 117)

31 BC-AD 14 – Augustus

AD 14-37 – Tiberius

AD 37-41 – Caligula

AD 41-54 – Claudius

AD 54-68 – Nero

AD 68-69 – Galba

AD 69 – Otho

AD 69 – Vitellius

AD 69-79 – Vespasian

AD 79-81 – Titus

AD 81-96 – Domitian

AD 96-98 – Nerva

AD 98-117 – Trajan

Military

Military expeditions expanded Rome’s control of foreign territories and safeguarded its borders from incursion, most threateningly from the Germanic tribes east of the Rhine River and north of the Danube River and from the Parthian (= Neo-Persian) Empire east of the Euphrates River. A Roman legion consisted of around six thousand men, including cavalry. Under Tiberius, there were twenty-five legions stationed across the empire: eight on the Rhine, three in Spain, two in Egypt, four in Syria, two in Africa, and six in the Danube region. In terms of command structures, the legions were under the control of certain regional commands by men of consular rank, including two on the Rhine, one in Spain, one in Syria, and three in the Balkans (Tacitus, Ann. 4.5). These were among the most powerful persons outside the ruling family and could be kingmakers or contenders during times of civil war. A legion was divided into ten cohorts and commanded by a legate, usually of senatorial rank. Units of one hundred were commanded by centurions, and service in the legions was set at between twenty and twenty-five years. Upon recruitment, the soldier swore an oath of loyalty to the emperor (sacramentum) that was renewed annually. During times of peace, Roman soldiers could perform a number of civil tasks relating to taxation, building projects, and policing.

Centurions are mentioned several times in the NT (e.g., Matt. 8:5; Mark 15:39; Acts 10:1; 21:32; 27:1). There is a mention of a “legion” of demons that oppressed the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:9), and Jesus refers to the possibility of the Father sending him “legions” of angels (Matt. 26:53). Military terminology is very apparent in Paul’s letters, where he refers to fighting armor (Rom. 13:11–13; 2 Cor. 6:7; Eph. 6:10–18), compares commitment to Christ to military service (2 Tim. 2:4), refers to his coworkers as “soldiers” or “fellow soldiers” (Phil. 2:25; Philem. 2; 2 Tim. 2:3), and likens ministerial remuneration to a soldier being paid his salarium (1 Cor. 9:7).

Culture and Religion

One of the primary reasons for Rome’s rise and dominance, militarily and culturally, was its capacity to absorb other peoples and even other gods into its constituency and pantheon. Its constantly growing pantheon, application of the rule of law, and superior military force made Rome what it was: a melting pot of all cultures and a Romanizer of other cultures.

Roman society was heavily stratified, but social mobility, upward and downward, was possible. Wealth, marriage, education, and military exploits were the primary means to social advancement. The senatorial class represented the wealthy nobility of Rome and provided the primary cohort of civil and military administrators. The equestrian class (or “knights,” as they are sometimes called) were a larger group of less wealthy Roman citizens. Decurions were members of civil councils in provincial cities who often acted as magistrates and were leaders of local communities. The plebeians represented the general citizenry of Rome, who, until the time of Tiberius, had some power in electing officials. Finally, there were freedmen, who were ex-slaves usually in a relationship with their former master, and also slaves, who were regarded as little more than property.

The ancient Roman religions focused on the numen, the somewhat impersonal divine power associated with certain localities. From the third century BC, Greek deities were assimilated and Romanized, so that Zeus became Jupiter, and Vesta was identified as Hestia. The Capitoline Hill was crowned with a temple that was dedicated around 500 BC to Jupiter, Minerva, and Juno. These were the principal gods of Rome, although others were added to the pantheon as the Romans conquered other peoples and adopted their gods. Other gods also received greater honor, such as the goddess Pax, the personification of peace (based on the Greek goddess Eirene); Vespasian built and dedicated a temple in her honor in Rome in AD 75. The Roman emperor was the Pontifex Maximus and supreme high priest of Rome and the empire. In the mid- to late first century AD, the fastest-growing religion was the imperial cult, the worship of (usually) deceased Roman emperors. This cult became popular in the eastern Mediterranean cities, where worship of rulers was commonplace, but was regarded with indifference in Rome.

Religions and philosophies from all over the known world eventually made their way to Rome. Egyptian rites and religions gained followings, Mithraism acquired currency within the ranks of the military and among public servants, Judaism entered Rome probably with the Hasmonean delegation sent there around 139 BC, and Christianity came to Rome probably during the late 30s and early 40s of the first century AD through Jewish pilgrims visiting the east and through Judean immigration to Rome. Many Roman intellectuals lamented the fact that so many foreign superstitions had found their way to Rome, and that Roman peoples found them more attractive than their own state religion. Roman religion was largely controlled by the state through a set calendar and the appointment of priests and vestal virgins. It was practiced in public and in the home. As such, religious life was very much intertwined with social and political life. Roman religion engendered the need for its citizens to act with pietas, the honoring of one’s obligations to the gods, and with religio, which designated appropriate scruples and rites in the presence of the gods.

Summary

Swaddling Clothes

Secondary Matches

The following suggestions occured because Luke 2:1-7 is mentioned in the definition.

Bethlehemite

There were at least two towns called “Bethlehem” (meaning “house of bread”). (1) A town in Zebulun, in the north, about seven miles northwest of Nazareth (Josh. 19:15).

Calendar

Because calendars are culturally constructed systems, there are several important differences between the modern calendar and the calendars used in biblical times. When dealing with ancient Jewish and early Christian sources, we can reconstruct complete calendar systems. However, the Bible itself, written over many centuries, employs several calendar systems and systems of dating. No single normative calendar system emerges from biblical materials. Nevertheless, many aspects of life in biblical Israel depended on the use of calendars, which regulated religious festivals, agricultural activity, various aspects of the legal system, and the recording of historical events.

Measurement of Time in Antiquity

There were several methods of reckoning time in antiquity. Some units of time corresponded to the observation of celestial phenomena (see Gen. 1:14), such as the rising and setting of the sun (defining the day), the waxing and waning of the moon (the lunar month), the ascension of the sun in the sky at noon (the solar year). Other measurements of time were defined by the agricultural cycle, including planting and the beginning and end of the harvest (see Exod. 23:16; Ruth 1:22). An agricultural scheme serves as the basis of the Gezer Calendar, an important archaeological object of the tenth century BC unearthed about thirty miles northwest of Jerusalem. The Gezer Calendar divides the year into eight periods of one or two months, each of which corresponds to the planting, tending, and harvest of various crops. Still other units of time, such as the seven-day week and the lunisolar year (see below), were derived by counting or calculation and did not correspond to any observable celestial or terrestrial phenomena.

The division of days into hours and minutes is possible in modern times because of mechanical and electronic timepieces. Without these devices, divisions of time shorter than the day would have been approximations at best. Biblical texts refer to dawn, morning, noon, evening, night, and midnight. In NT times, the twelve daylight hours were numbered (Matt. 27:45; John 11:9). There was also a system of dividing the night into “watches,” attested in both the NT and the OT.

The Month and the Year in the Bible

The Hebrew words for “month” are related to the words for “moon” and “new” (i.e., the “new moon”), which suggests that the ancient Israelite month was a lunar month corresponding to the waxing and waning of the moon over a period of twenty-nine or thirty days. The Bible refers to numbered days in each month, as high as the twenty-seventh day.

There are several systems of naming the months in the Bible. Four “Canaanite” month names appear in the OT: Aviv (the first month), Ziv (the second), Ethanim (the seventh), and Bul (the eighth). Because of the infrequent use of these names, some scholars have questioned whether this system was in widespread use in ancient Israel. The names probably are derived from agricultural terms.

In many cases the months are simply numbered. In this system, the first month began in the spring season. According to biblical narrative, this way of reckoning the beginning of the year was commanded to Moses at the time of the exodus (Exod. 12:1). However, the Bible applies this scheme to events much earlier, as in the story of the flood of Noah, which began in the second month (Gen. 7:11), and scholars have associated the numerical system of months with late biblical sources, around the time of the exile. The system may have come into use around that time and replaced an older system.

In some late biblical texts Babylonian month names are adopted, including Nisan (the first month), Sivan (the third), Elul (the sixth), Chislev (the ninth), Tebet (the tenth), Shebat (the eleventh), and Adar (the twelfth). Following biblical usage, the Babylonian month names were adopted in the ancient Jewish calendar, which is still in use today.

Based on references to the “twelfth month,” the Israelite year apparently consisted of twelve lunar months. Accordingly, the lunar year consisted of approximately 354 days, which means that it would not have corresponded to the solar year of approximately 365¼ days. The beginning of the year would have drifted between eleven and twelve days each year. Presumably, this would have been an unacceptable situation, given the fact that many of the biblical festivals were both assigned to lunar dates and were correlated to agricultural events. The problem probably was solved through the intercalation of “leap months,” as was the practice in maintaining the later Jewish calendar. The result is a lunisolar calendar, in which the year is composed of twelve lunar months and is corrected relative to the solar year by the periodic addition of a second Adar (Adar II) seven times in every nineteen-year period. The Bible does not mention this procedure or identify who was responsible for maintaining the calendar in ancient Israel.

Biblical Dates

Modern systems of absolute dating, in which all years are numbered relative to a single historical reference point—for example, the birth of Jesus (Anno Domini), the journey of Muhammad in AD 622 (Anno Hegira 1) from Mecca to Medina in Islamic culture, and the creation of the world (Anno Mundi) in Jewish tradition—were unparalleled in biblical times. Instead, events were usually dated relative to the reigns of kings, Israelite or otherwise. For example, the accession of Abijah is dated to the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign (1 Kings 15:1), and the proclamation of Cyrus is dated to his first regnal year (Ezra 1:1). In other cases, events were dated relative to important historical events. The beginning of Amos’s career as prophet is dated to “two years before the earthquake” (Amos 1:1), and Exod. 12:41 dates the departure from Egypt to the 430th year of the captivity. In other instances, the fixed points on which relative dates are based cannot be determined. The beginning of Ezekiel’s career as a prophet is dated to the otherwise unspecified “thirtieth year” (Ezek. 1:1). The verse may simply refer to Ezekiel’s age.

The same practices of dating events are followed in the NT. The birth of John the Baptist is dated to “the time of Herod king of Judea” (Luke 1:5). The census of Caesar Augustus is identified as “the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria” (Luke 2:2). As in the OT, such formulas presuppose that the reader has a basic awareness of the succession and reigns of kings and emperors—an advantage lost to modern interpreters, who continue to debate the absolute dating of these events. Perhaps analogously to Ezek. 1:1, the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is dated to his thirtieth year of age (Luke 3:23). Other events and persons reported in the NT can be correlated to extrabiblical historical records to establish absolute dates for biblical events (e.g., the death of Herod Agrippa I in AD 44 [Acts 12:23]). These are distinct from instances in which biblical authors are making a conscious effort to provide dates intelligible to their readers. In contrast to OT historical narrative, for the most part, the NT shows little interest in dating events in its narrative, even according to ancient conventions of relative dating.

Caligula

From Republic to Empire

Rome began as a city-state but soon became a transcontinental empire reaching over parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Rome emerged as the most dominant force in the Mediterranean after it defeated Carthage in the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). Thereafter, Rome began to expand its control and power over the various Hellenistic city-states in the east, including Macedonia, Illyria, and Asia Minor. By the mid-first century AD, Rome had also conquered or annexed Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrene, Gaul, Spain, North Africa, and Armenia.

Emperors (AD 14–98)

Nero, the stepson of Claudius, reigned in the years AD 54–68. The early period of his rule was marked by cultural endeavors and diplomatic efforts. The later years were, in contrast, distinguished by tyranny and self-aggrandizement. There was a Jewish revolt against Rome in Judea (AD 66–70) during Nero’s reign, and Vespasian was sent to pacify the territory. According to ancient sources, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire of Rome in AD 64 and subjected them to the cruelest of punishments, including crucifixion, being thrown to wild animals, and even being burned alive. It probably was during this time that the apostles Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. Nero eventually was declared a public enemy by the Roman senate, and he committed suicide before he could be captured in AD 68. There arose a “Nero redivivus” legend, whereby many hoped or feared that Nero had not died in AD 68 but had fled to Parthia and would return to Rome in order to destroy it (Sib. Or. 4.119–124; 5.137–141, 361–396), and this arguably stands behind the imagery of Rev. 13:3; 17:8–11.

Table 7. Roman Emperors (31 BC–AD 117)

31 BC-AD 14 – Augustus

AD 14-37 – Tiberius

AD 37-41 – Caligula

AD 41-54 – Claudius

AD 54-68 – Nero

AD 68-69 – Galba

AD 69 – Otho

AD 69 – Vitellius

AD 69-79 – Vespasian

AD 79-81 – Titus

AD 81-96 – Domitian

AD 96-98 – Nerva

AD 98-117 – Trajan

Military

Culture and Religion

Summary

Christmas

The holiday marking the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem of Judea in approximately 4 BC (Matt. 1:18–2:12; Luke 2:1–20).

Although Christmas is celebrated on December 25 in the West, neither this date nor the Eastern alternatives (January 6 or 7) are established in Scripture. Indeed, the description of shepherds in the fields with their flocks argues against them, since in Judea such activity does not generally occur in the winter months.

December 25 was first noted as the birthday of Jesus in the Chronography of 354, a Roman document also known as the Philocalian Calendar, which incorporates an older reference dating from 336. Close to the winter solstice, December 25 has pre-Christian significance as the observation of the birth of Mithra, a Persian sun deity dating to the sixth century BC, and as the end of the feast of Saturnalia (December 17–24), a ribald agricultural festival. It was co-opted as the observance of Jesus’ nativity in the early fourth century when Constantine made Christianity a recognized religion in the Roman Empire. He hoped to ease the transition from pagan practice to Christian by pouring new meaning into existing festivities. The word “Christmas” first appeared in 1038 in Old English, Cristes Maesse, meaning “Christ’s Festival Day.” By the seventeenth century, however, the pagan aspects of Christmas had trumped biblical piety. Carnival excess ruled, and the holiday was staunchly opposed by Puritans for generations.

Although our modern Christmas customs have traceable European roots, their appearance and popularization in the United States are more a function of sociological changes in nineteenth-century New York. The Christmas tree, for example, though of German origin, was introduced through literature first, and by the 1830s it had quickly caught on as an appealing tool to help domesticate a boisterous street holiday. Santa Claus evolved among the merchant class Knickerbockers and eventually took recognizable form in Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”

Chronology of the Biblical Period

Old Testament

Students of biblical history must work with several overlapping systems of chronology. This section defines several approaches and describes how they are interconnected.

Absolute and relative dates. Absolute dates consist of a numerical value falling in one of two eras, BC (“Before Christ”; also referred to as BCE, “Before the Common Era”) or AD (Anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord”; also referred to as CE, “Common Era”). For example, Samaria fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC. This system of absolute dating, a commonplace of modern life, was devised only in the sixth century AD, so it is unknown in biblical and other ancient sources. Instead of absolute dates, the Bible and other ancient historiographic sources give relative dates; that is, events are dated in relation to other recorded events, as in 1 Kings 15:1: “In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah.” The system of relative dates in the OT can be collated to form a single relative chronology.

Using royal histories. For the purposes of constructing a unified chronology, the royal history in Samuel-Kings and Chronicles is of central importance, with its tabulations of the ages of the kings at accession and the lengths of their reigns. The biblical chronology can then be assigned to absolute dates by establishing synchronisms with other historical chronicles (most usefully, from Mesopotamia), which in turn can be fixed to a handful of absolute dates. Of particular importance are records (all nonbiblical cuneiform texts) of observed astronomical phenomena, the appearance of which in history can now be calculated with a high degree of mathematical certainty. Annalistic sources (documents that record an entry for each passing year, such as the cuneiform eponym chronicles) are particularly valuable. The Bible contains no annalistic sources, but rather is made up of chronistic sources—that is, texts that record and quantify the passage of time, but without a separate accounting of each year. When miscalculations or textual corruptions affect chronistic records, they are difficult to correct (see 1 Sam. 13:1). The biblical data, consisting of summary figures, probably go back to annalistic sources that were compiled from year to year (perhaps the records mentioned in, e.g., 1 Kings 11:41; 14:19).

The assembly of a unified biblical chronology on the basis of the royal histories is further complicated by the fact that several calendars—royal, agricultural, cultic—were in simultaneous use. There may also have been a discrepancy between Israel and Judah with regard to the reckoning of the cultic New Year. Added to this, in several cases the biblical data imply a period of coregency, during which the reigns of the outgoing king and his appointed successor overlapped, creating the potential for the years of the coregency to be counted twice. In biblical times there were two systems of reckoning dates based on royal succession: the “accession-year” system, which omitted from the length of a king’s reign any partial year from his accession to the first New Year, and the “nonaccession-year” system, which began counting the years of a king’s reign as soon as he acceded. In nonaccession-year dating, any year in which there are two kings gets counted twice: once as the last year of the former king, and once as the first year of the new king. The biblical chronologies appear to use both systems, with a movement from the nonaccession-year system to the accession-year system in later centuries. Obviously, the choice of systems dictates the significance of the figures presented in the Bible and must be taken into account in the collation of data.

