where we see clearly that Mary was Joseph’s espoused wife. This meant that they were engaged. A decree had gone out from the Roman ruler. The census was to be taken. This meant both registration and taxation for the people. Each person had to go back to the city of their family origin. So Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem. Since we have no record of any world-wide census be ing taken before, how is it that it happened at this time? Whatever human reason may have been given, it is far overshadowed by God’s ov erruling in its direction for the ful fillment of divine prophecy. As Nazareth is a good-sized city today, even so it was an influential town in the days of Joseph and Mary. According to the genealogy in Matthew 1, Joseph was a descendant of David (vs. 16). The Bible care fully guards Mary’s virginity. The Scripture teaches us that she and Joseph were simply engaged. The Child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. In Matthew, when the gen ealogy comes to Joseph, the text does not say that he begat Jesus. It states only that he was the husband of Mary. There we have an amazing example of the exactness of Scrip ture. Mary also had other children (Matt. 13:55). While she did not re main a virgin after the birth of Christ, she certainly was up to that time. Bethlehem is about 80 miles from Nazareth. The road and means of transportation at that time left much to be desired. A woman in Mary’s delicate condition would have to be handled very carefully. The pace was necessarily slow, taking four and five days. When the young couple arrived at their destination, there was not any place for them to stay. It was in a stable that the Baby was bom. Perhaps it occurred on the very night that they arrived. As a police officer about thirty years ago, I can remember one night Page 18
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