Timing of the Trip to Bethlehem
According to the prophecy given by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation, Mary became pregnant during one of the three consecutive Jewish Fall Feasts known as the Days of Awe (Revelation 12:1). All seven annual Jewish feasts were literal but ultimately prophetic as they all concerned the coming Messiah. These three Feasts occurred during a new moon and include the Feast of Trumpets or announcements {imminent conception of Jesus}, the Feast of Yom Kippur the High Holiest Feast of solemn prayers to cover sins {Jesus dies for forgiveness of sin}, and the Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles when God dwells with man {Jesus conceived}.
If Jesus was conceived during the High Most Holy Feast of Yom Kippur or perhaps Sukkot, which seems appropriate, then we can simply count off nine months from September of 3 BC and discover that He would have been born in June of 2 BC. And it was on June 17th 2 BC that the planets Jupiter and Venus completed an extremely rare triple conjunction stacking within two degrees of each other directly over Bethlehem. The planets created a figure eight. The number 8 represents a new beginning, and if you lay this number on its side, it forms the sign of eternity. To the naked eye, these two planets combined to become the largest and brightest star ever seen in Judea!
After Mary accepted the Angel Gabriel’s offer to serve as mother of the Messiah, she married Joseph and left Nazareth traveling one hundred miles directly south to the city of Hebron in the hill country of Judea. There she met with Elizabeth, a blood relative who was pregnant with her son John, later to be known as John the Baptizer. She stayed with her for three months helping with the birth of John before returning home (Luke 1:39, 56). Therefore, Mary was perhaps four months pregnant at this time (Luke 1:57).
Scripture states that, “…in those days…” or during the time of Mary and Elizabeth's pregnancies, a Roman census and taxation decree was issued (Luke 2:1). We know that Caesar Augustus, also known as Caius Octavius, was celebrating his 25th anniversary as Caesar. Also, Rome was celebrating the 750th year anniversary of its founding. Therefore, there were many celebrations taking place throughout the empire. Many were funded in part or wholly by the Roman government. Caesar was understandably experiencing a cash flow problem and there was only one way to solve it. He issued an impromptu early census and taxation on various territories. We don’t know how many months pregnant Mary was when the decree was announced, but we do know that by the time Mary was entering Bethlehem, her water had broken and she was going into labor. Therefore, Mary must have been at least eight or more likely nine months pregnant when they started their seventy mile, seven day journey to register for the census and pay the associated taxes. The physical strain of the journey most probably caused her to go into labor when she did. Or, the Holy Spirit caused her to go into labor to allow the birth of Jesus to take place the way it did.
Joseph was by all accounts a loving husband therefore, to have taken his pregnant teenage wife in mid-June on this long, hot and arduous trip would at first glance seem more than a little insensitive. But there were a number of extenuating circumstances that forced them to make this journey together at this time. First, Rome traditionally taxed people in their place of residence. But in the case of Judea, the Jewish authorities requested permission from Rome to allow the census registration to only take place in the chief tribal town of the male head of a household. This in turn helped the Temple update their census rolls and accurately reassess the population numbers of each tribe, the number of Jews in each region and most importantly, the accuracy of Temple taxes owed. Secondly, Rome may have also required all married males to personally appear and give an account of their family members, property owned and a pledge of allegiance to the rule of Rome. See related paper "Meaning of a Head Tax." And, if Joseph was 19 years old or older then, according to Jewish Law, he was of legal age and thus would have been required by Law to make the trip and register himself. During the Exodus, it was established that a person under the age of nineteen was not to be held legally libel or accountable for their actions (Numbers 32:11; Deuteronomy 1:39). If Joseph had been under the age of nineteen, he would have been considered a minor or a dependent and his father could have reported him for tax purposes. Therefore, we can rightly assume that Joseph was at least 19 years old. And Scripture states that Joseph and Mary undertook the trip with no mention of parental supervision.
Larkin Brown
Scripture states that the mother of the Messiah would be a “virgin” and that this would "be a sign" (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). The word virgin in Hebrew is alma or haalmah. There are three Hebrew words that Isaiah could have chosen to use concerning a female. But alma is the only one that exclusively denotes a virgin and not simply a young woman. The Jews insist the word only means a young girl. But would a young girl giving birth be a sign? I think not. Also, prophetic Scripture does not make any reference to a male being involved in creating the Messiah. We now know that this is because the biological father of the Messiah would be God. Thus, Jesus is rightfully called the Only {physically} Begotten Son of God.
Joseph may have been put in a difficult situation trying to time out Mary’s birth relative to the taxation deadline. He may have kept putting off the trip hoping that Mary would deliver before the deadline, then the two could travel to Bethlehem and register. However, it might also have been that Joseph not only wanted Jesus to be born in Bethlehem in order to satisfy prophecy, but also be born in the actual house of David as it now conveniently served as an Inn (Micah 5:2). In any case, the two were both in the direct royal line of David. Therefore, they would both need to personally appear and swear an oath of allegiance to Rome. This would legally mean that, should they of their offspring ever lead or participate in a rebellion, they would face execution. Jesus would be tried and convicted of Sedition against Rome and was therefore sentenced to death by crucifixion.
Related Paper:
Larkin Brown
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