Combining royal regnal data and various genealogical tables (based on, e.g., Gen. 5; 11; the summary figures in Exod. 12:41; 1 Kings 6:1), it is possible to reconstruct a putative world chronology from the creation of Adam to the exile. Famously, in 1650 James Ussher followed this procedure, working backward from absolute dates known from classical sources, to determine that the world was created on the night before October 23, 4004 BC. In its day, this was a work of impressive scholarship, but Ussher’s chronology is too short to encompass not only archaeological findings (from the land of Israel itself, there are Neolithic and Chalcolithic artifacts going back ten thousand years), but also findings in all branches of the sciences that corroborate the age of the earth at about 4.5 billion years and the appearance of modern humans approximately two hundred thousand years before the present. Beginning in the first millennium BC, however, the Bible provides chronological data that, with modest adjustments, agree with other historical and archaeological findings.

Weighing the sources. Because of the variety of materials in the OT, it is crucial to determine which sources are of historical value, weighing each in terms of internal and external coherence. As noted above, the backbone of OT chronology is the series of regnal data for the kings of Israel and Judah found in Samuel-Kings and Chronicles. These data are useful because they provide a continuous chronology of several hundred years that can be anchored at several points to datable events in external historical sources. In addition, the history of the kings of Judah and Israel contains references to historical figures known from extrabiblical records. In contrast, the chronology of the OT prior to the period of judges, while internally coherent, cannot be correlated to known absolute dates. Where non-Israelite figures are mentioned, they are often unnamed (e.g., the pharaohs of the eras of Abraham and Moses), anachronistically described (e.g., Abraham’s contacts with the Philistines [Gen. 21:34], a group that did not appear in Palestine until long after the ostensible Middle Bronze Age date of Abraham), or do not correspond to known historical figures (e.g., Abimelek, Nimrod). Although cultural-historical investigation may shed light on the patriarchal narratives and their historical setting, such an approach yields nothing more than vague chronological findings. In some cases, the late date of the biblical texts has obscured chronological indicators, interfering with the project of cultural history. Setting aside questions of the historicity of the patriarchal narratives, apart from the reports of their ages, there is little data to work with when it comes to constructing a chronology of the patriarchs.

The story of the exodus from Egypt presents an event that, in principle, should be datable on the basis of external data. The mass migration of millions of persons, the destruction of the army of a geopolitical superpower, and the subsequent conquest of a small but powerful country are events that promise to provide a chronological anchor for the beginning of Israel’s history. Unfortunately, the event recorded in the Bible has not left a clear mark, either in the historiography of Egypt or in the archaeology of Palestine. On closer inspection, the biblical text contains a number of features that frustrate any attempt to date the events on their basis. Unlike in the histories of the biblical monarchs, the pharaoh of the Exodus, a figure of international stature in his own day, is never named in the Bible. Some have attempted to fix a date to the exodus on the basis of the occurrence of the name “Rameses” in Exod. 1:11; 12:37. This name was not current in Egypt before the thirteenth century BC. If it provides a clue as to the date of the exodus, it does so only at the expense of broader biblical chronology, according to which the exodus occurred in the fifteenth century BC (in particular, based on the figures given in Exod. 12:41; 1 Kings 6:1). It is not until we get into the monarchic period, when the history of Israel is intertwined with that of named international figures, that absolute dates can be established with certainty.

Biblical events that can be assigned absolute dates based on cuneiform historical records include the following. Ahab was king of Israel at the time of the battle of Qarqar in 853 BC. The Kurkh monolith of Shalmaneser III records his participation in the coalition of Hadadezer, though the event is not mentioned in the Bible. Jehu was on the throne of Judah in 841 BC, when Shalmaneser III recorded that he gave tribute to Assyria. Joash was king of Israel in 796 BC, when he rendered tribute to Adad-nirari III. Menahem was king in 740 and 738 BC (see 2 Kings 15:19), when he paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser III (the biblical Pul). Ahaz paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser in 734 BC, and Manasseh to Esarhaddon around 674 BC. These synchronisms provide in each case upper and lower limits for fixing the reign of the kings of Israel and Judah. In some cases, the chronology of the book of Kings must be adjusted to fit these dates, on the assumption that the Deuteronomistic Historian lacked firsthand knowledge about the history of the northern kingdom, was attempting to work with conflicting sources, or made errors in calculation. Other important synchronisms include Hoshea’s coup against Pekah (2 Kings 15:30), dated based on an inscription of Tiglath-pileser III to 732 BC; the fall of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6), dated based on the Babylonian Chronicle to 722 BC; Sennacherib’s Judean campaign in 701 BC (2 Kings 18:13–19:36); the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC (Jer. 46:2); the capture of Jerusalem in 597 BC (2 Kings 24:12); and the release of Jehoiachin from captivity in 561 BC, coinciding with the accession of Amel-Marduk (2 Kings 25:27).

Periodization of history. In addition to relative and absolute chronologies, biblical scholars refer to several schemes of periodization defined by technological and political developments.

The most ancient scheme of periodization is implied in the Bible itself, which conceives of periods of judges (Judg. 17:6), united monarchy, divided monarchy, and exile. The transitions between phases in this scheme are defined by dramatic social and political discontinuities. Another approach to the periodization of Israelite history involves defining the major transitions in terms of the material culture. Prior to the fall of Jerusalem, modern biblical scholars and archaeologists divide Syro-Palestinian history into several periods, named for developments in metallurgical technology. While there is some variety of opinion among scholars regarding the exact dates used, the following scheme is widely used (given with rough correlations to the biblical periods):

Early Bronze Age – 3300 to 2200 BC (Primeval period?)

Middle Bronze Age – 2200 to 1550 BC (Patriarch)

Late Bronze Age – 1550 to 1200 BC (Period in Egypt, exodus)

Iron Age – 1200 to 586 BC (Judges monarchy)

The Iron Age is further subdivided as follows:

Iron Age – 1200 to 1000 BC (Judges)

Iron Age IIA – 1000 to 900 BC (United monarchy)

Iron Age IIB – 900 to 700 BC (Divided monarchy)

Iron Age IIC – 700 to 586 BC (Fall of Samaria to fall of Jerusalem

The divisions between these periods are heuristic and do not correspond to precisely dated developments in metallurgy. For instance, some iron artifacts may be dated to the Bronze Age, though not widespread iron metalworking on an industrial scale. Especially in the various subdivisions of the Iron Age, transitions begin to be defined by political events rather than the metal sequence: Iron IA corresponds to the biblical period of the judges, Iron IIA to the united monarchy, Iron IIB to the divided monarchy, and Iron IIC to the period between the falls of Samaria and Jerusalem, when the southern kingdom alone had political autonomy. Some scholars round off the dates to avoid a periodization based on short-term political events and to emphasize the gradual rate of change in material culture and technology (e.g., using the round dates 900, 700, 600).

For events and dates after the fall of Jerusalem, historians employ a scheme of periodization based heavily on political factors. The series of periods are named for the dominant geopolitical powers in Syria-Palestine:

Neo-Babylonian period – 622 to 539 BC (Late Judean monarchy, exile)

Persian period – 539 to 330 BC (Return from exile)

Hellenistic period – 330 to 63 BC (Intertestamental)

Roman period – 63 BC to AD 324 (New Testament events

Although there was significant redaction (and, according to some, composition) of biblical texts in the Hellenistic period, no biblical narratives are ostensibly set in the period. Thus, the internal periodization of history in the Hebrew Bible ends with the return from exile (the Persian period).

New Testament

The birth of Jesus. According to Matt. 2:1 (see also Luke 1:5), Jesus was born during the lifetime of Herod the Great, who, as we know from Josephus, died in 4 BC (see Matt. 2:15–19). In his attempt to kill Jesus, Herod ordered the slaughter of male children up to the age of two, based on information that he obtained from the magi concerning the appearance of the star heralding Jesus’ birth (Matt. 2:16). Thus, Matthew’s account implies a date no later than 4 BC, but possibly several years earlier. Some scholars have attempted to correlate the magi’s observance of a star with one of several striking celestial phenomena, including a conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in 7 BC (so Johannes Kepler). Such attempts, however, are weakened by the fact that Matthew’s description of the star is vague, unnaturalistic, and difficult to identify certainly with a planetary alignment or any other known phenomenon (in particular, the star is said to move and then come to rest over Jesus’ location). Another line of investigation involves Luke’s correlation of Jesus’ birth with a Roman census that he dates to the time of Quirinius (Luke 2:1–2). This report, however, contradicts the testimony of Josephus, according to whom Quirinius became governor in AD 6 (a decade after the death of Herod). Most likely, Jesus was born shortly before 4 BC, during the reign of Herod.

The beginning and duration of Jesus’ public ministry. According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was “about thirty years old” at the time of his baptism and the beginning of his public ministry. In John 8:57, Jesus is challenged: “You are not yet fifty years old.” These two round numbers provide reasonable limits for the age of Jesus during his ministry. Owing to a paucity of chronological indicators in the Synoptic Gospels, the ministry of Jesus as depicted in Matthew, Mark, and Luke could have taken place within the space of a single year. In contrast, John narrates postbaptism events during three occurrences of the annual Passover festival (John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55), suggesting that Jesus’ ministry lasted for three years or longer. Unfortunately, the chronology of John appears in some instances to be at odds with the other Gospels. Most significantly, he places Jesus’ cleansing of the temple at the beginning, rather than the end, of his ministry (John 2:13–22; cf. Mark 11:15–19 pars.). It is unclear to what degree strict chronology has been modified in the interest of other concerns in each of the Gospels. According to John’s account, the cleansing of the temple occurred forty-six years after the beginning of its construction, an event that Josephus dates to either the eighteenth or the fifteenth year of Herod’s reign (John 2:20), placing the incident in the year AD 28 or 31. Ultimately, there are two sources of uncertainty pertaining to the chronology of Jesus’ ministry: the imprecise (and possibly symbolic) report of his age in Luke 3:23 and the indeterminate length of his ministry.

The death of Jesus. All four Gospels agree that Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, was instrumental in the trial and execution of Jesus. Pilate governed from AD 26 to 36; this provides a latest possible date for the death of Jesus. To refine the chronology beyond this, scholars have attempted to date the end of Jesus’ life based on its occurrence during the Feast of Passover (15 Nisan in the Jewish calendar) and by trying to determine in which year the feast would have coincided with his crucifixion on a Friday. This approach is complicated by the discrepancy between John, according to whom the Passover meal was eaten in the evening following the crucifixion (John 19:14), and Mark, who appears to have an imperfect knowledge of Passover customs (Mark 14:12–16) and thus describes Jesus’ final supper with his disciples as a Passover meal (i.e., on 14 Nisan). Following John’s chronology yields a date for the crucifixion of Friday, April 7 (Nisan 14), AD 30, or Friday, April 3 (Nisan 14), AD 33.

Of these two options, the AD 30 date conforms more closely to Luke 3:23, and it suggests that following a ministry of about three years, Jesus was in his mid- to late thirties at the time of his crucifixion.

Paul’s career. The chronology of Paul’s career remains a difficult question in biblical studies. There are two major sources for this chronology: the letters of Paul (esp. Galatians) and the book of Acts. When independent chronologies are constructed from each of these sources, several difficulties arise, including the absence of absolute anchors in Paul’s letters, lack of clear agreement between Acts and the letters regarding the number of visits to Jerusalem, and, by implication, the periodization of Paul’s career into distinct phases of concerted activity or “missionary journeys.” These data must in turn be synchronized, sometimes requiring some ingenuity, with other historically documented events such as the dating of Claudius’s edict (Acts 18:2), the dates of Aretas’s control of Damascus (2 Cor. 11:32–33), the death of Herod Agrippa in AD 44 (mentioned in Acts 12:23), the presence of Sergius Paulus in Cyprus during Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:7 [this figure is known from inscriptions, but none of them clearly bears on the question]), and Festus’s succession of Felix as the procurator of Palestine (Acts 23–26), which Josephus puts in AD 53.

If we grant a fair measure of historical reliability to the outline of Acts, Paul experienced his conversion around AD 33, visited Jerusalem in AD 36 (Gal. 1:18), completed his first missionary journey and then visited Jerusalem to confer with the other apostles (Acts 15:1–29; Gal. 2:1) in the late 40s, conducted his second and third missionary journeys in the first half of the 50s before being finally arrested in Jerusalem around AD 57, and was taken to Rome in AD 59–60.

Crib

Edict

In 1 Chron. 16:16–18 “decree” is used in parallel with “covenant,” and the content is specified as the promise to Abraham and the patriarchs that they would inherit the land of Canaan.

The NT twice refers to Roman imperial decrees (dogma), including the ordering of a census that resulted in Jesus being born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1; Acts 17:7).

Galilean

Someone who lives in or originates from Galilee. Jesus grew up in the extremely southern part of Galilee, at Nazareth, and his first followers were drawn from throughout the region. Galilee had a population of about three hundred thousand people in two hundred or more villages, as well as several large cities (Josephus, Life 235). Galileans shared a unique dialect (Matt. 26:73; cf. Acts 2:7). The region had a reputation for fomenting rebellion (Luke 13:1; 23:5–6). The Pharisee Gamaliel mentions Judas the Galilean (Acts 5:37), who sparked a revolt against the census under Quirinius around AD 6 (Josephus, J.W. 2.118, 433; Ant. 18.23). Galilee was also associated with non-Jews (Gentiles) primarily because of the Decapolis, a league of approximately ten cities (Matt. 4:12–17, citing Isa. 9:1–2; Mark 7:31). However, archaeological evidence and the NT suggest that Galilean Jews, many of whom colonized the area during the rule of the Maccabees, retained close cultural and religious ties with Judea and the temple (Luke 1:26–27; 2:1–7, 39–40; John 4:45).

Good News

The English word “gospel” translates the Greek word euangelion, which is very important in the NT, being used seventy-six times. The word euangelion (eu = “good,” angelion = “announcement”), in its contemporary use in the Hellenistic world, was not the title of a book but rather a declaration of good news. Euangelion was used in the Roman Empire with reference to significant events in the life of the emperor, who was thought of as a savior with divine status. These events included declarations at the time of his birth, his coming of age, and his accession to the throne. The NT usage of the term can also be traced to the OT (e.g., Isa. 40:9; 52:7; 61:1), which looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, who would bring a time of salvation. This good news, which is declared in the NT, is that Jesus has fulfilled God’s promises to Israel, and now the way of salvation is open to all.

The Gospel Message

The apostle Paul recognizes that the gospel is centered on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1–5). He states that this gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16), a sacred trust (1 Tim. 1:11), the word of truth (Eph. 1:13), and an authoritative pronouncement that requires a response (Rom. 10:16; 2 Cor. 11:4; 2 Thess. 1:8). The declaration of this good news is found on the lips of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 11:5; Luke 4:18), who calls people to respond in repentance and belief (Mark 1:15). The good news is also in the early apostolic preaching, where it is associated with the proclamation of Christ (Acts 5:42; 8:35; 11:20).

The records of apostolic preaching in Acts are records of the earliest public declaration of this gospel. The apostle Peter gives three such speeches (Acts 2:14–41; 3:11–4:4; 10:34–43), whose content can be summarized as follows. The age of fulfillment has dawned through the birth, life, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (2:22–31), which has ushered in the “latter days” foretold by the prophets (3:18–26). Jesus, by his resurrection, has been exalted to the right hand of God as the head of the new Israel (2:32–36), and the Holy Spirit has been given to the church as the sign of Christ’s present power and exaltation (10:44–48). This age will reach its consummation at the return of Christ (3:20–21), and in response to this gospel an appeal is made for repentance, with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and salvation (2:37–41).

This declaration of the gospel is concerned primarily with what was preached rather than what was written. Itinerant preachers of this gospel were known as “evangelists,” which in Greek is closely related to the term euangelion (Acts 21:8; Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5). Some scholars believe that during the stage of oral transmission, the gospel accounts developed a certain form through repetition, which helps explain some similarities between later written accounts of the gospel.

From Oral to Written Gospel

Later, this “oral” gospel was written down, for several reasons. With the rapid spread of Christianity, as recorded in the book of Acts, a need arose for a more efficient dissemination of the message of Jesus than was available by oral means. Furthermore, there was a need to keep the message alive because some of the apostles had died (e.g., James in Acts 12:2) and many churches were facing opposition and persecution. The written Gospels would facilitate catechetical and liturgical needs and encourage persecuted Christians to continue following Jesus by telling the story of his faithfulness through great suffering. These written Gospels would also contain examples of those who persevered in following Jesus and of those who denied him and betrayed him. These accounts about Jesus and those who followed him became foundational documents for the early church.

It should be noted that the gospel was not written down in order to give it greater authority. The first-century context was largely an oral culture, in which storytelling and the rehearsal of facts was integral. Papias, a leader of the church in Hierapolis in Asia Minor who died around AD 130, states his preference for oral tradition rather than written information about Jesus: “For I did not think that information from books would help me as much as the word of a living and surviving voice” (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.39.4). There is, however, a traceable trajectory from the gospel preached by the apostles to the written accounts that bear the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is generally held that the authors/editors of the four canonical Gospels were using oral and/or written sources (Luke 1:1–4), and that their respective Gospels were written in the second half of the first century.

