“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 their own town to register.” Luke 2:1-3 NIV
In Mary and Joseph’s time, the government would randomly require the citizens to gather in the towns where they were from to take a census instead of going door to door as they have done in our time. There is a lot of history behind how Caesar Augustus came to power, so the short version is that he conquered all of his enemies and allies, yes I said allies. So now he was the ‘one’ in charge.
The ‘entire Roman world’ had seen war for many years and the war had produced disastrous results in the lives of it’s citizens. So once Caesar Augustus came to power, he ordered that a census be taken so he knew how many people were left and how many he could tax. As it is stated in verse 2, this was the first time in about 12 years that the government had required it’s citizens to gather for a census of this kind.
In verse 3 Luke tells us that everyone followed this order and began traveling to the towns where they were originally from. This is where I want to now focus on Mary and Joseph. Joseph was from the town of Bethlehem. Prophesy recorded in Micah 5:2, stated that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Jeremiah 23:5 records the prophet Jeremiah prophesizing that the Messiah is to be born of the line of David and Joseph is from the line of David. King David was raised in Bethlehem as was Joseph, so off to Bethlehem they went.
During this time of year, I encourage everyone to read the account of our Lord and Savior’s birth because it can remind us how much He gave up to come to earth to save us.