The Trip to Bethlehem

4, 5. (a) Why were Joseph and Mary heading to Bethlehem? (b) Caesar’s decree led to the fulfillment of what prophecy?

⁴ Joseph and Mary were not the only ones on the move. Caesar Augustus had recently decreed that a registration be carried out in the land, and people had to travel to their town of origin in order to comply. How did Joseph respond? The account reads: “Of course, Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because of his being a member of the house and family of David.”​—Luke 2:1-4.

⁵ It was no coincidence that Caesar issued his decree at this time. A prophecy written down some seven centuries earlier foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Now, it so happened that there was a town named Bethlehem a mere seven miles (11 km) from Nazareth. However, the prophecy specified that it was “Bethlehem Ephrathah” that would produce the Messiah. (Read Micah 5:2.) To reach that little village from Nazareth, travelers covered some 80 hilly miles (130 km) via Samaria. That was the Bethlehem to which Joseph was summoned, for it was the ancestral home of the family of King David​—the family to which both Joseph and his bride belonged.

8. (a) What else may have motivated Mary to go to Bethlehem with Joseph? (b) In what way is Mary’s example a beacon for faithful people?

⁸ What else may have motivated Mary to obey? Did she know of the prophecy about Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah? The Bible does not say. We cannot rule out the possibility, for the fact was evidently common knowledge among religious leaders and even people in general. (Matt. 2:1-7; John 7:40-42) When it came to the Scriptures, Mary was far from an ignorant girl. (Luke 1:46-55)