The majority of biblical scholars hold that Mark was the first Gospel to be written (c. AD 66). According to tradition, its editor/author was John Mark, a close friend of the apostle Peter (1 Pet. 5:13) and a part-time companion of the apostle Paul (Acts 12:12; Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11). This tradition is not without basis. Papias says, “Mark, who had indeed been Peter’s interpreter, accurately wrote as much as he remembered, yet not in order, about that which was either said or done by the Lord” (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.39.15). This tradition is also outlined by Clement of Alexandria, who, around AD 200, wrote, “When Peter had publicly preached the word at Rome, and by the Spirit had proclaimed the gospel, then those present, who were many, exhorted Mark, as one who had followed him for a long time and remembered what had been spoken, to make a record of what he said; and that he did this, and distributed the Gospel among those that asked him” (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.14.5–7; cf. 2.15.1–2).

It is widely held that Matthew and Luke used Mark as one of their sources: of the material in Mark, over 97 percent is repeated in Matthew and over 88 percent in Luke. Matthew and Luke also contain material that appears to come from a common written source that is not found in Mark. Scholars have named this source as “Q” (from the German Quelle = “source”), although this may be a collection of sources rather than a single document.

Furthermore, the association of the Fourth Gospel with the apostle John goes back to Irenaeus (c. AD 180), who states, “John, the disciple of the Lord, who leaned on his breast, also published the gospel while living at Ephesus in Asia” (Haer. 3.1.1, as cited in Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 5.8.4). By the second century, the term “gospel” is used for the written accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (e.g., Did. 11.3; 15.4). Justin Martyr (c. AD 140) refers to the “memoirs of the apostles” (1 Apol. 67) and Irenaeus (c. AD 180) mentions the four canonical Gospels by name (Haer. 3.11.7).

The Purpose and Genre of the Gospels

Purpose. The Gospels were written to convey theology and to create and confirm faith. They do not give an objectively neutral account of the life of Jesus; they enthusiastically endorse their protagonist and condemn those who oppose him. They differ from traditional biographies in that they give little information about the chronology of Jesus’ life. Only two of the Gospels, Matthew and Luke, tell of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. Luke alone tells of an event in Jesus’ childhood (Luke 2:41–52). It is virtually incidental that Jesus worked as a carpenter and had brothers and sisters (Mark 6:3). A large percentage of each of the four canonical Gospels is devoted to the last week of Jesus’ life; of the sixteen chapters of Mark’s Gospel, six are devoted to the one week from Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem until his resurrection.

The primary intentions of the authors/editors of the written Gospels were not to give biographical details but rather to lead the reader to an acknowledgment of the identity of Jesus and a belief in the purpose of his mission (Luke 1:4; John 20:31). Their theological purposes, however, do not necessarily compromise their commitment to historical accuracy. Jesus is presented as a real, historical figure who lived within a specific historical time frame. Luke appears to be more concerned than the other evangelists with historical details, giving a rough date for Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:1–2) and a more specific time for Jesus’ baptism (3:1–2).

Genre. The discerning reader of the Gospels is forced to ask questions concerning the literary genre(s) of these texts. Such a discussion is imperative, as the interpretation of a section of any piece of literature will largely be determined by the function of the text within a certain literary genre. Prior to the 1970s, most NT scholars believed that the Gospels formed a unique literary genre and were therefore distinct from other first-century literary forms. This conclusion was based on the belief that the written Gospels were collections of smaller sections sewn together by the evangelists, and that the documents as a whole lacked coherence. Since then, this presupposition has been challenged, largely because scholars have seen that the Gospel writers were real editors and authors who were not just collecting primitive source material but were using that material to write a larger story about Jesus. The written Gospels therefore have overall coherence and purpose; they were written in such a way as to bring about a desired response in the reader. Such an overall intention may have stronger similarities with different genres in the Greco-Roman world of the NT.

The Gospels have been associated with several genres. They bear some resemblance to aretalogies, which were narratives about divine persons in antiquity from which flowed moral instructions. These stories often involved miraculous events at the subject’s birth or death or during life, and they included the presence of both disciples and opponents. Within these aretalogies, the narrative was secondary to the morality. An association with aretalogies, therefore, would encourage the reader to give greater attention to moral teaching than to events in which this teaching is embedded. Similarly, others have seen the Gospels as essentially a collection of wisdom sayings set in a historicized narrative; this view again gives priority to sayings and is doubtful of the historicity of the narrative. Such views that downplay the narrative, and particularly the miracles in Jesus’ life, have led others to argue the opposite extreme, which sees the Gospels, and Luke-Acts in particular, as examples of ancient novels, with their focus on miracle stories. Many scholars have rejected the emphasis on either sayings or narrative, arguing that the literary genre that the Gospels most closely resemble is ancient biographies (bioi). These contained praise for the protagonist, rhetoric, moral philosophy, and a concern for character.

Although the Gospels use different literary motifs that are reflective of different genres of the Greco-Roman world, they do not exactly replicate a known genre. They contain material not found in other Hellenistic literature of the time—for example, the fulfillment of OT expectations and their desire to address particular issues faced by the early church, such as opposition; the Gentile mission; the need to redefine Israel in the light of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; and the nature of Christian discipleship. Unlike other literature of the time, they do not name their authors, and with the exception of Luke, they lack traditional literary devices such as prefaces. They are therefore to be seen as unique, or at least as a distinct subgenre of ancient biographies.

Canonical and Noncanonical Gospels

The progression from the events of Jesus’ life to the oral preaching of this gospel to the first-century writing of the story led to the acceptance of the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John into the NT canon. There is also a significant body of literature that is normally referred to as the noncanonical gospels. These later documents were neither widely accepted nor viewed as authoritative, but they provide useful insights into the nature of early Christianity. A significant noncanonical gospel is the Gospel of Thomas, which is part of a large collection of works discovered at Nag Hammadi (Egypt) in 1945. The Gospel of Thomas does not contain a resurrection account and is primarily a collection of sayings.

The canonical Gospels are not more authoritative than other sections of Scripture, but because they focus on Jesus’ ministry, with particular attention to his death and resurrection, they draw the attention of the reader to the fulfillment of God’s purpose in the life and work of Jesus, the Messiah. They are therefore of great importance within Scripture.

Gospel

The Gospel Message

From Oral to Written Gospel

The Purpose and Genre of the Gospels

Canonical and Noncanonical Gospels

Guest Room

A room for guests to lodge or dine in. The same Greek word, katalyma, is used for the inn (probably actually a guest room in a private residence) that was unavailable for Mary to give birth to Jesus (Luke 2:7) and for the upper room made available for the final Passover meal of Jesus with his disciples (Mark 14:14; Luke 22:11). Paul requests that Philemon prepare him a guest room (Philem. 22).

Innkeeper

One who owns, manages, or serves as host at an inn. The only direct reference to an innkeeper in the OT is in an Aramaic translation (Targum) of Josh. 2:1 that designates Rahab as such (cf. Josephus, Ant. 5.8, 30). The innkeeper (Gk. pandocheus) of Luke 10:35 was paid by the good Samaritan to care for the victim of robbers along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. No innkeeper (only the “inn” or “guest room”) is mentioned in the nativity account of Luke 2:4–7.

Jesus Christ

The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesus followers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christ embodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in human history.

Introduction

Name. Early Christians combined the name “Jesus” with the title “Christ” (Acts 5:42; NIV: “Messiah”). The name “Jesus,” from the Hebrew Yehoshua or Yeshua, was a common male name in first-century Judaism. The title “Christ” is from the Greek christos, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh (“anointed one, messiah”). Christians eventually were named after Jesus’ title (Acts 11:26). During the ministry of Jesus, Peter was the first disciple to recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Matt. 16:16; Mark 9:29; Luke 9:20).

Sources. From the viewpoint of Christianity, the life and ministry of Jesus constitute the turning point in human history. From a historical perspective, ample early source materials would be expected. Indeed, both Christian and non-Christian first-century and early second-century literary sources are extant, but they are few in number. In part, this low incidence is due to society’s initial resistance to the Jesus followers’ movement. The ancient Roman historian Tacitus called Christianity “a superstition,” since its beliefs did not fit with the culture’s prevailing worldview and thus were considered antisocial. Early literary sources therefore are either in-group documents or allusions in non-Christian sources.

The NT Gospels are the principal sources for the life and ministry of Jesus. They consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke (the Synoptic Gospels), and John. Most scholars adhere to the so-called Four Source Hypothesis. In this theory, Mark was written first and was used as a source by Matthew and Luke, who also used the sayings source Q (from German Quelle, meaning “source”) as well as their own individual sources M (Matthew) and L (Luke). John used additional sources.

The early church tried to put together singular accounts, so-called Gospel harmonies, of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of the Ebionites represents one such attempt based on the Synoptic Gospels. Another harmony, the Diatessaron, based on all four Gospels, was produced around AD 170 by Tatian. Additional source materials concerning the life of Christ are provided in the NT in texts such as Acts, the Pauline Epistles, the General Epistles, and the Revelation of John. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law” (Gal. 4:4). The first narrative about Jesus by the Christian community was a passion narrative, the account of his death and resurrection. The first extant references to this tradition are found in Paul’s letters (1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 3:1). The resurrection was recognized from the beginning as the cornerstone of the Christian faith (1 Cor. 15:13–14).

Among non-Christian sources, the earliest reference to Jesus is found in a letter written circa AD 112 by Pliny the Younger, the Roman governor of Bithynia-Pontus (Ep. 10.96). The Roman historian Tacitus mentions Christians and Jesus around AD 115 in his famous work about the history of Rome (Ann. 15.44). Another Roman historian, Suetonius, wrote around the same time concerning unrest among the Jews in Rome because of a certain “Chrestos” (Claud. 25.4). Some scholars conclude that “Chrestos” is a misspelling of “Christos,” a reference to Jesus.

The Jewish author Josephus (first century AD) mentions Jesus in a story about the Jewish high priest Ananus and James the brother of Jesus (Ant. 20.200). A controversial reference to Jesus appears in a different part of the same work, where Josephus affirms that Jesus is the Messiah and that he rose from the dead (Ant. 18.63–64). The majority of scholars consider this passage to be authentic but heavily edited by later Christian copyists. Another Jewish source, the Talmud, also mentions Jesus in several places, but these references are very late and of little historical value.

Noncanonical Gospels that mention Jesus include, for example, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Egerton Gospel, and the Gospel of Judas. Although some of these may contain an occasional authentic saying or event, for the most part they are late and unreliable.

Jesus’ Life

Birth and childhood. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:4, 11). Jesus was probably born between 6 and 4 BC, shortly before Herod’s death (Matt. 2:19). Both Matthew and Luke record the miracle of a virginal conception made possible by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). Luke mentions a census under the Syrian governor Quirinius that was responsible for Jesus’ birth taking place in Bethlehem (2:1–5). Both the census and the governorship at the time of the birth of Jesus have been questioned by scholars. Unfortunately, there is not enough extrabiblical evidence to either confirm or disprove these events, so their veracity must be determined on the basis of one’s view regarding the general reliability of the Gospel tradition.

On the eighth day after his birth, Jesus was circumcised, in keeping with the Jewish law, at which time he officially was named “Jesus” (Luke 2:21). He spent his growing years in Nazareth, in the home of his parents, Joseph and Mary (2:40). Of the NT Gospels, the Gospel of Luke contains the only brief portrayal of Jesus’ growth in strength, wisdom, and favor with God and people (2:40, 52). Luke also contains the only account of Jesus as a young boy (2:41–49).

Jesus was born in a lower socioeconomic setting. His parents offered a temple sacrifice appropriate for those who could not afford to sacrifice a sheep (Luke 2:22–24; cf. Lev. 12:8). Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was a carpenter or an artisan in wood, stone, or metal (Matt. 13:55). From a geographical perspective, Nazareth was not a prominent place for settling, since it lacked fertile ground. Jesus’ disciple Nathanael expressed an apparently common first-century sentiment concerning Nazareth: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46).

Jesus was also born in a context of scandal. Questions of illegitimacy were surely raised, since his mother Mary was discovered to be pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. According to Matthew, only the intervention of an angel convinced Joseph not to break his betrothal (Matt. 1:18–24). Jesus’ birth took place in Bethlehem, far from his parents’ home in Nazareth. According to kinship hospitality customs, Joseph and Mary would have expected to stay with distant relatives in Bethlehem. It is likely that they were unwelcome because of Jesus’ status as an illegitimate child; thus Mary had to give birth elsewhere and place the infant Jesus in a feeding trough (Luke 2:7). A similar response was seen years later in Nazareth when Jesus was identified as “Mary’s son” (Mark 6:3) rather than through his paternal line, thereby shaming him as one who was born an illegitimate child. Jesus was likewise rejected at the end of his life as the crowds cried, “Crucify him!” (Matt. 27:22–23; Mark 15:13–14; Luke 23:21; John 19:6, 15). When Jesus was arrested, most of his followers fled (Matt. 26:56; Mark 14:50–52), and a core disciple, Peter, vehemently denied knowing him (Matt. 26:69–74; Mark 14:66–71; Luke 22:55–60; John 18:15–17, 25–27). His own siblings did not believe in him (John 7:5) and were evidently ashamed of his fate, since from the cross Jesus placed the care of his mother into the hands of “the disciple whom he loved” (19:26–27) rather than the next brother in line, as was customary.

Baptism, temptation, and start of ministry. After Jesus was baptized by the prophet John the Baptist (Luke 3:21–22), God affirmed his pleasure with him by referring to him as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Jesus’ baptism did not launch him into fame and instant ministry success; instead, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted for forty days (Matt. 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13). Mark stresses that the temptations immediately followed the baptism. Matthew and Luke identify three specific temptations by the devil, though their order for the last two is reversed. Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread, expect divine intervention after jumping off the temple portico, and receive all the world’s kingdoms for worshiping the devil. Jesus resisted all temptation, quoting Scripture in response.

Matthew and Mark record that Jesus began his ministry in Capernaum in Galilee, after the arrest of John the Baptist (Matt. 4:12–13; Mark 1:14). Luke says that Jesus started his ministry at about thirty years of age (3:23). This may be meant to indicate full maturity or perhaps correlate this age with the onset of the service of the Levites in the temple (cf. Num. 4:3). John narrates the beginning of Jesus’ ministry by focusing on the calling of the disciples and the sign performed at a wedding at Cana (1:35–2:11).

Jesus’ public ministry: chronology. Jesus’ ministry started in Galilee, probably around AD 27/28, and ended with his death around AD 30 in Jerusalem. The temple had been forty-six years in construction (generally interpreted as the temple itself and the wider temple complex) when Jesus drove out the money changers (John 2:20). According to Josephus, the rebuilding and expansion of the second temple had started in 20/19 BC, during the eighteenth year of Herod’s reign (Ant. 15.380). The ministry of John the Baptist had commenced in the fifteenth year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1–2), who had become a coregent in AD 11/12. From these dates of the start of the temple building and the correlation of the reign of Tiberius to John the Baptist’s ministry, the onset of Jesus’ ministry can probably be dated to AD 27/28.

The Gospel of John mentions three Passovers and another unnamed feast in John 5:1. The length of Jesus’ ministry thus extended over three or four Passovers, equaling about three or three and a half years. Passover, which took place on the fifteenth of Nisan, came on a Friday in AD 30 and 33. The year of Jesus’ death was therefore probably AD 30.

Jesus’ ministry years may be divided broadly into his Galilean and his Judean ministries. The Synoptic Gospels describe the ministry in Galilee from various angles but converge again as Jesus enters Judea.

Galilean ministry. The early stages of Jesus’ ministry centered in and around Galilee. Jesus presented the good news and proclaimed that the kingdom of God was near. Matthew focuses on the fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 4:13–17). Luke records Jesus’ first teaching in his hometown, Nazareth, as paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–30); the text that Jesus quoted, Isa. 61:1–2, set the stage for his calling to serve and revealed a trajectory of rejection and suffering.

All Gospels record Jesus’ gathering of disciples early in his Galilean ministry (Matt. 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11; John 1:35–51). The formal call and commissioning of the Twelve who would become Jesus’ closest followers is recorded in different parts of the Gospels (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16). A key event in the early ministry is the Sermon on the Mount/Plain (Matt. 5:1–7:29; Luke 6:20–49). John focuses on Jesus’ signs and miracles, in particular in the early parts of his ministry, whereas the Synoptics focus on healings and exorcisms.

During Jesus’ Galilean ministry, onlookers struggled with his identity. However, evil spirits knew him to be of supreme authority (Mark 3:11). Jesus was criticized by outsiders and by his own family (3:21). The scribes from Jerusalem identified him as a partner of Beelzebul (3:22). Amid these situations of social conflict, Jesus told parables that couched his ministry in the context of a growing kingdom of God. This kingdom would miraculously spring from humble beginnings (4:1–32).

The Synoptics present Jesus’ early Galilean ministry as successful. No challenge or ministry need superseded Jesus’ authority or ability: he calmed a storm (Mark 4:35–39), exorcized many demons (Mark 5:1–13), raised the dead (Mark 5:35–42), fed five thousand (Mark 6:30–44), and walked on water (Mark 6:48–49).

In the later part of his ministry in Galilee, Jesus often withdrew and traveled to the north and the east. The Gospel narratives are not written with a focus on chronology. However, only brief returns to Galilee appear to have taken place prior to Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. As people followed Jesus, faith was praised and fear resolved. Jerusalem’s religious leaders traveled to Galilee, where they leveled accusations and charged Jesus’ disciples with lacking ritual purity (Mark 7:1–5). Jesus shamed the Pharisees by pointing out their dishonorable treatment of parents (7:11–13). The Pharisees challenged his legitimacy by demanding a sign (8:11). Jesus refused them signs but agreed with Peter, who confessed, “You are the Messiah” (8:29). Jesus did provide the disciples a sign: his transfiguration (9:2–8).

