Luke 2, a visual study from The Lampstand Project.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son.
The census brings Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. There is no room. The child is laid in a manger. Shepherds come running from the fields. Simeon holds him in the temple. Then, twelve years later, a boy left behind.
Four movements. Birth, witness, prophecy, boyhood.
Luke 2 covers thirty years in fifty-two verses. The nativity is placed in the context of empire. The witnesses God chooses are shepherds. The songs are sung by an old man and an old woman who have spent their lives waiting. And the chapter ends with a twelve-year-old in the temple who already knows whose house he is in.
A chapter in 4 movements.
Tap any numbered marker to read its part
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
The census. Bethlehem. No room. A manger.
In those days a decree goes out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. Joseph goes up from Galilee to Bethlehem, the city of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who is with child. And while they are there, the time comes for her to give birth. She wraps him in swaddling cloths and lays him in a manger, because there is no place for them in the inn.
Luke does not explain why there was no room. He simply sets the scene: the census of empire, the road south, the town crowded with people, and a woman giving birth to the Son of God in a room meant for animals. The creator of the universe arrives with no announcement, no ceremony — wrapped in cloth and laid in a feeding trough.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
Shepherds in the fields. A multitude of the heavenly host.
In the same region shepherds are keeping watch by night. The angel of the Lord appears and the glory of the Lord shines around them. They are filled with great fear. The angel: fear not, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Then suddenly a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God.
The shepherds go with haste and find Mary and Joseph and the baby in the manger. They make known what the angel said. All who hear it wonder. But Mary treasures up all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds return glorifying and praising God for all they have heard and seen, as it had been told them.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.”
Simeon and Anna. Eyes that have waited a lifetime.
At forty days the child is brought to the temple. There is a man named Simeon, righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit had revealed he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. He takes the child in his arms and blesses God. His song is the Nunc Dimittis: now you are letting your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation.
Then he says to Mary: a sword will pierce through your own soul also. The prophetess Anna, eighty-four years old, comes at that moment and begins to give thanks, speaking of the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Two old people who had outlived almost everything except their hope.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
“Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Twelve years later. The boy left behind in the temple.
Every year his parents go to Jerusalem for the Passover. When Jesus is twelve they go up, and when the feast is over they return, assuming he is in the group. They travel a full day before realizing he is not with them. They return and search for three days. They find him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening and asking questions. Everyone who hears him is amazed.
His mother says: son, why have you treated us like this? He says: did you not know I must be in my Father’s house? They do not understand. He goes home with them to Nazareth and is submissive to them. His mother treasures all these things in her heart. And Jesus increases in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Simeon was told he would not die before seeing the Lord’s Christ. When he takes the infant in his arms, he sings. He calls the child a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to Israel. Then he says to Mary: a sword will pierce through your own soul also. The joy and the cost arrive in the same breath.
The chapter of arrivals.
Luke 2 is the nativity, but it is not a sentimental one. The census is a reminder of Roman power. The manger is a sign that there was no room. The shepherds are the lowest-status witnesses God could have chosen. And into this scene heaven breaks: a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
The chapter ends twelve years later with Jesus in the temple — sitting, listening, asking questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed. When his parents find him: did you not know I must be in my Father’s house? He goes home with them and increases in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man.
“And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.”Luke 2:40 ESV
All scripture quoted from the English Standard Version (ESV). A study from The Lampstand Project.