The various Biblical holidays were dramatic prophecies. For example, Passover foretold the crucifixion and First Fruits, the resurrection. What then, would foretell the birth of the Messiah, the coming of Immanuel—God with us?

 

It would be Sukkot, when Israel would return to camping out in booths in remembrance of the time they spent camping with Yahweh in their midst. If Jesus was born on the first day of Tabernacles in 2 B.C., he was born on September 11, 2 B.C. Sukkot was one of the three mandatory visits for all males to go to Jerusalem to worship. Thus, a birth on Sukkot would have supported why Joseph was in Bethlehem, rather than at their home in Nazareth—other than that prophecy had foretold it. 

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Moreover, sometime during that year, Joseph had to return to Bethlehem, his ancestorial home, to comply with the Roman census. The text gives this second reason he went. Luke 2:1 says “In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census would be taken of the entire Roman world.” Thus, he could have returned to Bethlehem, which is just a short distance south of Jerusalem and taken care of that at the same time. He could have celebrated Sukkot, or Tabernacles, and registered for Rome in the same trip. 

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If 2 B.C. is correct, this would have been the census in conjunction with the simultaneous events of Caesar’s twenty-fifth year and Rome’s seven hundred and fiftieth birthday. Caesar required this registration for two reasons; first as a census and second for taxes. This would be the most colossal celebration that could be mustered. Thus, it included the total Roman world and probably took more than the actual year of celebration. 

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But why did Joseph take Mary? Women didn’t have to go for either the census or Tabernacles. We aren’t told, but the reason may lie in human nature. Skepticism over the virgin birth is not unique to our day. A great deal of shame would have come to the family with her pregnancy and thus the probability that she and Joseph may have been outcasts, even within their own family. If so, there may have been no one with whom she could be left for delivery. Where, then, could she best be received? The answer would seem to be with her relative, Elizabeth, who believed that Mary’s pregnancy was not promiscuousness, but a divine miracle. Thus, it would seem that Joseph was trying to take care of three things in this trip: 1) make the mandated pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Tabernacles, 2) to register as required by Rome, and 3) to get Mary to a friendly place for delivery. Time overtook the couple, however, and Elizabeth’s home was not reached. 

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