Jesus withdrew from Galilee to Tyre and Sidon, where a Syrophoenician woman requested healing for her daughter. Jesus replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). Galileans had long resented the Syrian provincial leadership partiality that allotted governmental funds in ways that made the Jews receive mere “crumbs.” Consequently, when the woman replied, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,” Jesus applauded her faith (Matt. 15:27–28). Healing a deaf-mute man in the Decapolis provided another example of Jesus’ ministry in Gentile territory (Mark 7:31–37). Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ took place during Jesus’ travel to Caesarea Philippi, a well-known Gentile territory. The city was the ancient center of worship of the Hellenistic god Pan.

Judean ministry. Luke records a geographic turning point in Jesus’ ministry as he resolutely set out for Jerusalem, a direction that eventually led to his death (Luke 9:51). Luke divides the journey to Jerusalem into three phases (9:51–13:21; 13:22–17:10; 17:11–19:27). The opening verses of phase one emphasize a prophetic element of the journey. Jesus viewed his ministry in Jerusalem as his mission, and the demands on discipleship intensified as Jesus approached Jerusalem (Matt. 20:17–19, 26–28; Mark 10:38–39, 43–45; Luke 14:25–35). Luke presents the second phase of the journey toward Jerusalem with a focus on conversations regarding salvation and judgment (Luke 13:22–30). In the third and final phase of the journey, the advent of the kingdom and the final judgment are the main themes (17:20–37; 19:11–27).

Social conflicts with religious leaders increased throughout Jesus’ ministry. These conflicts led to lively challenge-riposte interactions concerning the Pharisaic schools of Shammai and Hillel (Matt. 19:1–12; Mark 10:1–12). Likewise, socioeconomic feathers were ruffled as Jesus welcomed young children, who had little value in society (Matt. 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17).

Passion Week, death, and resurrection. Each of the Gospels records Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with the crowds extending him a royal welcome (Matt. 21:4–9; Mark 11:7–10; Luke 19:35–38; John 12:12–15). Luke describes Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem as a time during which Jesus taught in the temple as Israel’s Messiah (19:45–21:38).

In Jerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple of profiteering (Mark 11:15–17). Mark describes the religious leaders as fearing Jesus because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching, and so they “began looking for a way to kill him” (11:18). Dismayed, each segment of Jerusalem’s temple leadership inquired about Jesus’ authority (11:27–33). Jesus replied with cunning questions (12:16, 35–36), stories (12:1–12), denunciation (12:38–44), and a prediction of Jerusalem’s own destruction (13:1–31). One of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas Iscariot, provided the temple leaders the opportunity for Jesus’ arrest (14:10–11).

At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted a new Passover, defining a new covenant grounded in his sufferings (Matt. 26:17–18, 26–29; Mark 14:16–25; Luke 22:14–20). He again warned the disciples of his betrayal and arrest (Matt. 26:21–25, 31; Mark 14:27–31; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30), and later he prayed for the disciples (John 17:1–26) and prayed in agony and submissiveness in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–42; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–42). His arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection followed (Matt. 26:46–28:15; Mark 14:43–16:8; Luke 22:47–24:9; John 18:1–20:18). Jesus finally commissioned his disciples to continue his mission by making disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:8) and ascended to heaven with the promise that he will one day return (Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11).

The Identity of Jesus Christ

Various aspects of Jesus’ identity are stressed in the four NT Gospels, depending on their target audiences. In the Gospels the witnesses to Jesus’ ministry are portrayed as constantly questioning and examining his identity (Matt. 11:2–5; 12:24; 26:63; 27:11; Mark 3:22; 8:11; 11:28; 14:61; Luke 7:18–20; 11:15; 22:67, 70; 23:39; John 7:20, 25–27; 18:37). Only beings of the spiritual realm are certain of his divinity (Mark 1:34; 3:11; Luke 4:41). At Jesus’ baptism, God referred to him as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Likewise, when Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John, a voice affirmed, “This is my Son, whom I love” (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7). At the moment of his death, the questioning of Jesus’ identity culminated in a confession by a Roman centurion and other guards: “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54; cf. Mark 15:39).

Miracle worker. In the first-century setting, folk healers and miracle workers were part of the fabric of society. Jesus, however, performed signs and miracles in order to demonstrate the authority of the kingdom of God over various realms: disease, illness, the spiritual world, nature, and even future events. Especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ signs and miracles are used to show his authority and thus his identity.

No challenge superseded Jesus’ authority. Among his ample miracles and signs, he changed water into wine (John 2:7–9), calmed a storm in the sea (Matt. 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–39; Luke 8:22–25), exorcized demons (Matt. 9:32–34; Mark 5:1–13; Luke 9:42–43), healed the sick (Mark 1:40–44), raised the dead (Matt. 9:23–25; Mark 5:35–42; Luke 7:1–16; 8:49–54; John 11:17, 38–44), performed miraculous feedings (Matt. 14:17–21; 15:34–38; Mark 6:30–44; 8:5–9; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:8–13), and walked on water (Matt. 14:25–26; Mark 6:48–49; John 6:19).

The Pharisees requested miracles as evidence of his authority (Mark 8:11–12). Jesus refused, claiming that a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign (Matt. 12:38–39; 16:1–4). The only sign that he would give was the sign of Jonah—his death and resurrection three days later—a personal sacrifice, taking upon himself the judgment of the world (Matt. 12:39–41).

Rabbi/teacher. Jesus’ teaching style was similar to other first-century rabbis or Pharisees (Mark 9:5; 10:51; John 1:38; 3:2). What distinguished him was that he spoke with great personal authority (Matt. 5:22, 28, 32, 39, 44; Mark 1:22). Like other rabbis of his day, Jesus gathered disciples. He called these men to observe his lifestyle and to join him in his ministry of teaching, healing, and exorcism (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16).

Jesus used a variety of teaching methods. He frequently spoke in parables (Matt. 6:24; 13:24–52; 18:10–14, 23–35; 21:28–22:14; 24:32–36, 45–51; 25:14–30; Mark 4:1–34; 12:1–12; 13:28–34; Luke 8:4–18; 12:41–46; 13:18–21; 14:15–24; 15:1–16:15, 19–31; 18:1–14; 19:11–27; 20:9–19; 21:29–33), used figures of speech (John 10:9), hyperbole (Matt. 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25), argumentation (Matt. 26:11), object lessons (Matt. 24:32), frequent repetition (Matt. 13:44–47; Luke 13:18–21), practical examples, and personal guidance.

Major themes in Jesus’ teaching include the kingdom of God, the cost of discipleship, internal righteousness, the end of the age, his identity, his mission, and his approaching death. In his teachings, observance of Torah was given new context and meaning because God’s kingdom had “come near” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus had come to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17).

Jesus’ teaching ministry often took place amid social conflict. These conflicts were couched in so-called challenge-riposte interactions in which the honor status of those involved was at stake. Jesus used these interactions as teachable moments. When questioned, Jesus gave replies that reveal omniscience or intimate knowledge of God’s will, especially in the Gospel of John. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ answers are both ethical and practical in nature. The Synoptics portray Jesus as challenged repeatedly with accusations of violating customs specified in the Jewish law. Jesus’ answers to such accusations often echoed the essence of 1 Sam. 15:22, “To obey is better than sacrifice,” phrased by Jesus as “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7). An overall “better than” ethic was common in Jesus’ public teaching.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) contains a “better than” ethic in which internal obedience is better than mere outward obedience. For example, Jesus said that anger without cause is equal to murder (Matt. 5:21–22), that looking at a woman lustfully amounts to adultery (Matt. 5:28), and that instead of revenging wrongs one must reciprocate with love (Matt. 5:38–48). Jesus valued compassion above traditions and customs, even those contained within the OT law. He desired internal obedience above the letter of the law.

Jesus’ teachings found their authority in the reality of God’s imminent kingdom (Matt. 3:2; 10:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 10:9), necessitating repentance (Matt. 3:2), belief (Mark 1:15), dependence (Matt. 18:3–5; Mark 10:15), and loyalty to a new community—the family of Jesus followers (Mark 3:34; 10:29–30). Jesus urged, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). Preaching with such urgency was common among prophetic teachers of the intertestamental period. Jesus, however, had his own grounds for urgency. He held that God deeply valued all humans (Matt. 10:31) and would bring judgment swiftly (Matt. 25:31–46).

Examples of a “greater good” ethic in the Synoptics include the occasions when Jesus ate with sinners (Mark 2:16–17). Jesus used an aphorism in response to accusations about his associations with sinners, saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). He advocated harvesting and healing on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–28; 3:1–6), and when he was accused of breaking the law, he pointed to an OT exception (1 Sam. 21:1–6) to declare compassion appropriate for the Sabbath. Jesus also applied the “greater good” ethic in the case of divorce, since women suffered the societal stigma of adultery and commonly became outcasts following divorce (Matt. 19:8–9; Mark 10:5–9).

Jesus’ kingdom teachings were simultaneously spiritual, ethical, and eschatological in application. The teachings were aimed at internal transformation (Matt. 5:3–9; 18:3; Mark 10:15) and spurring on love (Matt. 5:44; 7:21). The Spirit of the Lord had called Jesus to bless the hurting ones as they aspired to a godly character. Jesus taught, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48), and “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). The “blessed” ones in Jesus’ teachings are poor of spirit, peace driven, mournful, and hungry for righteousness, consumed with emulating godly character.

Some scholars believe that Jesus promoted an “interim ethic” for the kingdom, intended only for a short period prior to the end of time. However, he was explicit regarding the longevity of his teachings: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35; Luke 16:17).

Messiah. The concept of an anointed one, a messiah, who would restore the glories of David’s kingdom and bring political stability was common in Jewish expectation. Both before and after the Babylonian captivity, many Jews longed for one who would bring peace and protection. Israel’s prophets had spoken of a coming deliverer, one who would restore David’s kingdom and reign in justice and righteousness (2 Sam. 7:11–16; Isa. 9:1–7; 11:1–16; Jer. 23:5–6; 33:15–16; Ezek. 37:25; Dan. 2:44; Mic. 5:2; Zech. 9:9). Isaiah’s description of the servant (Isa. 53) whose suffering healed the nation provided a slightly different angle of expectation in terms of a deliverer.

Jesus’ authority and popularity as a miracle worker called up messianic images in first-century Jewish minds. On several occasions hearers called him “Son of David,” hoping for the Messiah (Matt. 12:23; 21:9). Simon Peter was the first follower who confessed Jesus as the Christ, the “Messiah” (Matt. 16:16; Mark 8:29). In line with Isaiah’s model of the Suffering Servant, Jesus focused not on political ends but rather on spiritual regeneration through his own sacrificial death (Mark 10:45).

Eschatological prophet. Many scholars claim that Jesus is best understood as a Jewish apocalypticist, an eschatological prophet who expected God to intervene in history, destroy the wicked, and bring in the kingdom of God. Central in this understanding are Jesus’ prophecies concerning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 24:1–2, 15–22; Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5–24; John 2:19; Acts 6:14). In addition, it is noted that Jesus had twelve disciples, representative of the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:2–28; Luke 22:23–30). Certain of Jesus’ parables, those with apocalyptic images of coming judgment, present Jesus as an eschatological prophet (Matt. 24:45–25:30; Luke 12:41–46; 19:11–27).

Suffering Son of God. Jesus’ first recorded teaching in a synagogue in Nazareth was paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–21). He attributed the reading, Isa. 61:1–2, to his personal calling to serve, and in doing so he revealed a trajectory of suffering. The Gospel of Mark likewise aptly portrays Jesus as the suffering Son of God. Jesus’ own teachings incorporated his upcoming suffering (Mark 8:31; 9:12–13, 31; 10:33–34). He summarized his mission by declaring, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). His earthly career ended with a trial in Jerusalem consisting of both Roman and Jewish components (Matt. 26:57–68; 27:1–31; Mark 14:53–65; 15:1–20; Luke 22:54–23:25; John 18:19–24; 18:28–19:16). He was insulted, scourged, mocked, and crucified.

Jesus’ suffering culminated in his humiliating death by crucifixion (Matt. 27:33–50; Mark 15:22–37; Luke 23:33–46; John 19:16–30). Crucifixion was a death of unimaginable horror, bringing shame and humiliation to the victim and his family. Anyone hanging on a tree was considered cursed (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). Thus, especially in a Jewish society, anyone associated with a crucified person bore the shame of following one who was executed as a lowly slave and left as a cursed corpse. The apostle Paul referred to this shame of the cross when he stated, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16).

Exalted Lord. Jesus had prophesied that he would rise again (Matt. 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19; 27:63; Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 46). The testimony of the Synoptics is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ indeed occurred on the third day, Christ having died on Friday (Mark 15:42–45; Luke 23:52–54; John 19:30–33) and risen again on Sunday (Matt. 28:1–7; Mark 16:2–7; Luke 24:1–7; John 20:1–16). The resurrected Jesus was witnessed by the women (Matt. 28:8–9), the eleven disciples (Matt. 28:16–17; Luke 24:36–43), and travelers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:31–32). According to Paul, he appeared to as many as five hundred others (1 Cor. 15:6). He appeared in bodily form, spoke, showed his scars, and ate (Luke 24:39–43; John 20:27; Acts 1:4). After forty postresurrection days, Jesus ascended into the heavenly realm (Acts 1:9).

As much as Jesus’ death was the epitome of shame, his victory over death was his ultimate exaltation (Phil. 2:5–11). At Pentecost, Peter proclaimed that in the resurrection God fulfilled OT promises (Ps. 16:10) by raising his Son from the grave (Acts 2:30–31). Furthermore, Christ provided freedom from the law through his resurrection (Rom. 5:13–14), God’s approval of his life and work (Phil. 2:8–9), and God’s designation of him as Lord over all the earth, the living and the dead (Acts 17:30–31; Phil. 2:10; Heb. 1:3), and over all his enemies (Eph. 1:20–23).

Jesus’ exaltation commenced the beginning of forgiveness and justification (Luke 24:46–47; Acts 13:30–39; Rom. 4:25) and his intercession for the people of God (Rom. 8:34). His ascension signaled the coming of the Holy Spirit as comforter and teacher (John 14:26; Acts 2:33) and was accompanied by the promise of his return in glory (Luke 24:51), at which time he will render judgment (Matt. 19:28; 24:31; Rev. 20:11–15) and establish his eternal kingdom (1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 11:15; 22:5).

Jesus’ Purpose and Community

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, who preaches the good news of the kingdom, urging people to repent (4:17–23). Repentance and belief allow one to enter the kingdom. The call into the kingdom is a call into a new covenant, one made in Jesus’ blood (26:28).

In the prologue to the Gospel of Mark, the narrator reveals the identity of Jesus (1:1). Jesus is presented as the one who brings good tidings of salvation (cf. Isa. 40:9; 52:7; 61:1). The centrality of the gospel, the good news (Mark 1:14–15), is evident.

Luke likewise presents the preaching of the good news as a main purpose of Jesus’ ministry (4:43). The content of this good news is the kingdom of God (4:43; 8:1; 16:16). When the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus if he was the one who was to come (7:20), Jesus answered, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (7:22). The kingdom of God, as presented in Luke, brings freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed (4:18). Jesus’ healings and exorcisms announce the coming kingdom of God already present in the ministry of Jesus (4:40–44; 6:18–20; 8:1–2; 9:2; 10:8–9).

In the Gospel of John, Jesus testifies to the good news by way of signs throughout his ministry. These signs point to Jesus’ glory, his identity, and the significance of his ministry. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, who offers eternal and abundant life. This abundant life is lived out in community.

In the Gospel of John, the disciples of Jesus represent the community of God (17:21). The disciples did not belong to the world, but they continued to live in the world (17:14–16). Throughout his ministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a call to loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26), a call to the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50; Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call to community. Jesus’ presence as the head of the community was replaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18).

Jesus’ ministry continued in the community of Jesus’ followers, God’s family—the church. Entrance into the community was obtained by adopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and through the initiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–62; John 1:12; 3:16; 10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9).

The Quests for the Historical Jesus

The quest for the historical Jesus, or seeking who Jesus was from a historical perspective, is a modern phenomenon deemed necessary by scholars who claim that the NT Gospels were written long after Jesus’ death and were heavily influenced by the post-Easter understanding of the church.

The beginning of this quest is often dated to 1770, when the lecture notes of Hermann Samuel Reimarus were published posthumously. Reimarus had launched an inquiry into the identity of Jesus that rejected as inauthentic all supernatural elements in the Gospels. He concluded that the disciples invented Jesus’ miracles, prophecies, ritualistic religion, and resurrection. Reimarus’s conclusions were not widely accepted, but they set off a flurry of rationalistic research into the historical Jesus that continued throughout the nineteenth century. This became known as the “first quest” for the historical Jesus.

