Luke 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament, traditionally attributed to Luke the Evangelist, a companion of Paul the Apostle on his missionary journeys.Jerusalem Bible (1966), "Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels", New Testament p. 5 It contains an account of Jesus's birth in Bethlehem, "its announcement and celebration",Alford, H., Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary - Alford on Luke 2, accessed 21 August 2023 his presentation in the Second Temple, and an incident from his childhood. Verses 1–14 are often read during services of worship on Christmas Day.BBC Radio 4, Midnight Mass, 24 December 2021 from Salford Cathedral
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 52 verses.
Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Papyrus 4 (AD 150–175; extant verses: 1; 6–7) Codex Vaticanus (AD 325–350; complete) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360; complete) Codex Bezae (~400; complete) Codex Washingtonianus (~400; complete) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440; complete) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 1–4, 43–52)
Jesus's birth (2:1–7)
According to the Gospel of Luke, Caesar Augustus ordered a census be conducted of the ".. entire Roman World", during (or possibly before) the governorship of Quirinius (or "Cyrenius") in Syria, and 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. Many English translations suggest that the purpose of the census was for everyone to be registered, but the King James Version and others state that everyone was to be taxed.BibleGateway.com, Translations of Luke 2:1 The Expanded Bible suggests that the register was compiled for taxation.Additional words "register for taxation" at ; EXB The accuracy of this account of the timing of the birth of Jesus has been disputed by many modern scholars. Quirinius was not governor of Syria until 6–7 CE.Franklin, E., 59. Luke, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary , p. 929 The suggestion that the census therefore took place before Quirinius's governorship is made by biblical scholar John Nolland as a way of resolving a historical difficulty about the timing of Jesus's birth in relation to this census.Nolland, J. (1989–93), Luke, Word Biblical Commentary Series (Dallas: Word) Jesuit theologian Joseph Fitzmyer, however, argues that this is not a natural reading of the Greek and "has about it something of the air of desperation".Fitzmyer, J. A. (1981, 1985), The Gospel According to Luke, AB (New York: Doubleday), quoted in Franklin, citation above
Verse 2 And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria: KJV This sentence is bracketed as a parenthetical explanation in the King James Version.Nicoll, W. R., Expositor's Greek Testament. Luke 2. Accessed 24 April 2019.
Verse 3 So all went to be registered, everyone [went] to his own city:: NKJV Most texts refer to his own (polin, "city"), while Codex Bezae refers to his own (patrida) or "homeland".Meyer, H. A. W. (1890), Meyer's NT Commentary on Luke 2, accessed 5 July 2020
Verse 5 [Joseph went ...] to be registered with Mary, with his betrothed wife, who was with child.: NKJV Although a reading of Luke 1:32 suggests that Mary may have been herself "sprung from the lineage of David", and Bethlehem would also therefore be "her own city", it does appear that the evangelist's meaning is that she traveled to Bethlehem in order to accompany her betrothed husband. According to the narrative in chapter 1, Mary had travelled from Nazareth to a city in the hill country of Judah to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and then returned to Nazareth, then travelled again with Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
Verse 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. KJV "Swaddling clothes" refers to "strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected".Note [a] on Luke 2:7 in NET Bible "Manger": or "feed trough".Note on Luke 2:7 in NKJVNote [b] on Luke 2:7 in NET Bible "The inn": translated from the Greek word , kataluma, which may mean "guest room".Note [c] on Luke 2:7 in NET BibleNote on Luke 2:7 in ESV In the Greek Septuagint and New Testament texts it may refer to a variety of places for lodging. Joseph and Mary would plan to stay with relatives in Bethlehem, but the "guest rooms" in the houses would have been filled beyond capacity with all the other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for the census; Bethlehem was not large and there was simply no other place to stay.
The angels and shepherds (2:8–20)
Luke then tells of shepherds working at night nearby (in the same region, or the same country),Various translations, taken from BibleGateway: Luke 2:8 who are visited by an angel who tells them that in Bethlehem, the "...town of David, a saviour who is Christ the Lord" had been born. Bede notes that in the Old Testament, angelic visits typically occurred at night and not in the daytime.Bede, quoted by Thomas Aquinas in Catena aurea : commentary on the four Gospels, collected out of the works of the fathers, Luke, Part 1, p. 68, edited by John Henry Newman, Oxford, 1841, accessed on 29 March 2025
Verse 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people".: NKJV
Verse 11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." NKJV "A multitude of the heavenly host" appear, praising God and saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace..." There is some variation in how the latter part of the sentence is translated, the most usual modern interpretations being "... and goodwill to men", "... towards men of goodwill" or "... to those he favours". The American Standard Version, for example, has "...among men in whom he is well pleased", which corresponds to the third reading. The line is the opening part of the Greater Doxology, and as such is important in the main rites of the Christian church.
