Chapter II.
Second, on the nativity from the womb in two ways.
1. Now it came to pass in those days, etc. That part having been concluded, in which the conception of the Savior in the womb is treated, the second part follows, in which the birth of the Savior from the womb is treated, and he does this in this entire chapter. Now this part has two sections, in the first of which the truth of Christ's nativity is determined; in the second, the humility of the one being born is determined. For since Christ in his nativity was made of a woman, and was made under the Law through humility, therefore it pertains to the Evangelist to determine both: and the second part begins there: And after eight days were accomplished, etc.
First, concerning the truth of Christ's nativity, three things are shown.
The first part has three parts, in the first of which it is shown how Christ's nativity was accomplished; in the second, how it was announced by the Angels, there: And there were shepherds in the region; in the third, how it was manifested and spread abroad by the shepherds, there: And it came to pass, when they departed, etc.
How Christ's nativity was accomplished.
The first part has three sections, since to express the nativity of the Savior it is necessary to assign the time and place and manner of giving birth. The Evangelist therefore describes in the first part the fitting time; in the second, the suitable place, there: And Joseph also went up from Galilee; in the third, the Virgin's delivery, there: And it came to pass, while they were there.
2. Now the fitting time for Christ's nativity was the time of the enrollment of the universal empire, "because, as Gregory says, he was coming in the flesh who would enroll his elect in eternity." In this enrollment of the universal empire, a threefold excellence is noted, namely of power in commanding, of wisdom in discerning, and of justice in executing, since these three things were to be in Christ, according to that passage in Jeremiah twenty-three: "Behold, the days come, says the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch, and a king shall reign," behold, power; "and he shall be wise," behold, wisdom; "and he shall execute judgment and justice," behold, justice, so that there might be in him perfection in every way.
3. (Verse 1.). As for the excellence of power in commanding he says: A decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This Caesar Augustus was by his proper name Octavian, but was surnamed Caesar from Julius Caesar, who ruled before him, from whom all Roman emperors were afterward called caesars . He was also called Augustus, because he enlarged the republic; and from him all others are always called Augusti . And he issued a universal decree, because he held universal dominion, not over each and every individual, but over the principal parts of the world; whence his empire was great, according to that passage of Daniel 2: "And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron crushes and subdues all things, so shall it crush and shatter all these things." This was the Roman empire, which was designated by the empire of Nebuchadnezzar, of whom Jeremiah 27 says: "I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, and all nations shall serve him. The nation and kingdom that will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, I will visit upon that nation, says the Lord." In those days, namely of this kingdom, was the time of Christ's coming, because it is said in Daniel 2: "In the days of those kingdoms the Lord will raise up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be delivered to another people." And to him alone belongs the full enrollment of the world, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein." And therefore it is said in Apocalypse 19 that "he had on his garment and on his thigh written: King of kings and Lord of lords"; because, as it is said in Ecclesiastes 5, "one higher than the high watches over them, and there are yet higher ones above these."
4. (Verse 2.). As for the excellence of wisdom in discerning he adds: This first enrollment was made by the governor of Syria, Cyrinus: because this was, as Ambrose says, the first general enrollment, which was begun by Cyrinus; or: first made, that is, first begun, according to Bede, by him who governed in Syria, which is the navel of the habitable world; and thus the said enrollment was carried out distinctly and in good order, and these are two marks of wisdom in a ruler, according to what is said of Solomon in 3 Kings 10: "When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the dwellings of his servants and the orders of his ministers, she had no more spirit in her." Now this enrollment was made not out of vanity, as was that of David in 2 Kings, last chapter, on account of which the people were struck, but for the utility of the empire, that the amount of tribute might be known, and this pertains to discretion, not to pride: Ecclesiasticus 42: "Where there are many hands, lock up; and whatever you hand over, count and weigh; and record everything given and received." But it does not belong to just any individual king to enroll tributes, but to the newborn Christ; whence the Psalm: "And in your book all shall be written; days shall be formed, and no one in them."