In 1906 German theologian Albert Schweit-zer published The Quest of the Historical Jesus (German title: Von Reimarus zu Wrede: Eine Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung), a scathing indictment of the first quest. Schweitzer’s work showed that nineteenth-century researchers re-created Jesus in their own image, transforming the historical Jesus into a modern philanthropist preaching an inoffensive message of love and brotherhood. Schweitzer’s conclusions marked the beginning of the end for this first quest. Schweitzer himself concluded that the historical Jesus was an eschatological prophet whose purposes failed during his last days in Jerusalem.

With the demise of the first quest, some NT scholars, such as Rudolf Bultmann, rejected any claim to being able to discover the historical Jesus. This trend continued until 1953, when some of Bultmann’s former students launched what has come to be known as the “new quest” for the historical Jesus (1953–c. 1970). This quest created new interest in the historical Jesus but was still dominated by the view that the portrait of Jesus in the Gospels is largely a creation of the church in a post-Easter setting.

As the rebuilding years of the post–World War II era waned and scholars started to reap academic fruit from major archaeological finds such as the DSS, research on the historical Jesus moved on to what has been called the “third quest.” This quest seeks especially to research and understand Jesus in his social and cultural setting.

Magi

According to Matt. 2:1–12, “Magi from the east” visited Jesus after his birth. It is unclear how old Jesus was at this time, and some have proposed that the visit occurred as late as his second year, based on Herod’s order to kill all the male children in Bethlehem under the age of two (Matt. 2:16). The tradition that the visit occurred shortly after Jesus’ birth (as reflected in the celebration of Epiphany on January 6) and the artistic tradition of depicting the magi alongside the shepherds of Luke 2:8–20 cannot be confirmed from the biblical accounts. The magi visited Jesus in a house (Matt. 2:11), not in an inn or stable (cf. Luke 2:7). The magi appear only in Matt. 2:1–12, and the shepherds only in Luke 2:8–20. The contrasting stories of magi and shepherds probably represent the distinct theological interests of Matthew and Luke. The story of the magi and their gifts recalls Ps. 72:10; Isa. 60:6.

The word “magi” suggests neither wise philosophers in the Greco-Roman sense nor the kings of later artistic depictions, but rather the sages of Eastern wisdom. Whoever they were, the magi were observers of the heavens. On the basis of Matthew’s portrayal of the magi’s knowledge of Hebrew Scripture (Matt. 2:5–6), some have suggested that the magi were Jews of Mesopotamia. The number and names of the magi are not mentioned in Matthew, but tradition has assigned them both names (Melchior, Caspar, Balthasar) and number. The tradition of there being three wise men perhaps is derived from the three gifts mentioned in Matt. 2:11, but this inference probably is not intended by the evangelist.

Elsewhere in the NT, the Greek noun magos and the related verb mageuō have the negative connotation of sorcery and magic (Acts 8:9–11; 13:6, 8).

Nativity of Christ

The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesus followers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christ embodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in human history.

Introduction

Jesus’ Life

The Identity of Jesus Christ

Jesus’ Purpose and Community

The Quests for the Historical Jesus

Nazarene

In the first century, Nazareth was a small village in the extreme southerly part of lower Galilee, midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. It was near Gath Hepher, the birthplace of Jonah the prophet to the Gentiles (2 Kings 14:25), and Sepphoris, one of the three largest cities in the region. Not far was the Via Maris, the great highway joining Mesopotamia to Egypt and ultimately the trading network that linked India, China, central Asia, the Near East, and the Mediterranean. The village was perched 1,150 feet above sea level, overlooking the Jezreel Valley, with several terraces for agriculture cut into the mountain. A Nazarene could look south across the grand Plain of Esdraelon, west to Mount Carmel on the Mediterranean coast, east to nearby Mount Tabor, and north to snowcapped Mount Hermon. The community, whose population may have averaged around five hundred, subsisted from agriculture. Capital resources included almonds, pomegranates, dates, oil, and wine. (Excavations have located vaulted cells for wine and oil storage, as well as wine presses and storage jar vessels.) Nazareth appears to have been uninhabited from the eighth to the second centuries BC, until it was resettled during the reign of John Hyrcanus (134–104 BC), probably by a Davidic clan of army veterans. The claim that Jesus’ adoptive father, Joseph, was a descendant of David and a resident of Nazareth is therefore plausible (Matt. 1:20; Luke 2:4–5). Today, Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel.

Poll Tax

A “head” tax levied by a government, often following a census (see 2 Sam. 24:1–17; 1 Chron. 21:1–17). Taxes were levied against conquered peoples (2 Kings 15:19–20; 23:35). The Romans demanded tribute from every head (tributum capitis) annually (see Mark 12:13–17 pars.). The procurator (e.g., Pontius Pilate) or regional head (e.g., Herod Antipas) was responsible for collecting these taxes. Around the time of Jesus’ birth, many Jews rebelled against the census and tax (Acts 5:37). According to Luke 2:1, Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem near the time of Jesus’ birth because of a census for tax purposes decreed by Caesar Augustus.

Rome

From Republic to Empire

Rome began as a city-state but soon became a transcontinental empire reaching over parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Rome emerged as the most dominant force in the Mediterranean after it defeated Carthage in the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). Thereafter, Rome began to expand its control and power over the various Hellenistic city-states in the east, including Macedonia, Illyria, and Asia Minor. By the mid-first century AD, Rome had also conquered or annexed Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrene, Gaul, Spain, North Africa, and Armenia.

Emperors (AD 14–98)

Nero, the stepson of Claudius, reigned in the years AD 54–68. The early period of his rule was marked by cultural endeavors and diplomatic efforts. The later years were, in contrast, distinguished by tyranny and self-aggrandizement. There was a Jewish revolt against Rome in Judea (AD 66–70) during Nero’s reign, and Vespasian was sent to pacify the territory. According to ancient sources, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire of Rome in AD 64 and subjected them to the cruelest of punishments, including crucifixion, being thrown to wild animals, and even being burned alive. It probably was during this time that the apostles Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. Nero eventually was declared a public enemy by the Roman senate, and he committed suicide before he could be captured in AD 68. There arose a “Nero redivivus” legend, whereby many hoped or feared that Nero had not died in AD 68 but had fled to Parthia and would return to Rome in order to destroy it (Sib. Or. 4.119–124; 5.137–141, 361–396), and this arguably stands behind the imagery of Rev. 13:3; 17:8–11.

Table 7. Roman Emperors (31 BC–AD 117)

31 BC-AD 14 – Augustus

AD 14-37 – Tiberius

AD 37-41 – Caligula

AD 41-54 – Claudius

AD 54-68 – Nero

AD 68-69 – Galba

AD 69 – Otho

AD 69 – Vitellius

AD 69-79 – Vespasian

AD 79-81 – Titus

AD 81-96 – Domitian

AD 96-98 – Nerva

AD 98-117 – Trajan

Military

Culture and Religion

Summary

Stable

The word “stable” is not found in many English translations of the Bible; instead, the word “stall” is used (1 Kings 4:26). Archaeological evidence has brought to light numerous tripartite buildings from the Solomonic period (c. 950 BC) and subsequent periods that likely functioned as stables. The best known are at Megiddo and Hazor. These structures located throughout Israel likely functioned as military outposts where the king’s chariots were stationed awaiting deployment.

Luke 2:7 (also vv. 12 and 16) refers to a “manger” where the infant Jesus lay “because there was no guest room available for them.” The Greek word for “manger,” phatnē, refers to a feeding trough. Such a setting suggests that Jesus was born in a stable, though that is not made explicit. Traditionally, the cave underlying the Church of the Nativity is understood to be the aforementioned stable.

Stall

Tiberius Caesar

The Roman emperor during the time of Jesus’ ministry, he reigned in the years AD 14–37. Tiberius was adopted by his predecessor, Augustus, in an act that paved the way for Tiberius to ascend to the headship of the empire. All references to “Caesar” in the Gospels are to Tiberius (except Luke 2:1). The first mention of Tiberius states that the ministry of John the Baptist was taking place “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” (Luke 3:1). It is noteworthy that each of the remaining Gospel references to Tiberius concerns the issue of paying taxes. All three Synoptic Gospels give an account of a debate between Jesus and certain religious leaders about paying taxes to Caesar, with Jesus indicating that they indeed should be paid (Matt. 22:15–22; Mark 12:13–17; Luke 20:20–26). In contrast, when Jesus is later on trial before Pilate, the assembled crowd alleges that Jesus opposed the payment of taxes to Tiberius Caesar (Luke 23:2).

Virgin Birth

The traditional designation “virgin birth” refers to the supernatural conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, apart from sexual relations. Technically, one should speak of a “virginal conception,” since Jesus was virginally conceived but was born normally. The virgin “birth” is considered by some theologians to be the means by which the two natures of Jesus Christ are preserved: his humanity stems from the fact that he was born of the virgin Mary, while his deity proceeds from the reality that God was his father and he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The later Apostles’ Creed formulates the matter this way: Jesus Christ “was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.” Here, three aspects of the virgin birth are discussed: (1) the virgin birth and Isa. 7:14; (2) the virgin birth in the NT; (3) the historicity of the virgin birth.

Isaiah 7:14. Isaiah 7:14 reads, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (ESV). Two key issues are involved in Isaiah’s prophecy. First, should the Hebrew word ’almah be translated as “virgin” or as “young woman”? While the Hebrew term does not necessarily mean a virgin, but only a young woman of marriageable age, the Greek term parthenos used in the LXX of Isa. 7:14 and quoted in Matt. 1:23 has stronger connotations of virginity. Second, when was Isa. 7:14 fulfilled? Most likely the OT text was partially fulfilled in Isaiah’s day (with reference to King Ahaz’s unnamed son or to Isaiah’s son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz [Isa. 8:1]) but found its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, as Matt. 1:23 points out.

New Testament. The infancy narratives recorded in Matt. 1–2 and in Luke 1–2 provide the story line for Jesus’ virginal conception: (1) Mary was a virgin engaged to Joseph (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:27, 34; 2:5); (2) she was found to be pregnant while still engaged to Joseph, a conception produced by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35; cf. Matt. 1:18–25; Luke 1:34); (3) only after Jesus was born did Mary and Joseph have sexual relations (Matt. 1:24–25). Even though there is nothing in these narratives like the hypostatic union formulated in the later church creeds, it is clear that Matthew and Luke in some way associate Jesus’ deity and humanity with the virginal conception. Other NT texts are considered by some as possible references to the virgin birth. John 1:14 states that “the Word became flesh,” which certainly highlights Jesus’ two natures—deity and humanity—but does not thereby explicitly mention the virgin birth. Paul does something similar in Rom. 1:3 (“[God’s] Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David”), Gal. 4:4 (“God sent his Son, born of a woman”), and Phil. 2:6–11 (Jesus existed in the form of God but took on human likeness). Beyond these passages, there is little else regarding the virgin birth stated or alluded to in the NT.

Historicity. Two important considerations indicate that the virgin birth of Jesus was a historical event and not a mythic legend. First, the simplicity of the descriptions of the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke, when compared with the fantastic details found in contemporary accounts of Greco-Roman and Jewish supernatural births, bespeak the authenticity of the NT documents. For example, one can cite the stories of the supernatural birth of Alexander the Great in Greek sources and of Noah in extrabiblical Jewish sources. In addition, secondary details such as the mention of Anna’s father, Phanuel (Luke 2:36), add nothing significant to the account and thus appear to be matter-of-fact reporting by an eyewitness. Second, the commonalities between Matthew and Luke regarding the virgin birth of Jesus attest to its historicity.

In conclusion, while the NT does not contain extensive information concerning the virgin birth of Jesus, there is sufficient evidence to support its historicity.

Vision

A divine communication in the form of visual imagery, usually accompanied by words, and often using symbols that require explanation and spur reflection about God’s otherwise imperceptible presence and activity. Presumably, the recipient “sees” the vision as an event of inward perception, often within a dream during sleep or in a divinely induced state of ecstasy (Gen. 15; Dan. 7:1; 10:1–9; 2 Cor. 12:1–4). Characteristically, visions entail conversation with God or an angelic representative, often following a question-and-answer format (Dan. 7:15–28; Zech. 1:8–15, 18–21). The visionary is actually in the scene as direct observer and active participant (Dan. 8:1–2).

Prophetic visions are meant to be retold. For example, imagery is accompanied by the authentication of divine commissioning (Isa. 6; Ezek. 1:1–3:15; Rev. 10), leading to announcement of judgment (Jer. 1:4–19). This close conjunction of image and word (1 Sam. 3:21) is reinforced by statements about a prophet “seeing” God’s word (e.g., Mic. 1:1 ESV, NRSV, NASB) and about prophetic books as collections of visions (2 Chron. 32:32; Nah. 1:1). Vision reports join oracles and other forms of prophetic speech as essential features of these works. Visions contribute to the community’s spiritual well-being (Prov. 29:18; Ezek. 7:26), but not always (Lam. 2:14; Ezek. 13; Zech. 13:4; Col. 2:18).

Visions drive the narrative surrounding Jesus’ birth (Matt. 1:18–2:23; Luke 1:1–2:20). The baptism of Jesus includes a visionary element, the Holy Spirit’s anointing of Jesus for his ministry, accompanied by the Father’s word (Matt. 3:16–17; Mark 1:10–11; Luke 3:22; John 1:32–33). Jesus’ transfiguration is comparable (Matt. 17:1–9; Mark 9:2–10; Luke 9:28–36). Visions mark key transition points in the narrative of Acts (e.g., chaps. 9–11). The book of Revelation opens with a vision of the Son of Man (1:9–20) and is structured around three vision cycles of judgment interspersed with visions of heaven meant to bolster the readers’ faithfulness.

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1. Waiting For Christmas

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

There was a little girl named Lucinda who couldn't wait for Christmas to come. She was so excited about Christmas that she was about to burst! Lucinda loved everything about Christmas. She loved singing Christmas carols, she loved decorating the tree and sending Christmas cards, she loved shopping and wrapping the presents. But, most of all, she loved unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. She couldn't wait to see what she was going to get.

And one year she didn't wait! She sneaked into the closet where her mom and dad had hidden her presents and she peeked. She unwrapped the presents just enough to see what she was going to get. At first she was very excited, because she liked the presents and she couldn't wait to play with them. But later, she began to feel sad. All of the excitement of waiting was gone. Now she didn't have anything to look forward to on Christmas morning.

That night, at the Christmas Eve service, the little girl listened as the Christmas story was read from the Bible. She knew the story well, and she especially liked the part where the angel told the shepherds about the birth of the baby Jesus. How excited they must have been as they made their way to Bethlehem. Their people had been waiting a long, long time for the Messiah to come. Even though it had taken many years, they had never given up hope. And how special it must have been to see the baby Jesus in the manger, even though the angel told them exactly what they were going to see.

"Maybe that's how it will be for me when I open my presents," the little girl thought, and she began to get excited about Christmas morning all over again. And when Lucinda opened her presents the next morning, what do you suppose happened? She was surprised! She didn't get any of the presents she had peeked at! Her sister got all of those. She had peeked at the wrong presents! What a relief it was, and what a valuable lesson she had learned. She would never, ever even try to peek at her presents again! She would wait patiently, and with great excitement, for Christmas to come. She would wait as long as it took.

2. Santa in a UFO

Illustration

Owen Edwards

On December 16, 1965, NASA astronauts Wally Schirra Jr. and Thomas P. Stafford contacted Mission Control in Houston, Texas, to report a UFO sighting. Mission Control engineers listened tensely as the astronauts aboard Gemini 6 described the unusual aircraft they spotted as they orbited the earth.

“I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front,” Stafford said. “The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit.” The Houston lab was silent, waiting for more details on this UFO, when Wally Schirra began playing “Jingle Bells” on his harmonica, while Thomas Stafford stood in the background and shook a set of tiny sleigh bells.

It was a little Christmas prank they had planned for weeks before the Gemini’s launch. Today, Wally Schirra’s harmonica sits in a special display case in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. It is, according to historians, the first musical instrument ever played in space.

3. Christ in Our Midst

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

Henri Nouwen told the story of a student who, many years after graduation, returned to sit in his old professor's office where so many questions had been answered and so many problems had been solved. When the student entered he told his professor that he didn't need anything, he came just to visit, to be together. They sat for a while in silence and looked at each other. One broke the silence by telling the other how nice it was to see each other. The other agreed, and then there was silence. Then the student said, "When I look at you it is as if I am in the presence of Christ." The professor remembers that did not startle or surprise him and that he could only respond with, "It is the Christ in you who recognizes the Christ in me." The student replied with the most healing words Nouwen had heard in many years. "Yes, Christ indeed is in our midst. From now on, wherever you go, or wherever I go, all the ground between us will be holy ground."

Our culture puts such an emphasis on productivity on doing things, solving problems, making plans, producing products that two things have happened. In many cases, those who do not solve or plan or produce are looked upon as second class citizens. And secondly, the idea of getting together just for the sake of being together is so foreign that when we do come together we often fail to see the Christ in one another because of this uneasy feeling that we ought to be doing something.

4. I Shall Not Rush

Illustration

Kathryn Spink

Here is a version of the 23rd Psalm that ought to be mandatory reading each day of Advent, and a unison reading each Advent Sunday.

The lord is my pace setter . . .I shall not rush
He makes me stop for quiet intervals
He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity
He leads me in the way of efficiency through calmness of mind and his guidance is peace
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day, I will not fret, for his presence is here
His timelessness, his all importance will keep me in balance
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my mind with his oils of tranquility
My cup of joyous energy overflows
Truly harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours for I shall walk in the Pace of my Lord and dwell in his house for ever.

