Why did Joseph and Mary have to go to Bethlehem?

Answer 1

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Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem so that their baby,(Jesus Christ), could be born. Luke 2 1And 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.) 3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

Luke: "Because he was of the house and lineage of David," and Bethlehem was the "city of David" (ii, 4).

Even though at one time the evidence may have been lacking to support the reason given in Luke, namely the census, this is no longer the case and the evidence is on record. In a way similar to many other discoveries 'absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.' So the account of Luke was correct even before there was any evidence that there were regular censuses taken or the evidence regarding Quirinius. Quite simply, the Gospel account is correct. There was a census which is why they journeyed to Bethlehem.

Answer

According to Luke 2:1 "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed."

There was no such decree issued by Ceasar Augustus.

According to Luke 2:4 ""Because he (Joseph) was of the house and lineage of David," and Bethlehem was the "city of David."

If there was such a census, it will be done at the city were Joseph resides not in Bethlehem.

According to Luke 2:5. "To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."

If ever there was a decree (there was none) that all lineage of David should go to Bethlehem to be counted, Mary will be excluded because she was not a "lineage of David."

The anonymous author/s of Matthew and Luke were clearly ignorant of Roman customs of that time.

KJV Luke 2:1 states that "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed"

Answer

The word taxed comes from the greek word "apographo" which literally means to "write off". Some older versions of The Bible use the word tax from the latin word taxare which means to estimate, another definition of the word taxed is "A contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the domain of that government", not necessarily money as we think of taxed in todays terms. A better word that comes from the greek "apographo" is enroll which is were the term census comes from. Some times the different versions of the bible sound contradictory but when in doubt go back to the original greek and Hebrew the true meaning never contradicts itself.

Upon Research one will find that the writer, Luke was a Doctor and maybe because of this is more detailed oriented. In the first few verses of Luke one will read that he went out and did specific research to form an orderly account of the life and times of Christ. It is not the case where Matthew is inapt in his writing rather like every person he has his opion and finds certain things like Jesus' mission on earth of more spiritual value than the details of His birth

Answer

According to Luke's Gospel, the young couple travelled to Bethlehem to take part in the census under Qurinius. However, historians have established that Quirinius was not governor of Syria, nor in any senior position in the province at the time Herod ruled Judea. There have been no archaeological finds that would dispute this. Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) says there never was a census of the whole Empire under Augustus (but a number of local censuses) and the census of Judea under Quirinius, the governor of Syria, took place in 6-7 CE, probably at least ten years too late for the birth of Jesus. He says, "The best explanation is that, although Luke likes to set his Christian drama in the context of well-known events from antiquity, sometimes he does so inaccurately." If indeed Mary and Joseph did travel from Nazareth to Galilee, it could not have been for a census.

Answer 2

AnswerLuke's Gospel: Mary and Joseph had only gone to Bethlehem forthe census, so as soon as Mary's purification was accomplished, they went to the Temple to present Jesus and then returned to their home town, Nazareth.

Matthew's Gospel: Although Bethlehem was the home town of Mary and Joseph, they fled to Egypt for fear of King Herod who wished to have Jesus killed. After the death of Herod they began the journey back to Bethlehem but, being warned in a dream, turned aside and travelled to a new home in Nazareth.

Answer 3

They left to go to Bethlehem because at that time everyone had to go to the place of their birth or where their family was from to pay their taxes or something, I think. And since Joseph's family was from Bethlehem he had to go there to pay his taxes. Then he stayed in Bethlehem for a while until Mary had Jesus and Joseph had a dream where an angel appeared to him and told him to go to Egypt because king Herod was after Jesus because the wise men told king herod they were going to see Jesus who was a newborn king and so then he was scared that Jesus was going to steal his king power do he started killing all newborn Hebrew babies. This is why Joseph and Mary couldn't stay in Israel (the country that Nazareth and Bethlehem are in) and they had to stay in Egypt for a while until king Herod stopped killing all the Hebrew babies because he thought he had killed Jesus.