5. (Vers. 3.). As for the excellence of justice in its pursuit, it is added: And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. They were therefore carrying out the king's command, and no one was seizing what belonged to another; and thus they had subjection to the king in their enrollment, and peace with one another in quiet and just cohabitation, according to that passage in Romans thirteen: "Render to all what is owed: to whom tribute, tribute; to whom honor, honor; owe no one anything, except to love one another." To be enrolled indeed, acknowledging themselves subject to the Roman empire, and this by rendering the census tax. And this was just, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-two: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." And because Judea had already been made tributary, it is signified that the time of Christ's nativity had arrived, according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Genesis: "The scepter shall not be taken away from Judah, nor a ruler from his thigh, until he comes who is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of the nations." They went, moreover with no one offering hindrance, by which it is shown that this empire was most peaceful; and therefore it was the time for Christ, the announcer of peace, to come, of whom it is said in Ephesians two: "He himself is our peace, who has made both one." And thus that passage in Micah four was already fulfilled: "Nation shall not take up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore; and all peoples shall walk, each one in the name of his God." And this is what Bede says in the Gloss: "Christ willed to be born in a most peaceful time, because he greatly sought and loved peace and always visited the lovers of peace."
6. (Vers. 4.). But Joseph also went up, etc. After he described the due time, he here describes the fitting place, and this because that place was suitable to the prophetic oracle, suitable to the divine promise, and suitable also to the imperial edict.
It is shown therefore to be fitting by prophetic oracle in that it says: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, because according to one prophecy, Nazareth, "where Christ had been conceived," was fitting for the conception: Isaiah 11, according to another reading: "A Nazarene shall rise from his root"; but according to another, Bethlehem was fitting for the nativity. Therefore it adds: Into Judea, into the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: Micah 5: "And you, Bethlehem Ephrata, you are little among the thousands of Judah; for from you shall come forth he who is to be ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity." Whence it is said in Matthew 2 that when Herod inquired where Christ would be born, the scribes answered: "In Bethlehem of Judah, for so it is written through the Prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the princes of Judah. For from you shall come forth a leader who shall rule my people." This was the city of David, because from there he took his origin; 1 Kings 16: "The Lord said to Samuel: Come, I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided among his sons a king for myself." — And note that Christ was born in one place, conceived in another, and raised in another, so that the mystery of the incarnation might be hidden from Herod and other impious men; whence John 7: "Does Christ come from Galilee? Is it not from Bethlehem, the town?"
7. That place is also shown to be fitting by the divine promise, when it adds: Because he was of the house and family of David, namely he himself and his spouse the Virgin Mary. Whence Bernard says that "in the one the promise made to David was fulfilled, while the other was merely a witness and one who knew." This promise was made to David in 2 Kings 7, through Nathan: "The Lord foretells to you that the Lord will make you a house; and when your days shall be completed, I will raise up your seed after you and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever"; and again in the Psalm: "The Lord swore truth to David, and he will not frustrate it: of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne."
8. (Verse 5.). It is shown lastly as fitting to the imperial edict, when it is added: That he might be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. For this had proceeded from the imperial edict. And although the Virgin had already conceived the King of heaven and earth, nevertheless she willed to obey the imperial edict even while pregnant, so that she might say with her Son that word of Matthew 3: "So it becomes us to fulfill all justice"; and through this give us an example of obeying every superior power, according to that word of 1 Peter 2: "Be subject to every human creature for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as excelling, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, but for the praise of the good." - In this, moreover, it appears how human empire serves the divine. For when Caesar commanded that all should go to their own city, and when Mary and Joseph obeyed his command, it came to pass what neither intended, namely that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, according as it had been eternally disposed and temporally promised and foretold and prophesied. And therefore the command of those set over us is in no way to be despised.
9. (Verse 6.). Now it came to pass, when they were there etc. He has described above the nativity of Christ as to the fitting time and suitable place; here thirdly he describes it as to the birth, which he describes as to three things, namely as to the opportune time for giving birth, the novelty of the birth and the poverty of the one giving birth: from which the origin of Christ is shown to be admirable, inimitable, and commendable.
First, therefore, he intimates the opportune time for giving birth, when he says: It came to pass, when they were there, the days were accomplished of Mary, that she should give birth, in accordance with what was said above of her kinswoman, in the preceding chapter: "For Elizabeth the time of giving birth was fulfilled." Truly fulfilled, because in the fullness of time Christ was conceived and born: Galatians 4: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, made of a woman"; Psalm: "Full days shall be found in them."