5. Christmas Comes on a Steep Hill

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

I don't know anyone who perceives and probes the world of children and garners from it such great truth and wisdom as Charles Schulz in his Peanut cartoons. One year during the Christmas season, he put into drawing and dialogue one of those common exchanges between children that has deep and uncommon meaning. Sally asked Charlie Brown, "Is it Christmas yet?" "Four more days," responds Charlie Brown. "How come it takes so long?" Sally wants to know. Without even looking up from the TV, Charlie Brown gets off one of those off-the-cuff philosophical statements that one can chew on all day. "Christmas is on the top of steep hill," he said, "and the closer you get to it, the steeper the hill is." The answer baffled Sally, but it sounded profound, so she is convinced and she repeats it to Snoopy.

Christmas is at the top of a steep hill. Now every child can identify with that. But somehow we adults fail to grasp the significance of it. We're in such a hurry to "get Christmas over with" that Christmas leaps out of hiding seemingly and rushes at us, taking our breath away. But we don't have to jostle our memories too hard to recall how as children the days after Thanksgiving would drag endlessly on – poking along. And it seemed as though Christmas would never come. Charlie Brown captured the sentiment of children – Christmas is on the top of a steep hill and the closer you get to it, the steeper the hill is.

6. The Real Santa

Illustration

R. Curtis Fussell

A mother took her three little daughters to a mall to do some Christmas shopping. While they were there the three little girls had an opportunity to sit in Santa Claus' lap and tell him their wishes for Christmas. When they had finished, Santa Claus asked them, "Will you do something for me on Christmas morning?"

And they said, "Yes!"And Santa Claus said, "I want you to sing ‘Happy Birthday' on Christmas morning?" The little girls were surprised by this question and said they didn't know of anyone having a birthday on Christmas. Their mother, who was standing by and listening to the conversation, said, "Come on, now, who's birthday is it on Christmas?"

One of the little girls suddenly remembered and exclaimed, "It's Jesus' birthday!"

Santa Claus said, "That's right, so you be sure to sing Jesus 'Happy Birthday' on Christmas Day." And then he gave them each a kiss. A few days later the two youngest of these same little girls went to another mall and had a chance once more to sit in Santa Claus' lap. When they returned home their eldest sister asked, "Was it the real Santa Claus?" Again, their mother overheard this question, and asked, "How do you know if it's the real Santa Claus?"

And the little girl said, "The real Santa Claus tells you to sing ‘Happy Birthday' to Jesus and gives you a kiss."

7. The Changes a Baby Can Bring

Illustration

Eric Ritz

Bret Harte, in his classic short story "The Luck of Roaring Camp," tells of the birth of a baby on the American frontier; a baby that made a radical change in a rough-and-tumble mining camp. The only woman in the camp, Cherokee Sal, a disreputable woman at best, died in childbirth, leaving a healthy young baby boy to be raised by the now all-male camp.

These rough, hard men made a decision that would reflect changes that would come later. They considered hiring a woman nurse to care for the baby but eventually decided not to. Their logic was this: a nice nurse wouldn't come to their camp, and they didn't want any more women who weren't nice hanging around their baby. And so the work of regeneration began in Roaring Camp.

The cabin assigned to little "Tommy Luck," as they called him, was kept scrupulously clean and white-washed. The beautiful rosewood cradle that they purchased for the baby made the rest of the cabin look wretched, so they had to fix up the rest of the furniture in the room. Then a quarantine was imposed on those who wanted to hold little Tommy Luck, so they had to clean up for that privilege.

Each act of cleanliness exposed that much more dirt and filth in the vicinity, so that new measures were taken to keep an ever-wider expanse of the camp clean. Since the baby needed rest, the camp became quieter and more dignified, less noisy and boisterous, no longer the "Roaring Camp" of the story's title. The story of the baby of Roaring Camp is the story of the regeneration of a people. A baby changed the whole atmosphere of the Roaring Camp. So it was two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. A baby changed the atmosphere for all who have come to know him.

8. Men in the Delivery Room

Illustration

Eric Ritz

Recently, three men were nervously waiting in the Father's room at the Good Samaritan Hospital as their wives prepared to give births to their first children. The men were too scared to go in.

Soon the head nurse arrived with good news from the birthing rooms. She said to the first father-to-be, "Sir, you are a father of twins!"

"That's great," he said. "I'm a baseball player and I am going to sign a contract with the Minnesota Twins. This will be good press."

Soon, the nurse arrived and said to the second father-to-be, "Sir, you are the father of triplets."

"Fantastic," he said, "because I work for the 3M Company. This will be great press."

The third father-to-be got up and ran out of the room. He was moving so fast that he did not bother to take the elevator. Finally, the nurse yelled out the window as the man entered the nearby parking lot. The nurse cried out, "What's wrong? Where are you going?"

He said, "I've got to resign real fast. I am Vice-President of Seven-up!"

That poor father-to-be was feeling a might bit overwhelmed. I suppose many people feel that way especially during the Christmas season. They are ready to tender their resignation from it all; ready to "hang it up."

9. Gloria! Christ Is Our Own

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

It doesn't seem that long ago. It is as clear as yesterday. It was in the morning, 6:30, a Sunday morning, and I heard the patter of little feet. And the patter of the feet came into the kitchen, and it was dark in our kitchen except for the light above the kitchen table. I was putting the finishing touches on the Sunday sermon, and the little child came in half asleep, and he said to me, "Where's the scissors, Dad?" I gave him the scissors and he went over to where there was a chain which was made of paper, a paper chain link for each of the days of Advent, and he went and cut off the chain and he said, "Dad, one more day to Christmas!" And then that little boy got up into my lap, and he put his arms around my neck, and he just sat there and hugged me, for what seemed like five minutes of stillness and five minutes of love. And I put my arms around his little body and that child was my very own, my very own child, belonging to the world, belonging to my wife, belonging to his family, belonging to God, but also, belonging to me, my very own. And there was an inner glow of satisfaction deep within me.

And when you finally realize that Christ is your very own, not only for all the world, not only for all the shepherds, not only for all the angels, but when you realize that Christ is your very own, then there becomes a glow in your heart, and you begin to sing the Gloria.

10. Find the Road to Jesus

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Long ago a young man was starting out as a minister in London. He approached an aged pastor who had spent his lifetime preaching the Gospel.

"You have had a great deal of experience," he said to the old man. "You know how many things that I ought to learn. Can't you give me some advice to carry with me in my duties?" "Yes I can", was the answer. "I will give you a piece of advice. You know that in every town in England, no matter how small, in every village or hamlet, though it be hidden in the folds of the mountain or wrapped around by the far-off sea, in every clump of farmhouses, you can find a road that, if you follow it, will take you to London. Just so, every text that you choose to preach from the Bible will have a road that leads to Jesus. Be sure you find that road and follow it."

Good advice for preaching but excellent advice for living. It doesn't matter where we live, who we are, our professions, our level of learning, our achievement; our house, no matter what house it is, can be the house of our dreams because of Christmas. And it doesn't matter where we go, looking for that house of our dreams, we find that house only as we find Jesus.

11. Fractured Christmas Carols

Illustration

No one can fracture a Christmas carol better than a kid. Sing along with these new takes on old favorites:

Deck the Halls with Buddy Holly

We three kings of porridge and tar

On the first day of Christmas my tulip gave to me

Later on we'll perspire, as we dream by the fire.

He's makin a list, chicken and rice.

Noel. Noel, Barney's the king of Israel.

With the jelly toast proclaim . . .

Olive, the other reindeer.

Frosty the Snowman is a ferret elf, I say . . .

Sleep in heavenly peas . . .

In the meadow we can build a snowman, Then pretend that he is sparse and brown.

You'll go down in Listerine!

Oh, what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hay . . .

O come, froggy faithful.

While shepherds washed their socks by night . . .

You'll tell Carol, "Be a skunk, I require"

Good tidings we bring to you and your kid

12. Some Assembly Required

Illustration

Johnny Dean

When people tell me that they are saved and question whether or not I am, I am tempted to say to them, "Well, I'm so happy for you. But no, I'm still a sinner. I'm still working on it. I'm still struggling day by day to be purified and sanctified in God's sight. But God is patient with me and allows me to come, just as I am, without one plea. As I look at myself in the light of God's glory, I know that I am still a work in progress. I need a lot more assembling before God is through with me."

The truth is that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In one way or another, every one of us is like a rocking horse with 4,175 pieces. We each come wrapped in a box plainly labeled SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. We all come with a few spiritual pieces missing, and we can only be reassembled by following the directions laid out for us by our Creator. We cannot reassemble ourselves.

Just like each of you, the package I come in still has stamped on it, in big, bold letters, SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. But I know who to turn to for help with the assembly process. And so do you. But just in case, in all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, you may have forgotten, his name is Jesus. And He's here, right now.

13. God’s Sign of Love

Illustration

Tim Zingale

A young girl ran away from home to get married. Her father was angry and said he would never forgive her or ever want to see her again. She was sorry and wrote long letters seeking forgiveness, but still the father remained unforgiving. She eventually had a son. One day, when the boy was old enough to run and play, an idea came to her. Why not send her son to her father. He would be a living letter telling her father of her love for him and that she still very much wanted his forgiveness.

They drove to grandfather's house. The boy had not been there before, but the house was as his mother remembered it. She told the boy to knock on the door. When Grandpa answered, he was to give him a big hug and a kiss. The boy went to the door, knocked, grandfather answered, the boy reached up, kissed him and give him a huge hug. His heart melted and the father motioned for the girl to come in as she was standing just a few feet from the door.

Reconciliation happened that day just as reconciliation happens this night between God and his children. Jesus is God's sign of his love for us and his power to forgive us our wrongs.

14. Silent Night

Illustration

James Kegel

The Army chaplain of the 106th Division was captured in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Along with many other Americans, he was herded on to a freight car and taken into the heart of Germany.

On the evening of December 23rd, the men were in the railroad yard of a German city, when a devastating attack was made by the British Royal Air Force. Many of the American prisoners were killed as well as many Germans. The next night, Christmas Eve, the air raid was repeated. When the planes began to fly over, there was fear and alarm among the prisoners who were packed like sardines into these freight cars. The chaplain persuaded the German officer in charge to let him go up and down the line of the cars and talk to the men. As he passed by he said, "Boys, this is Christmas Eve and we are in a tough spot. But, if you have your Bibles, get them out and read the story of the birth of Jesus and you will know that He is with us even here. If you can't read because of the darkness, then let's sing."

Immediately there was a medley of response. Some sang revival songs and some sang hymns. Then a rich baritone struck up "Silent Night, Holy Night," and he was joined by others. Carload after carload joined in singing that beautiful Christmas carol. Then something marvelous happened. Other voices, German voices, began to sing the song in the original "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht." The German voices and American voices blended together in praise of Christ who came to bring all people together in peace.

15. Christmas Turns Everything Upside Down

Illustration

Ian Chapman

A preacher tells of the time when a woman, her arms filled with Christmas presents, came out of a department store and bumped right into him. It was a good, solid bump, and all of her parcels dropped on the sidewalk. As he bent down to help her pick them up, she said, more to herself than anyone else, "Oh, I hate Christmas. It turns everything upside down." And so it does. Christmas turns the world topsy-turvy because it is centered in a baby, and babies change everything! Just watch a doting grandmother or grandfather and you'll see how life is changed!

The Christ child is no exception. This child will change the world! This child is God's son, the one foretold by the prophets. As the gospel writer put it: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."

16. My Servant Martin

Illustration

John A. Stroman

Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier and a deeply committed Christian who lived in France in the fourth century. The story has it that early one winter morning he was met by a beggar who was shivering and blue from the cold. Without hesitation Martin took off his army cloak and wrapped it around the beggar's shoulders. That night he had a dream. In it he saw a vast multitude gathered in heaven and Jesus stood among them, clad in a Roman army cloak. One of the angels asked, "Lord, where did you get that Roman army cloak?" Jesus answered softly, "My servant Martin gave it to me."

This Advent Jesus stands among us, although disguised. If you turn away the addict, the beggar, the elderly, the lonely, the refugee, or the powerless, you may be turning away Jesus. To meet your neighbor or a stranger at the level of his or her need is to meet Jesus. It is possible that the highest and the holiest come to us in the least and lowest.

17. Have I Got News for You!

Illustration

William L. Self

There's a great Christmas story about a young boy who was given a very important role in the church Christmas play. He was to be the angel and announce the birth of Jesus. For weeks he rehearsed the line that had been given to him, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy."

The grandparents got in on it and any time the family was together and the boy was there, they would dress him up in his costume and he would rehearse his part for them, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy." They were certain that when he grew up, he would be another Charlton Heston playing Moses because of his dramatic ability.

The great night came for the Christmas pageant and everybody was in place. All the grandparents and extended family were there. Visitors had come in and all the children were in costumes, complete with bathrobes for the three kings and fake wings and halos for the angels. All the mothers were excited and everyone was really into this thing.

As the pageant started, the excitement was electric around the room. The dramatic event in the first part was the announcement of the angel, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy." The spotlight hit this young boy and as he stood center stage in the middle of all this excitement, his brain froze. Every grandparent, aunt, uncle and neighbor came to the edge of their seats, wanting to say it for him. You could see them in unison, mouthing, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy."

Still, his brain was frozen; he couldn't say it. He tried it, but it just wouldn't come. So, finally, in a heroic moment he filled his lungs with breath and blurted out the words, "Have I got news for you!"

18. The Poverty in the Christmas Story

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

The gospel story for today could be entitled, "The Original Christmas Pageant." In both the first two chapters of Luke and in the rest of the gospel, we hear of God's special concern for the poor. Both in the whole gospel of Luke and in the first two chapters of prelude, there is a preoccupation with those who live in poverty. I would like to suggest to you that the forgotten element of Luke's original Christmas pageant is the theme of poverty and poor people themselves. The poverty of the Christmas story is often the forgotten element.

Dr. Walter Pilgrim's book about the gospel of Luke is entitled, GOOD NEWS FOR THE POOR. This professor, who is from Pacific Lutheran University and often teaches at our congregation, reminds us that ALL of the characters from Luke's original Christmas pageant were poor people. ALL of them! The story about the three wise men with their gold, frankincense and myrrh is not a story from the gospel of Luke but from the book of Matthew. For Luke, ALL the characters in his Christmas play are poor people.

19. Poor Saint Nicholas

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

Christmas was and is the feast for the poor. Christmas is a festival for the poor, a banquet for the poor. We are reminded that at Christmas time (and all times), the poor are to be clothed, the hungry are to be filled, the handicapped and blind are to be nourished. These values are at the heart of the original Christmas pageant in the gospel of Luke, and these same values are found then in the rest of Luke's gospel as well. The poor are to be exalted, not only at Christmastime, but also throughout the whole year.

This Christmas gospel, this original Christmas pageant, continues in the story about St. Nicholas. You have learned before, in other sermons and classes, that St. Nicholas was a figure from history and was a bishop of Smyrna in Turkey in the year 350 A.D. St. Nicholas, as you recall, was not some fat bellied, red suited, white bearded old man. St. Nicholas did not have eight rein deer, one with a red nose. St. Nicolas did not have a toy factory located near the North Pole and subsidized by Toys R Us. Nor did St. Nicholas sing his favorite song, "I know when you've been sleeping; I know when you're awake; I know when you've bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. O, you better watch out…"

St.Nicolas's vision was not to terrorize all the children into being good children and then if they were good, to give them a present. Not at all. St. Nicholas was a historical figure, the kindly bishop of Smyrna, who went around giving presents to poor children. Not to children who had sent letters to the North Pole. Not to those who were good. Not to children who were rich. No. St. Nicholas himself was a poor person and he gave presents to poor children. St. Nicholas understood that in the original Christmas pageant, Christmas was a pageant for the poor.

20. Merry Xmas

Illustration

David E. Leininger

For years folks have complained about that "XMAS" abbreviation. They shout, "Keep Christ in Christmas," decrying the commercialization of the whole season as much as the use of "X." Half of the complaint is valid. No one would deny that the season has been taken over by the wizards of mass marketing in their quest to be the first-est with the most-est. Most of us remember the not too distant past when Christmas advertising began on the day after Thanksgiving. Now we get it in late September. I am told that buyers for the major retail chains begin their search for Christmas merchandise in February and March. There is no question as to the over-commercialization of Christmas.

As to the other part of the complaint...the X...there is less validity. To the English-speaking world, X is simply the twenty-fourth letter of the alphabet. But to the Greeks, the ones in whose language the New Testament was written, those diagonally-crossed lines are the letter "Chi," the first letter in the name "Christos," which in Greek means Messiah. Through the years it has been an acceptable abbreviation for Christ. The early Church used it as an abbreviation for Jesus. If you look at the lecture notes I took years ago in seminary, you will see it all over the place. Perhaps next time you tell someone Merry Christmas you could wish them Happy Chi-mas.

To backtrack a moment, I am less than accurate when I say that "X" to us is only a letter of the alphabet. Any math student would happily correct me. In algebra, it represents an unknown: 2+3=X, 3x3=X. But in Christianity X represents someone you do know.

