Image Credit: Wikipedia
Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Ancient Roman Empire, a vast region that included the Bible Lands across the Mediterranean Sea.
Rome is located in the yellow boot-like shape in the above map. Julius Caesar was Caesar Augustus’s uncle, and he conquered most of the lands in the above map. When Julius Caesar died, Caesar Augustus inherited the leadership of Ancient Rome and its conquests under Julius Caesar. Caesar Augustus conquered more lands, but the wars to do so were costly. To pay for this expansion, Caesar Augustus levied harsher taxes. And that was the situation at the beginning of the story of the birth of Jesus.
Luke Chapter 2
Caesar Augustus Ordered that Everyone Report to the Lands of Their Forefathers for Purposes of Taxation
2 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Luke 2: 1-3 New King James Version of the Bible
in the King James Bible, Quirinius was called Cyrenius, and this man was also a Roman.
2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) Luke 2: 1-2 New King James Version of the Bible
In the first chapter of Luke, an angel told the young lady named Mary that she would carry the Baby Jesus. Mary was engaged to Joseph, but they were not married yet. Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, was a descendant of King David. To comply with the demands of Caesar Augustus, Joseph and his betrothed wife Mary traveled to Bethlehem–the homeland of King David — or the City of David.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed [a]wife, who was with child. Luke 2:4-5
Joseph and Mary lived in the City of Nazareth — in Galilee. They traveled from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem.
That trip required at least 5 days of travel for Mary and Joseph. Mary rode a donkey. She was nearing the birth of her Baby — Jesus. No doubt, that journey was difficult for Mary. Apparently, Joseph walked beside her.
from The Donkey’s Song by Jacki Kellum
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a [b]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2L 6-7
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