9 Why were Joseph and the expectant Mary on the road to Bethleham in the first place?

Answer 1

Answer:

One study traces Jesus' birth through the birth of His cousin, "John the Baptistl," in the book of Luke, where Mary becomes pregnant with Jesus in Elizabeth's "sixth month" of her pregnancy with John. (Luke 1)

Following this general time frame... it is discovered that Jesus was more likely to have been conceived in December rather than born then. And that He was therefore born around September, the time of the biblically commanded "Feast of Tabernacles"... the annual time when the Jews would have been traveling to Jerusalem or other predetermined temporary destinations to "live in booths" or tents or "inns" or "mangers" if the inns were filled to capacity.

But, instead of going to Jerusalem where they might have otherwise gone for the appointed seven-day Feast, Joseph and Mary ended up in Bethlehem, because:

"...In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Qurinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David." (Luke 2:1-4 NIV)

To facilitate his census, Caesar took advantage of the time when the Jews would be traveling anyway at Feast time. That's why Joseph and Mary were on the road.