21. O Little Town of Bethlehem: A Story of Faith

Illustration

Keith Wagner

One of my all time favorite Christmas hymns is "O Little Town of Bethlehem." It has been around since 1868. It is packed with emotion, a song about the Christ Child, born to Mary, a song filled with the creative power of God intervening in history with the gift of a savior. It's a story where the divine and the human come together in an amazing but humble way.

What might surprise you is how this great hymn came to be. It was written by Phillips Brooks, Episcopal priest. Brooks was serving the Holy Trinity Church in the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia, PA). He had just returned from a trip to The Holy Land which inspired him to write the words. "When he returned to America he still had Palestine singing in his soul." (from Stories of Christmas Carols by Ernest K. Emurian, Baker Book House Co., page 97)

Brooks was a bachelor. His church organist and Sunday School superintendent, Lewis Redner was also a bachelor and Brooks gave the words to him and asked him to create a tune for the upcoming Christmas celebration. Redner procrastinated and struggled with the creation of a tune to go with the 5 stanzas that Brooks had written. It wasn't until the night before the celebration that Redner got inspired in the middle of the night and created the song as we know it. The following day a group of 36 children and 6 Sunday school teachers introduced the song created by the 2 bachelors. That was on December 27th, 1868. It wasn't published as an official hymn of the Episcopal Church until 1892. The following January, Phillips Brooks died, never knowing the magnitude of the hymn that he created.

For some reason the 5th stanza has been dropped from the original score."Where children pure and happy Pray to the blessed Child, Where misery cries out to thee, Son of the mother mild; Where charity stands watching And faith holds wide the door, The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, And Christmas comes once more." The stanza includes the line, "And faith holds wide the door."

This hymn, like the story of the annunciation of Mary in the gospel of Luke, is a story about faith.

22. The Reflection of the Light

Illustration

Thomas Long

Frederick Buechner tells in one of his sermons about some useful advice he once received from a young ship's officer aboard a British freighter. It was night; the ship was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and the officer had been peering into the darkness, looking for the lights of the other ships. He told Buechner that the way to see lights on the horizon is not to look straight at the horizon, but to look just above the horizon. You can see the lights better, he told Buechner, when you do not try to look at them directly. "Since then," writes Buechner, "I have learned that it is also the way to see other things."

Just so, Luke moves our gaze from the light on the horizon to the places just above, below, and off to one side. We are told of the light which filled the world that night, but we do not really see it. We see instead the reflection of that light on the faces and in the hearts of those who were present.

23. See the Star!

Illustration

Mickey Anders

The father of four children told a wonderful story about a particular Christmas morning. They had a rule, like many families, that none of the children could go down to see the gifts until the rest of the family was awake and they could all go together.

The year David was seven, he came bounding into their bedroom at 4:30 a.m., his face glowing with excitement, his mouth running at about ninety miles an hour. "Daddy! Mother! Come quick! I saw it!"

As they wiped the sleep from their eyes, both he and his wife knew what had happened. The rule had been broken. David had already discovered the new bicycle that he had been wanting for two years. They felt cheated that he had rushed ahead and they had missed seeing his discovery, but it was Christmas, after all, and they couldn't scold him for being overly anxious.

They climbed out of bed, pulled on their robes and slippers, and David took them by the hands, dragging them down the hall. They woke the rest of the children,and with all the family in tow, David led them down the stairs and through the darkened living room toward a window on the eastern side of the house, totally oblivious to the bicycle which sat unnoticed beside the tree. He pointed his little finger to the eastern sky and said, "Look! The Star of Bethlehem! I've seen the star!"

My invitation to you this Christmas is to skip the bicycle and see the star!

24. God Chose Amateurs

Illustration

Bruce Larson

Pastor and author Bruce Larson makes the point that when it came to delivering the greatest message on earth, God chose amateurs and nobodies instead of professionals and VIPs. The priests and religious classes were not the first to learn about the Messiah's birth. One would think that they would be the ones with all the appropriate knowledge and social clout to interpret the message to the people. But God chose to share this message with, a young unwed woman first, then with shepherds, members of an outcast and untrustworthy caste. And when he finally started his ministry he doubled down and enlisted fisherman. And that is how God chooses to operate even today. It is the average people in the streets or in the pews who have spread His message and impacted society. Not to insult the pastor's position in the church, but the ones who really make a difference for God are the lay-people. The best pastor is not always the one who does all the work of the church; the best pastor is the one who inspires and equips his or her people to go out and do that work.

25. The Baby Jesus

Illustration

Martin Luther

In a Christmas sermon on the Incarnation, Martin Luther said, "I would not have you contemplate the deity of Christ, the majesty of Christ, but rather his flesh. Look upon the Baby Jesus. Divinity may terrify man. Inexpressible majesty will crush him. That is why Christ took on our humanity, save for sin, that he should not terrify us but rather that with love and favor He should console and confirm."

26. God's Way

Illustration

Edward T. Sullivan

When God wants an important thing done in this world, or a wrong righted, He goes about it in a very singular way. He does not release His thunderbolts or stir up His earthquake. He simply has a tiny, helpless baby born, perhaps in an obscure home, perhaps of a very humble mother. Then He puts the idea or purpose into the mother's heart, she puts it into the baby's mind and then—God waits.

27. He Gave Himself

Illustration

Sigrid Undset

Sigrid Undset, Norway's greatest writer, was a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and a convert to catholic Christianity. She wrote of the Christ child, "To people of good will, the Prince of Peace, has come as a new-born babe in a crib, and He has chosen to come to us so weak and naked in order that we may each do something for Him…Mary's Son tells us that all we do or do not do for one of the smallest of His little ones, that we do or do not do for Him. When we give each other Christmas presents in His Name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, all the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans. He has given us all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all the green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit—and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused. And to save us from our foolishness and from all our sins, He came down to earth and GAVE HIMSELF."

28. A Modest Birth

Illustration

Brett Blair

Take the year 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. All eyes in the world were fastened on Napoleon's violent campaign in Austria Blood was flowing freely. Nobody then cared about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly significant births.

For example, William Gladstone was born that year. He was destined to become one of England's finest statesman. That same year, Alfred Tennyson was born to an obscure minister and his wife. The child would one day greatly affect the literary world in a marked manner. On the American continent, Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And not far away in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life. It was also in that same year that a physician named Darwin and his wife named their child Charles Robert. And that same year produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby's name? Abraham Lincoln.

If there had been news broadcasts at that time, I'm certain these words would have been heard: "The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian battlefield today." But history was actually being shaped in the cradles of England and America. Similarly, 2000 years ago the Roman Empire ruled the world everyone thought taxation was the big news. But a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of all: the birth of the Savior.

29. Last Christmas Letter

Illustration

Martin Luther King

A great way to end your sermon might be to read Dr. King's Last Christmas Letter. I have seldom seen it referenced, since King is most often cited for his "I Have a Dream" speech. But this Christmas Letter is also a dream speech. So here it is in its entirety.

Greetings of the Season:

When the horizons of man’s destiny loom ashen and somber; when the deafening report of weaponry stuns yearnings for peace; when people are alienated from the outside society, spiritually isolated, and weary of heart; when a child is hungry, a father desperate, and a mother fearful, the beseeching question arises, where can one turn?

This year that question is so relevant and contemporary, so deeply serious and urgent for all who will face it that all of us must search now for a reasoned yet comforting answer.

We cannot deny the dreadful conditions found in our society and in the world. Global holocaust is no longer a mere technological possibility; it is a direct and escalating threat. The spirit of man everywhere has been dampened, and often his mind is engulfed in gloom. And there are millions of hungry children, defeated fathers, and frightened mothers in our land and others.

We, these people, you, all of us must have not only hope for the unknown future but also confidence in our capacity to change the menacing present. Let us put hands and heart, mind and muscle to this task. Let us not give up, for surrender and apathy are nothing but failure. In our work let us see scorn and ridicule of us for what they are, scornful and ridiculous. “Keep your hand on the plow,” the old spiritual admonishes. “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me ’round,” the freedom song declares.

This is a season when we can summon that kind of determination and bold purpose required to create inner peace and to commit external acts of good will.

Peace and good will, the simplest and most elusive of dreams, the dreams of this season, begin with the individual before they can be extended to collective man. So let us begin with ourselves.

If we as individual human beings will spurn selfishness, we shall appreciate the value of true love of self, and the exhilarating beauty of living. And if we recognize that all people can become truly alive and beautiful, we will understand the cosmic truth that all men are brothers and inseparable. Then we will see where we must go and how we must live. Real brothers cannot kill each other, are incapable of oppressing each other, and are utterly unable to hate each other because they are as one in the embodiment of dignity and respect.

We who know we are brothers therefore have a duty to bring others back into the broken family of man and into our world house. In the context of the modern world we must live together as brothers or we shall perish divided as fools……

We wish you and yours a joyous Holiday and a New Year of fulfillment.

Martin Luther King, Jr., December 25, 1962

30. Mary, Let's Go To The Barn

Illustration

Brett Blair

I love this story: A grade school class was putting on a Christmas play which included the story of Mary and Joseph coming to the inn. In that class was one little boy who wanted very much to be Joseph. But when the parts were handed out, his biggest rival was given that part, and he was assigned to be the inn keeper instead. He was really bitter about this.

So during all the rehearsals he kept plotting in his mind what he might do the night of performance to get even with his rival who was Joseph. Finally, the night of the performance, Mary and Joseph came walking across the stage. They knocked on the door of the inn, and the inn-keeper opened the door and asked them gruffly what they wanted.

Joseph answered, "We'd like to have a room for the night." Suddenly the inn-keeper threw the door open wide and said, "Great, come on in and I'll give you the best room in the house."

For a few seconds poor little Joseph didn't know what to do, and a long silence ensued. Finally though, thinking quickly on his feet, Joseph looked in past the inn-keeper, first to the left and then to the right and said, "No wife of mine is going to stay in a dump like this. Come on, Mary, let's go to the barn." And once again the play was back on course.

It is obvious that Joseph cared deeply for Mary. He would not have risked his own reputation and protected her's if he did not. But his love was deeper and grounded on more than love for his bride to be. For you see he understood that obedience to God, even in the most dire of circumstances creates a life of substance and character.

31. Dickens on Christmas

Illustration

Brett Blair

In Dickens A Christmas Carol, Fred, the nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge, says, "I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round…as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore ... though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"

32. It Is Not What You Give

Illustration

Brett Blair

One of my favorite Christmas stories is O'Henry's short story The Gift of The Magi. You are all familiar with it. It is a story about a desperately poor young couple living in New York around the turn of the century. Neither had money sufficient to buy a gift for the other so they each secretly went out and sold something of worth. He sold his prized pocket watch to get a barrette for her long hair. When he presented it to her she removed her scarf to reveal that she had had her hair clipped and sold to purchase a chain for his pocket watch. The thrust of the story is obvious. It is not what you give that is important, but the sharing spirit of love in which it is given. We may think that whatever gifts we have to give to the Christ Child are useless and insignificant. The important thing, however, is our inward sincerity in wanting to give ourselves to Him.

33. What have you heard and Seen this Christmas?

Illustration

Brett Blair

Oh, you say, had I been there at Bethlehem that night I would have seen. I would have understood. I would have known it was the Christ child. Would you? There is one way of knowing:

Ask yourself what you have seen and heard this Christmas Season.

When you watched the 6:00 news did you see chaos and strife, or did you see sheep without a shepherd.
When you went out to do your shopping did you see only hordes of people in the stores, or did you notice the worried expressions on some of their faces worried because they are facing this Christmas without employment or enough money and they don't know how they are going to make ends meet.

What did you hear this Christmas?

Did you hear only the blast of music and carols, or did you hear the silent sighs of the lonely and the bereaved who may be dreading Christmas because it accentuates their loneliness.
And in the midst of the sounds of honking horns and people arguing over parking places, did you hear [name here the sounds coming from some meaningful mission or event of your local church].

You see, so often what you see and what you hear is not dependent upon the event but upon you. If you did in fact hear the cry from the lonely, the laughter of poor children, if you saw the sheep without a shepherd, then, and only then, might you have noticed the events that took place in Bethlehem that night. If you lacked that spiritual seeing and hearing then you probably would have been with the 99% who were present but who saw or heard nothing out of the ordinary. In the end perhaps one of our carols words it best:

No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin.
Where meek souls shall receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.

Amen.

34. God’s Gift Comes in Quiet Moments

Illustration

King Duncan

On Christmas Day a small manger scene sat on a table just inside the doorway to a neatly kept home. People hurried past it all day, barely noticing the tiny figures gathered around the infant tucked into golden straw. In the morning children raced by it on their way to the Christmas tree. At noon, arriving guests pushed past it, one accidentally knocking over a shepherd as he took off his winter coat.

Later in the afternoon the well-fed assembly of adults and children moved somewhat slowly by the manger again as they drifted from the dining room back into the living room. Almost none of them stopped to look at the manger. In fact, none of them even noticed it - well, none except two.

An older woman, walking with a cane, paused in front of the scene. Gently she put the shepherd back in the upright position. Then she looked at the child in the middle of the figures. Presently, she became aware of a small grandson by her side. As voices drifted in from the living room, the two continued to look deeply on the scene. At length a smile spread across the woman's face. The child smiled back at her as he took her hand. In the midst of a day filled with much busyness, the two of them quietly received God's gift.

God came to a humble maiden in an obscure village called Nazareth. An angel told her that she would bear a child. That child would be the hope of the world. And he is.

OR THIS ALTERNATE ENDING:

That's how Christmas enters our lives. Not in great leaps but in quiet moments that we can miss if we're not prepared. In Mark Jesus tells us "Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come...And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

35. A Modern Day Bethlehem

Illustration

King Duncan

In a story in The Christian Century years ago, Harriet Richie wrote told about an incident in her family's life that revealed to her the true nature of Christmas.

Following their church's late night Christmas Eve service, Harriet's family decided to stop somewhere for a late-night breakfast. The only place open that late on Christmas Eve was a truck stop at a nearby interstate junction.

A few big diesels rumbled outside. Inside a few truckers sat at the counter. A jukebox played a country song that went something like this: "When You Leave, Walk Out Backwards So I'll Think You're Coming In." On the front window were a few multicolored blinking lights. The place smelled like bacon grease and stale cigarette smoke. A one-armed man stood behind the counter. The family squeezed into a booth. A thin waitress named Rita sauntered over. She managed a weary smile and handed them their menus.

Harriet looked around. She felt a little bit like a snob and out of place. Her family had just come from a beautiful Christmas Eve service. And soon they would be heading to their lovely home for the night. She thought one day they would look back with a laugh and say to each other: "Remember the Christmas we ate breakfast at that truck stop? That awful music and those tacky lights?"

She was staring out the window when an old Volkswagen van drove up. A young man with a beard and wearing jeans got out. He walked around and opened the door for a young woman who was holding a baby. They hurried inside and took a booth nearby.

When Rita, the waitress, took their order the baby began to cry and neither of the young parents could quiet him. Rita reached over and held out her arms. "Sit down and drink your coffee, hon, let me see what I can do."

It was evident that Rita had done this before with her own brood. She began talking and walking around the place. She showed the baby to one of the truckers who began whistling and making silly faces. The baby stopped crying. She showed the baby the blinking lights on the window and the lights on the jukebox. She brought the baby over to Harriet's table. "Just look at this little darlin'." She said, "Mine are so big and grown." The one-armed fellow behind the counter brought a pot of coffee to Harriet's table. As he refilled their mugs, Harriet felt tears in her eyes. Her husband wanted to know what was wrong.

"Nothing. Just Christmas," she told him, reaching in her purse for a Kleenex and a quarter. "Go see if you can find a Christmas song on the jukebox," she told the children.

When they were gone, Harriet said, "He'd come here, wouldn't he?"

"Who?" her husband asked.

"Jesus," Harriet said. "If Jesus were born in this town tonight and the choices were our neighborhood, the church or this truck stop, it would be here, wouldn't it?"

Her husband didn't answer right away, but looked around the place, looked at the people. Finally he said, "Either here or a homeless shelter."

"That's what bothers me," Harriet said. "When we first got here I felt sorry for these people because they probably aren't going home to neighborhoods where the houses have candles in the windows and wreaths on the doors. And listening to that awful music, I thought, I'll bet nobody here has even heard of Handel. Now I think that more than any place I know, this is where Christmas is. But I don't belong."

As they walked to the car, her husband put his arm around her. "Remember," he reminded her "the angel said, 'I bring good news of great joy to ALL people.'"

If you have a cold heart, that story will mean nothing to you. If you have room in your heart for Christ this night, it could change the way you look at the world.

36. Touched by God

Illustration

King Duncan

Many of you are familiar with the 1957 motion picture The Bridge over the River Kwai starring Alec Guinness. It was selected as one of the 100 great films of the 20th century. It is the story of a group of British prisoners of war during World War II held by the Japanese in northern Burma in very difficult circumstances.

Ernest Gordon, at one time chaplain at Yale University, wrote a book called Through the River of the Kwai, which shared his experience as a prisoner in that camp. It is a story of utter degradation and desolation.

Gordon says that when the young soldiers in that camp realized that they were going to be there for a while, they began to have Bible studies and to pray diligently that they would be delivered from their circumstances much as Israel prayed for deliverance from Rome. He said that, at first, their praying for deliverance was shallow and superficial. They railed against God for letting them be in that situation. As time went on, however, something happened and their railing against God disappeared. They began to move toward a more mature faith. They began to pray about their relations with one another. No longer was it "Why, God?" but it was "How should we act, God?"

