1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
We often forget that Jesus was born during a time of political oppression. The land of Israel was occupied by the Romans. They had to live under their laws. They had to pay their taxes. They lived under fear of further oppression. Their everyday lives were not interrupted to a great degree, but there were reminders of their status as second class people. There were toll stations set up where taxes would be collected, if you wanted to pass down a particular road. As they traveled to market to sell their wares they would have to pay a tax on their produce prior to sale. When soldiers passed through their area, they would be forced to house and feed them. They would have to provide them provision for their journey. And when Rome felt they needed some extra revenue, they would take a census and then tax according to that new count. As we hear of the government spending ever greater quantities of our money, we can get an idea of how it felt to be a non-Roman during these times. No one ever listened to their voice. The poll numbers say that our elected officials are not doing what we want them to do, just like the Romans. They do what they think will get them elected next time, or what best suits their view of government. They have little concern for the little people who have to pay for all their extravagances. So Mary and Joseph have to travel (an expense in itself), just to be counted, so next year they can pay their new taxes. The Romans didn’t care that Mary was pregnant to the point of popping. They just want an accurate headcount. They wanted to be able to calculate how much money they would have available to spend on their next projects. Our problem in the US is that we don’t even care how we are going to pay for all these new projects. Our government just keeps spending our future. At least the Romans got the money before they spent it!
The Arnold Journey 