The angels then return to heaven, and the shepherds go "even unto Bethlehem",: King James Version 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 to their flocks. It is generally considered significant that this message was given to shepherds, who were located on the lower rungs of the social ladder in first-century Palestine. Contrasting with the more powerful characters mentioned in the Nativity, such as the Emperor Augustus, they seem to reflect Mary's words in the Magnificat: "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.": ESV The phrase "peace to men on whom his favor rests" has been interpreted both as expressing a restriction to a particular group of people that God has chosen, and inclusively, as God displaying favor to the world.
Luke does not mention the visit of the Magi, the Massacre of the Innocents, or the escape of Jesus' family to Egypt, which are found in .
Circumcision and naming (2:21)
tells how Joseph and Mary have their baby circumcised on the eighth day after birth, and name him Jesus, as Gabriel had told Mary to do in Luke 1:31. Protestant theologian Jeremy Taylor argues that Jesus's circumcision proved his human nature while fulfilling the law of Moses and had Jesus been uncircumcised, it would have made Jews substantially less receptive to his Evangelism."But so mysterious were all the actions of Jesus, that this one [his circumcision] served many ends. For 1. It gave demonstration of the verity of human nature. 2. So he began to fulfill the law. 3. And took from himself the scandal of uncircumcision, which would eternally have prejudiced the Jews against his entertainment and communion. 4. And then he took upon him that name, which declared him to be the Savior of the world; which as it was consummate in the blood of the cross, so it was inaugurated in the blood of circumcision: for "when eight days were accomplished for circumcising of the Child, his name was called Jesus." – Taylor, Jeremy. The Whole works; with an essay biographical and critical, Volume 1 (1657). Frederick Westley and A. H. Davis, London, 1835. p. 51
Presentation in the Temple (2:22–38)
Verse 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; KJV The law in requires that after the birth of a male child, a mother is regarded as 'unclean' for seven days and is required to stay at home for a further 33 days, after which, on the 40th day, a sacrifice is to be offered for her purification, which can only be done in Jerusalem. Some translations refer to "their purification",E.g. the New Revised Standard Version at but it was Mary, not her child, who needed to be purified, and even though Mary was not polluted by the conception, bearing, and giving birth of Jesus, who had no impurity in his nature (although he was made sin for his people), she still came under this law of purification,Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible. Luke 2:22. Accessed 29 June 2019. so that all possible requirements of the law were fulfilled (cf. Galatians 4:4).
"The days of her purification" or "her purifying" (, ,Hebrew Text Analysis: Leviticus 12:4. Biblehub.com in and ) are to be fulfilled or accomplished at the time described by Maimonides: This was the time when they, Joseph and Mary, brought the child Jesus, to the Temple in Jerusalem to complete Mary's ritual purification and to provide the sacrifice specified in the Law of Moses, in which she took the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb) in , sacrificing "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." This was done in the eastern gate, called the gate of Nicanor, specially for: women, suspected of adultery, to drink, and purified new mothers, and cleansed the lepers.Misn. Sota, c. 1. sect. 5.
Then, they presented Jesus to God through the priest, his representative. Here Mary appeared with her firstborn son, the true Messiah, marking the first time of Jesus' coming into his temple, as was foretold (Malachi 3:1).
The presentation of Jesus in the Temple officially inducts him into Judaism and concludes the birth narrative in the Gospel of Luke. Within the account, "Luke's narration of the Presentation in the Temple combines the purification rite with the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn ()."
In the Temple, they meet Simeon and Anna. Simeon had been waiting for the Christ, and believes Jesus is him. Simeon prays the Nunc Dimittis (Canticle of Simeon) and 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." Anna, an old widowed woman who spent all her time in the temple praying, comes and praises Jesus as well.
Return to Nazareth and early childhood (2:39–40) In verses 39–40, the family returns to Nazareth in Galilee, where Jesus grows and becomes strong and wise. He receives God's favour or grace. Unlike the apocryphal gospels, no preternatural stories of Jesus' childhood are found in Luke, or indeed any of the four canonical gospels. Verse 40 is echoed in verse 52: Lutheran pietist Johann Bengel suggests that verse 40 refers to the period from his first to his twelfth year, when Jesus grew in body, whereas verse 52 covers the period from his twelfth to his thirtieth year, when his progress is a spiritual increase towards "full perfection".Bengel, J. A. (1759), Bengel's Gnomon on Luke 2, accessed 6 July 2020
The boy Jesus in the Temple (2:41–50)