In most countries there is a census of the people, where all the people are counted. Today every ten years a census form comes to every house and the head of the house has to fill it in and list all the other people in the house. That is the way we know how many people live in each country.
Just before Jesus was born the Roman Emperor was ruler of most of Europe (except Ireland), North Africa and the countries around the Mediterranean sea. He decided he wanted to know how many people he had in the Roman territories, so he ordered a census. The Emperor really wanted to know because the more people there were, the more taxes he would collect. According to the Bible he asked people to go back to the towns where their families originally came from. So Joseph, who was head of the household, took his new wife, Mary, and went to the town of his ancester, King David. This town was called Bethlehem.
Working it Out
1. When was the last census in your country? Who filled in the forms in your house? What sort of questions were asked?
2. Can you find out anything about the Census of Ceasar Augustus? Is there any record of it taking place between the years 6-0 AD apart from the Gospel of Luke? Try looking up ‘ceasar augustus census roman’
3. How many people live in your country?
4. What can you tell, from Luke 2:1-4, about the census in which Mary and Joseph went to be counted ?