Answer 4

AnswerIn Luke's gospel, Mary and Joseph did not flee Bethlehem. When the time came for Mary's purification after the birth, they travelled to Jerusalem, then returned peacefully to Nazareth.

In Matthew's Gospel, the magi told King Herod the Great that a child was born, who would be king of the Jews. For some reason, Herod was fearful of his own position and ordered the infants in and around Bethlehem to be killed. Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to escape the slaughter.

Answer 5

Caesar Augustus had just issued a decree that a census be taken of the entire Roman world. This was when Quirinius was governor of Syria. As a result, Joseph left Nazareth in Galilee and went to Judea, to Bethlehem. This was also to fulfill Micah's prophecy that the birthplace of the Messiah would be in Bethlehem. Some critics contend that there is no record outside the Gospels that the emperor Caesar Augustus ordered a worldwide taxation. In truth, Caesar Augustus was known for his census taking. In fact, credible historians do not even debate the issue. The Jewish historian Josephus, for example, refers to a Roman taxation of AD 6, which likely took a lengthy period to complete. It no doubt began around 5 BC and was completed a decade later. Luke notes that the census was completed when Quirinius was governor of Syria. As noted by historian Paul Maier "The Romans took forty years to get a census done in Gaul. For a providence 1500 miles way from Rome in Palestine to take a decade is pretty quick. And since that census would finally come in under Quirinius's administration, it would be correctly called by Luke his census."

Answer 6

Luke 2:1-5 - And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

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, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. [NKJV]

Answer 7

The Gospel According to St Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph travelled from Galilee to Bethlehem because of a Roman census during the time Quirinius was governor of Syria. This census took place in the year 6 CE, and the Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that this was the first such census that affected the Jews. A paradox in this passage comes from the fact that we also know that King Herod the Great died in 4 BCE, some 10 years before the census. Moreover, it is highly improbably that such a census would include Judea, since Herod was empowered to raise his own taxes and was not required to report on the population or wealth of his dominion.
The Gospel According to St Matthew provides a rather different story that suggests that Mary and Joseph did not travel from Galilee at all. Bethlehem was their home town, and the wise men found Jesus in a house, not a manger. The family fled to Egypt to avoid the Slaughter of the Innocents and returned to Judea after the death of Herod. But when Joseph heard that Herod's son, Archelaus, had succeeded to the throne, he turned aside and went to Galilee and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, thus fulfilling the prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene (Matt 2:22-3).

Answer 8

The nativity story in Matthew's Gospel says that Bethlehem was the home town of Joseph and Mary. Thus in this gospel account, they did not travel to Bethlehem and did not return there after the birth of Jesus. Instead of finding the young family in a stable, the wise men found them in a house (Matthew 2:11). Jospeh fled with Mary and Jesus from Bethlehem to Egypt out of fear of King Herod, who wanted to have Jesus killed. So they were returning from Egypt to their home in Bethlehem after the death of King Herod but, turned aside and travelled instead to Galilee, where they settled in a city called Nazareth (Matt. 2:23). In this account, they did not travel to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus because Bethlehem was already their home town.

Luke's Gospel says that Mary and Joseph went from Nazareth to Bethlehem because of a census during the time of Quirinius. That census is now known to have begun about 6 CE, yet Luke also says Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod, who died more than ten years earlier, in 4 BCE. Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) says the best explanation is that, although Luke likes to set his Christian drama in the context of well-known events from antiquity, sometimes he does so inaccurately.

Answer 9

When Emperor Augustus deposed Archelaus as tetrarch of Judea, he ordered Quirinius to undertake a census of of that territory for tax purposes. According to Luke's Gospel, Joseph and Mary were required to leave Nazareth and go to Bethlehem in order to be counted in the census in Judea.

Confusion arises because Galilee was at that time under the autonomous rule of Archelaus' brother Antipas, and its residents were not required to participate in the Judean census. Antipas was responsible for collecting his own taxes on whatever basis he chose.

Answer 10

Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because the Romans(KING HEROD) wanted to take a census.