Luke 2:1–21

Introduction

Luke 2:1–21: Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem where Jesus is born. Angels announce the news of his birth to shepherds in a nearby field. The shepherds hurry off and find the baby Jesus in a manger. Today’s reading concludes with the naming and circumcision of Jesus eight days after his birth in accordance with the Law of Moses (see Leviticus 12:3) to indicate belonging to the Lord and as a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham (see Genesis 17:11–12).

Today’s Key Verse: Luke 2:11

“This very day in David’s town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord!”

Reading

2 At that time Emperor Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. ² When this first census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria. ³ Everyone, then, went to register himself, each to his own hometown.

⁴ Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David. ⁵ He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, ⁶ and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby. ⁷ She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger—there was no room for them to stay in the inn.

⁸ There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, ¹⁰ but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. ¹¹ This very day in David’s town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord! ¹² And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!”

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them back into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When the shepherds saw him, they told them what the angel had said about the child. ¹⁸ All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said. ¹⁹ Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. ²⁰ The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.

²¹ A week later, when the time came for the baby to be circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

Reflect

Luke’s account of Jesus’s humble birth is set against a geopolitical backdrop. A census had been ordered by Emperor Augustus to regulate the collection of taxes, an indication of Rome’s domination over the people. The titles given to Jesus in the angel’s message to the shepherds (Savior and Lord) were also used at that time for the emperor. Shepherds were on the low end of the social scale, yet they are the first to hear the news of Jesus’s birth. Why do you think they were chosen to hear the angel’s message? What does the good news of Jesus’s birth mean to you?

Pray

Glory to God in the highest! Lord Jesus, I join the angels’ song and celebrate your birth. You are my Savior, and the good news of your birth fills me with great joy. Amen.

Tomorrow’s Reading

John 1:1–18: Jesus is presented as the living Word.