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Luke 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains an account of Jesus's birth and two incidents from his childhood.

Contents 1 Jesus's Birth and the Angels and Shepherds 2 Circumcision 3 Boy Jesus at the Temple 4 References

Main article: Census of Quirinius

According to Luke Caesar Augustus ordered a census be conducted of the "..entire Roman World." and that this was the first census held during Quirinius's governorship of Syria. According to Luke this is the reason that Joseph and Mary, who lived in Nazareth, were in Bethlehem, King David's place of birth, when Jesus was born.

No Roman records record a worldwide census like this, but there was a census Quirinius conducted in Iudaea Province in AD 6 or 7, thus making 7 the last year in which Jesus could have been born. Luke however in Luke 1:5 states that John and Jesus were conceived during the reign of Herod the Great. Josephus, in his Antiquities, stated that a lunar eclipse occurred shortly before Herod's death. Using modern physics and astronomy, as Kepler was the first to do, one can date this eclipse to have occurred in 4 BC, so Herod's death and Quirinius's census were a decade apart. If Josephus is right about the eclipse, then Luke must be wrong about Jesus being born during the census. According to Luke however the census was the reason Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, where according to both Luke and Matthew 2:1 Jesus was born. Matthew records nothing about a census, or why they were in Bethlehem, but both agree Jesus was born there but raised in Joseph's town of Nazareth.

Luke then tells of shepherds working nearby who are visited by an angel who tells them that in Bethlehem, the "...town of David...Christ the Lord." had been born. More angels appear and Luke has them saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." The angels go back to heaven and the shepards go to town to see for themselves and find Joseph and Mary and the infant Jesus. They then "...spread the word..." about the Angels and Jesus, then return back to their flocks. Luke records nothing of the Magi, the Massacre of the Innocents, nor the escape of Jesus's family to Egypt found in Matthew 2

Main article: Circumcision of Christ

Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and name him Jesus, as Gabriel had told Mary to do in Luke 1:31. They are then visited by two people, Simeon and Anna. Simeon had been waiting for the Christ, and believes Jesus is him. He tells Mary "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Later Anna, an old woman who spent all her time in the temple praying, comes and praises Jesus as well.

Luke then records the only story of Jesus's childhood in the Bible. When Jesus is twelve his family travels to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Then they leave with a large group of their relatives and friends and after a day they realize Jesus is not with them. They go back to Jerusalem and after three days of looking find him in the temple talking with the temple teachers. His parents scold him for running off, but Jesus replies that they should have known where he was. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?". His family doesn't understand what he is talking about. They all then go to Nazareth.

• Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament 1997 Doubleday ISBN 0-385-24767-2
• Luke 2 NIV Accessed 3 November 2005

Chapters of the Bible
Preceded by: Luke 1	Gospel of Luke	Followed by: Luke 3