Gordon said the most spiritual moment of that experience was Christmas 1944. Out of deference to the holiday, the men were not given work detail that day and were given a bit more food. He said that as they moved around the prison yard, they sensed that things were somehow different. In one of the barracks (basically at hatched hut with a dirt floor and open sides where the men slept), one soldier began to sing a Christmas carol. It was echoed over the infirmary where men were dying. Then all around the camp, the men began to sing, and those who could, those who were ambulatory, came to the parade field and sat there in a great circle. Gordon said, "God touched us that day."

He called it the most sacred event that he had ever been involved with. No preaching, nothing of the usual church paraphernalia, just men united by their common misery, singing of God being with them and God's sovereignty. And he said, "We were touched by God."

37. A Grown Up Christmas

Illustration

James W. Moore

Years ago, I was in a department store doing some Christmas shopping. Christmas music was playing and I was getting into the spirit of it all... when suddenly I realized that I was singing along with Natalie Cole. Natalie and I were singing her new Christmas song at the time. It was a big hit, called "My Grown-up Christmas List." Did you ever hear it? In the song, Natalie Cole reminisces about how when she was young, she sat on Santa's knee and told him about her childhood fantasies. And then she sings about how she's all grown up now, but she still has dreams...things she would like for Christmas, not just for herself but for our needy world. Then she sings her "Grown-up Christmas List." Here are the things she wants for Christmas now:

No more lives torn apart
And wars will never start,
And time will heal all hearts.
Everyone will have a friend

And right will always win,
And love will never end.
This is my lifelong dream,
My Grown-up Christmas List.

Do you know what Natalie Cole is longing for in that song? She is longing for the peace of Christmas... and the place to find that is in the miracle of Bethlehem. When we go back to Bethlehem, we discover that real peace means being set right in all our relationships. It means being... right with God, right with ourselves, and right with other people.

38. Tresspassing Snowmen

Illustration

Angela Akers

Author David Bruce, in his book Don't Fear the Reaper, tells a wonderful story about a crotchety old man with a less than positive attitude. One winter, some unknown person went to this elderly man’s house and cleared his driveway. Without saying anything about it and with no expectation of compensation, he cleared the driveway. As if that wasn’t enough, using the snow which he had scraped from the driveway, the anonymous do-gooder made a row of smiling, waving snowmen to line the driveway. Isn’t that beautiful? What a wonderful gift! But remember, I told you the old man was crotchety. When he saw what had been done to his driveway, the old man complained about the “trespasser” who scraped the drive and had made the snowmen. That was the word that he used: “trespasser.”

His neighbor’s son, however, did not know what the word “trespass” meant. He assumed that it must be a good thing. He was impressed by the snowmen, and exclaimed, “Wow . . . that’s the biggest, bestest present I’ve ever seen!” He then asked his dad, “Could we have someone ‘trespass’ on our lawn, too?”

That caught the old man off guard. He smiled, and the next day he left a Christmas card outside his neighbor’s front door as well as a gift for his neighbor’s son. His neighbor writes, “If I ever find out who made the snowmen on [the old man’s] lawn, I will be sure to send them something in return. They gave my son, myself, and our elderly neighbor “the biggest, bestest present ever!”[1]

1. Anwahs, “Trespassing Snowmen,” Dailygood.org, 26 December 2007 <http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4259> 250 Anecdotes.

39. A Burst of Applause

Illustration

Angela Akers

Chelsey Harmon, of the Center for Excellence in Preaching, tells about an article that appeared in the Southwest Review magazine sometime back. The article was written by Roger Gilbert who reflected on being in a crowd one day with hundreds of other people watching a partial solar eclipse. He reveals that, at the moment the moon became “superimposed” on the sun, “the entire crowd spontaneously burst into applause.” Then Gilbert made this observation:

“Whom or what were we applauding? We tend to imagine when we applaud at a live performance that the applause is ‘for’ the performers, that its purpose is to communicate our approval to them. But this applause suggested that, in some cases at least, communication is a secondary motive, that applause is first and foremost a way of responding to the elation of a moment.” Think about that phrase for a moment: applause is first and foremost a way of responding to the elation of a moment.”

Chelsey Harmon added the further observation that when the angels burst into praise that first Christmas Eve, she tends to think that their praise for God was like the crowd applauding the magnificence of the solar eclipse. It was an act of elation in response to something quite beautiful and unique. God became a human being.

40. CENSUS TAKER

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Exodus 30:12 - "When you take the census of the people of Israel, then shall each give a ransom for himself to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them."

Numbers 1:1 - "Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by families, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head;"

I’m sure we all remember the great census of 1970, which our government claimed would be the most comprehensive ever undertaken in this country, and which included items of information about which we had never before been asked. Certainly, these items of information could be recognized as being very important in determining living standards, educational backgrounds, and many other facts about American citizens which the government needs to know to enable us to live "the good life."

At the lime, we also heard much about the extra time that was being put in by census takers and other employees of the Bureau of Statistics, and, cynics that most of us are, perhaps we said, with a shrug, "Well, that’s tough. So they’re collecting overtime, aren’t they!" But, still, not being averse to doing the same thing ourselves whenever possible, we were tolerant about the whole thing. Certainly, the public response to the census was gratifying. Very few actively objected, and the great majority submitted their questionnaires on time. Would you be surprised, then, to learn that, until recently, there was a strict taboo against census-taking?

Although the taking of a census - not only of people, but also of all the kinds of properties - is an ancient custom, dating back to the third millenium B.C. in Babylonia and Egypt, and, as our texts show, was not unknown in Israel, still this taboo existed.

The prevailing theory among scholars is that this taboo was imposed because the taking of a census (head-counting) is a presumptuous usurpation of God’s rights: only God knows who is to live or to die, and by assigning a military rating to a man (the original purpose of the census), this pre-knowledge of man’s fate can be somewhat assumed. So, we as often find when God is crossed, terrible consequences were thought to follow the taking of such a census. Joab tried very hard to deflect David from this undertaking, but was unsuccessful, and, as a result, the plague broke out.

To avoid this punishment, finally a new system was inaugurated: a half shekel was collected from each person. These were then counted, and thus the number of people was known. Bureaucratic maneuvering is hardly an accomplishment of the twentieth century! The system that we have today takes its name from the Roman system, in which the members of families were enumerated every five years for the purpose of determining their civil status and corresponding liabilities. But even the Romans concluded these census takings with a cleansing ceremony.

We are, of course, familiar with two very important Roman censuses: the first was the one ordered by Quirinus in 6-7 B.C., in Palestine, which aroused a revolt of the people, and, of course, the one ordered by Augustus that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, and so ushered in the Christian era.

However, after the downfall of the Roman Empire, census taking also declined. Superstition probably had a great deal to do with this. Undoubtedly the Christian Church remembered the punishment of Israel, and so, aside from two very notable endeavors - Charlemagne’s Breviary and the English Domesday Book which followed the Norman invasion - there was no systematic census taking until the mid-l7th century.

This was done in Quebec, although, as late as 1753, in the British House of Commons, the proposal that a general census be conducted was turned down because of a fear that a numbering of the people would be followed by "some great public misfortune or epidemical distemper." Great Britain did not have its first census until 1801.

No doubt there was a great deal of the unspoken objection to being placed on a list to be declared eligible for military service, or the payment of taxes, but, nevertheless, the primitive fear of the taboo is still buried deep within us, and it sometimes can surface without our tacitly acknowledging it. But - next time the census taker comes around, be cooperative! Our legal and monumental judicial and administrative system could no longer function without list after list after - ad infinitum! And the only curse that we can expect is that of increased taxes!

41. The Christening

Illustration

C. E. Smith

The story is told of a christening that was to be held many years ago by a very wealthy European family. Many guests were invited to the home for the occasion and came in the very latest fashionable garb. Their wraps and coats were carried to a bedroom and laid upon the beds. After the usual lot of conversation and commotion, they were ready for the christening ceremony and someone asked, "Where is the baby?" The nurse was sent upstairs to look and returned in alarmed distress. The baby was nowhere to be found! After several minutes' search someone remembered that the child had last been seen lying on one of the beds, and after a frantic search the little child was found smothered under the wraps of the guests. The chief reason why they had come had been forgotten, neglected, and destroyed! This Christmas many will forget, neglect and even destroy the Christ child! He is smothered by the tinsel, wrapping paper, ribbon, and make-believe that surround the festive occasion reminding us of the words of Luke, "There was no room for them in the inn." Let's not crowd Christ out of Christmas.

42. Jesus Is with Us Forever

Illustration

David E. Leininger

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government run program were in the orphanage. They related the following story in their own words:

It was nearing the holiday season and it was time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. (No colored paper was available in the city.)

Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from an old nightgown, were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt. The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help.

All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously.

For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately, until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?" And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me." So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him - for always."

As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him FOR ALWAYS.

43. But I Wasn't Running

Illustration

Our Daily Bread

When Mike Peters won the Pulitzer Prize for political cartoons (1981), he wasn't expecting the honor. He described his response by saying, "It is like you are asleep and it is 2 in the morning and you are hugging your pillow and you are in your funny pajamas and somebody bursts through the door and they come over and start shaking you and they say, 'Wake up, wake up!' And you say, 'What is it?' And they say, 'You have just won the Boston Marathon!' And you say, 'But I'm not running in the Boston Marathon.' And they say, 'Doesn't make any difference, you won.'"

We can find at least one element that is common to both Mike Peters' analogy and the account in Mark 9. Jesus taught that heaven too will hold some surprises. Honor and glory will be granted for behavior that was so natural, so undistinguished, and so noncompetitive.

Take, for instance, the simple illustration of receiving a child in Jesus' name. He was talking about having a humble servant attitude, being willing to reach out and help the lowliest of people so that we might show them the love of Christ. Such simple acts will be greatly rewarded.

Yes, many of God's children will be surprised to find that their faithful service has brought them top honors.

44. Birth into a New World

Illustration

King Duncan

In his book, Teaching Your Children about God, Rabbi David Wolpe, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, recalls an ancient Jewish parable about twin unborn children lying together in the womb. One believes that there is a world beyond the womb "where people walk upright, where there are mountains and oceans, a sky filled with stars." The other unborn twin can barely contain his contempt for such foolish ideas. Suddenly the "believer" of the twins is forced through the birth canal leaving behind the only way of life he has known. The remaining unborn twin is saddened, convinced that a great catastrophe has befallen his companion. Outside the womb, however, the parents are rejoicing. For what the remaining brother, left behind, has just witnessed is not death but birth. This, Wolpe reminds us, is a classic view of the life beyond the grave--a birth into a world that we on Earth can only try to imagine.

The Easter message is that we have an older brother who HAS traveled beyond the tomb, down the birth canal of eternity and has returned to assure us that God is love, and that there is a place prepared for any who will accept the Good News. Whether our name is Marie or Mary or Peter or even Judas, Christ came into the world to save sinners. Won't you accept his offer of a new life today?

45. Personal Understanding of Jesus' Identity

Illustration

Brett Blair

Who do you say that I am? I would suggest to you this morning that that is the most urgent, the most relevant, the most theological question that confronts us today. Wherever we turn in life we are faced with the implications of this question.

Throughout the ages various individuals have attempted to answer that question posed by Jesus. Ernest Renan, a French writer, answered it by saying that Jesus was a sentimental idealist. Bruce Barton, an American businessman, said that who Jesus was the greatest salesman who ever lived. William Hirsch, a Jewish writer, responded that Jesus conformed to the clinical picture of paranoia. A musical drama was performed some years ago that answered this question by saying that Jesus was a Superstar. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian, referred to Jesus as the "man for others."

The Gospel writers also attempted in their own fashion to answer this most fundamental question. They bestowed upon him numerous titles and claims: Son of God, Son of man, Divine physician, king, prophet, bridegroom, light of the world, the door, the vine, high priest, the firstborn of creation, the bright and morning star, and Alpha and Omega.

All of these were attempts to answer this question posed by Jesus. But these are attempts made by others. Jesus is more concerned with what your answer is than what there answer is. Martin Luther, another German theologian, wrote: "I care not whether he be Christ, but that he be Christ for you." Peter responded: Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God. Is he Christ for you?

46. Unconditional Love

Illustration

King Duncan

What is your view of God? The scowling judge waiting to convict you? The disapproving parent whose love you have to earn? Your view of God affects every decision and relationship in your life. Kathleen Chesto wrote to Catholic Digest to tell them about an incident that occurred in her family. Her five-year-old child approached her one day in the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is God a grown-up or a parent?"

Mom was a little puzzled by the question. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said. "Is there a difference between a grown-up and a parent?" "Oh yes," her five-year-old answered quickly. "Grown-ups love you when you are good and parents love you anyway." I know this sounds trite to some of you, but have you ever really come to appreciate the wonder of God's unconditional love? I dare say that there are some people in this room who don't really believe in unconditional love. You have never received it, and you have never given it. Some of you are still trying to earn your way to heaven. And you are expecting others to earn their way as well. Relax, my friend, and let God love you. Jesus is trying to tell us in this parable that God's love doesn't depend on our goodness; it depends on God's character. Here is this truth expressed in I John 4:10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

47. Dial-A-Tale

Illustration

The Public Library has a system called "Dial-A-Tale." Anytime a young child wants to hear a fairy tale, he or she can call a specific number, and a voice will come on reading a short fairy tale to the listening young ear. However, the number is only one digit different from that of the Rev. Tom Erickson. Because small fingers often make mistakes, Rev. Tom gets frequent calls from children expecting a fairy tale.

After several unsuccessful attempts to explain the concept of a wrong number to a small child, Tom felt he had only one alternative. He obtained a copy of "The Three Little Pigs," and set it by the phone. Whenever a child called, he simply read them the tale. He didn't change his telephone number to avoid "invasion of his privacy." Instead, he put his small neighbors before himself, a beautiful illustration of yielding personal rights in deference to others.

Source Unknown

48. No! I am not a virgin!

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

We call it the virgin birth, and it is one of the most incredible ideas that was ever introduced to the world. Many of us may accept the virgin birth of Jesus on the basis of biblical authority, but we do not understand it. I have a beautiful little friend in the seventh grade whose name is Kristin. She is a very bright and sensitive girl, but she does not understand everything she hears in church. (I am sure that many of us can identify with that!) One day when Kristin was in the cafeteria at school, and one of her curious friends asked her, "Are you a virgin?" Well, Kristin was really on the spot because she did not know what a virgin was. But she did some quick thinking that went like this: The only virgin she had heard of was Mary, and everyone knows that Mary had a baby. Therefore, a virgin must be a woman who has had a baby.

Thus armed with that conclusion, Kristin announced loudly to her friend in the cafeteria, "No! I am not a virgin!" As several people nearby registered their shock, one little boy leaned over and whispered in her ear: "Kristin, I don't think you know what you are talking about!"

Many of us, adults included, do not know what we are talking about when we are tasking about the virgin birth, but as I understand it, the virgin birth means that Jesus came from God. He is God's Son. The emphasis is not primarily on Mary, but on the creative life-giving power of Almighty God. As Reginald H. Fuller, the theologian, expresses it, Jesus is not the product of human evolution, the highest achievement of the human race, but he is the product of the intervention of a transcendent God into human history.

49. A Christian Christmas?

Illustration

David B. Curtis

When you think about Christmas, what comes to your mind? Most, if not all, of us have celebrated Christmas in the traditional fashion since we were born. From my earliest memories, Christmas was presents, presents, and more presents. I can remember my brother and I staying up all night waiting for the appointed hour when we could rush to the living room and open our presents. One year my brother and I figured up the dollar amount of all of our gifts to see if our parents had spent the same amount on both of us. Laurie was very young then and we didn't care what she got. In my memory, Christmas is opening a lot of gifts and spending the day playing with them. Thoughts of Christmas bring different things to the minds of different people. Many things are associated with Christmas: lights, trees, presents, food, Santa Clause, family gatherings, and sometimes even the birth of Christ.

How much of Christmas is Christian? We associate it with the birth of Christ, and in some way see it as a celebration of His birth, but does it honor His birth? Is there really anything Christian about Christmas?

50. A Personal Calling

Illustration

R.C. Sproul

Some have argued from Romans 8:29 that predestination is based on God's foreknowledge in the sense that God looked down the corridors of time and saw who would freely choose to believe, and then predestinated them. This position assumes that foreknowledge here only means "knows in advance." In the Bible, however, knowledge is often used in a sense of personal intimacy, as when Adam "knew" Eve and she conceived a son (Genesis 4:1). God's foreknowledge is linked to His foreloving. We see in Romans 8:30 that everyone who was "foreknown" was also "predestined, called, justified, and glorified."

Does God glorify everyone? Does God justify everyone? No. Clearly then, in terms of what this passage is dealing with, God does not call everyone, does not predestine everyone, and does not foreknow everyone. In Romans 8:29-30, "foreknowledge" must have the sense of intimacy and personal calling, and can refer only to God's elect. God's predestination does not exist in a vacuum, and it is not simply for the purpose of saving us from sin. Verse 29 shows us the goal or purpose of salvation: that we might be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Ultimately, the reason God has saved you and me is for the honor and glory of His Son, "That He might be the firstborn." The goal in creation is that God would give as a gift to His Son many who are reborn into Christ's likeness.

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