Census and Taxes



Prayer: Dear Jesus, I praise You and worship You today. Thank You for bringing me to a place of devotion and study. Help me to integrate what You show me in the Word into my own life, allowing You to shape how I think and inform the making of my character. I bless You for doing this good work in me every day. In Jesus'  name I pray. Amen.

Read : Luke 2:1-3

Think about It : Back in the book of 1 Samuel, when the people of God asked for a human king, God explained to them that one of the drawback to having a king is that he would charge them taxes. We have been paying taxes ever since! Benjamin Franklin said in 1789 " . . . but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Even in the days of Jesus, taxes were a reality. Because of taxes, Joseph was compelled to go back to his hometown of Bethlehem in order to be numbered in a census. The purpose of the census, conducted every 14 years, was to set taxes.

As we have discussed this week, Jesus is placed right into human history. We are told in today's passage that He was born while Caesar Augustus was the leader of the Roman world. Verse 2 is interesting as it presents something of a problem for the historian / theologian. Quirinius would not have been the governor of Syria at this time. That problem is rather easily solved, as the word "while" is probably not quite the right word. It might better be translated into English more accurately as "before". This places the birth of Jesus into history and gives us the proper setting for His birth.

What these details give us is a picture of what life was like for the Jews during this time in history. They were an oppressed people, held in bondage (and bound to the taxes) of Roman rule. They were not free people. While they were able to express their faith, they were held in derision by the Romans and there was little love lost between the two people groups who inhabited Israel at the time. This is the world into which Jesus was born.

Prayer : Dear Lord, I am grateful that I am a part of Your kingdom. Thank You for sending Jesus at just the perfect time in history to complete the work of salvation that You promised He would do. Please help me to hold onto the faith that You have given and strengthen that faith everyday. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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