10. (Vers. 7.). He also indicates the novelty of the birth in that he says: And she brought forth her firstborn son. He says this, however, by way of privation of a prior child: for since the Virgin had conceived him, therefore he was her firstborn: Isaiah 7: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son"; and therefore the birth was new, just as the conception was, because, just as the conception was without shame, so the birth was without pain; the last chapter of Isaiah: "Before she was in labor, she brought forth: before her travail came, she brought forth a male child. Who has ever heard such a thing? Or who has seen the like of this?"; and afterward: "Shall I, who make others bring forth, not bring forth myself, says the Lord? If I, who grant generation to others, shall I be barren, says the Lord God?" Such a birth was fitting for Christ, of whom it is said in Colossians 1: "In him we have redemption and the remission of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature"; whence, just as he is the firstborn of the Father, so also the firstborn of the Mother; just as also the only-begotten of the Father, so the only-begotten of the Mother: John 1: "We saw his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father," etc. Whence he does not say here firstborn indicating an order with respect to a later child, as the heretic Helvidius said, but a privation with respect to a prior child, because she had none before him, so that it might be shown that he was to be entirely dedicated to the Lord. For all firstborn were to be offered to God: Exodus 13: "Sanctify to me every firstborn that opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of men and of beasts: for all are mine."
11. He indicates thirdly the poverty of the one giving birth, because she was lacking in covering, a bed, and lodging. - On account of the lack of covering he says: And she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, not in one garment, but in many, so that he could be called a ragged pauper, and by his example he showed that saying of the Apostle in the last chapter of First Timothy: "Having food and wherewith to be covered, with these let us be content." And this corresponds to that prophecy in Zechariah 3, where it is said that "Jesus, the high priest, was clothed in filthy garments." Bernard: "Recognize Jesus the high priest, clothed in filthy garments, while he was contending with the devil. But when our head was exalted above our enemies, he changed his garment, he put on beauty, clothed with light as with a garment. For indeed an iron breastplate is more useful in battle than a linen robe, although the former is for burden, the latter for honor." - And in this is reproved the adornment of costly garments; on account of which it is said in Matthew 11: "Those who are clothed in soft garments are in the houses of kings"; and Sirach 11: "Never glory in clothing."
12. On account of the lack of a bed, he adds: And she laid him in a manger, not in a bedchamber, so that that saying of Matthew 8 might be verified: "Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head." Christ is placed in a manger so that that saying of John 6 might be shown: "I am the living bread, who came down from heaven"; and so that that saying of Isaiah 1 might be verified: "The ox has known its owner, and the donkey the manger of its lord"; and that saying of Habakkuk 3 according to the Septuagint: "In the midst of two animals you shall be made known; when the years draw near, you shall be recognized," etc.
13. In this, however, according to the mystical understanding, that he was born in Bethlehem, it is understood that he is the living bread: Bethlehem is interpreted as "house of bread." In this, that he was placed in a manger, it is noted that he is the food of the simple and humble by reason of the flesh assumed: Isaiah 40: "All flesh is grass, and all its glory is as the flower of grass." In this, that he was in the midst of two animals, it is signified that in this pasture and by this shepherd the flocks of the twofold sheepfold were to be united: John 10: "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; and those I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."
Morally and literally, in this Christ condemned luxurious beds, against which, Amos 6:
"Woe to you who sleep on ivory beds and are wanton on your couches!"
14. On account of the lack of a dwelling, he adds: Because there was no room for them in the inn. For an inn, according to Isidore, is so called because diverse people gather there, and this is an open place; but according to Bede, because it has diverse openings: for it is an open space between two streets, having an entrance and exit on each side, and covered above on account of the inclemency of the weather, so that citizens might gather there to converse. Here the Virgin Mary gave birth, because they did not have a house in which they could be lodged, either because they were poor, or because they had come late. This place, however, was narrow, or even filled with others, so that he had no place except the most confined spot among brute animals; whence Christ could say that word of the Psalm: "I have become as a beast of burden before you, and I am always with you"; and that saying of Jeremiah 14 was verified: "Why are you to be as a wayfarer in the land and as a sojourner turning aside to stay? Why are you to be as a wandering man, as a mighty one who cannot save? But you are in us, O Lord, and your name is invoked upon us," etc. — And in this the vastness of buildings is condemned, according to that saying of Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who join house to house and couple field to field." Augustine says: "There was nothing for him but confinement on earth, so that you might open wide for him a place proper to himself in your heart. The Son of man has not where to lay his head, and you measure out spacious palaces and vast porticoes."
15. Thus therefore a poor mother bore Christ as a poor child, that he might invite us to poverty and enrich us by his want, according to that passage in Second Corinthians eight: "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though he was rich, for your sake became poor." And according to this complete destitution he condemned avaricious wealth: whence Bernard: "The Son of God chose a poor mother, who scarcely had swaddling clothes for wrapping him, and a manger for his throne, a place for laying him down. Such is not the judgment of the world. Either he is deceived, or the world errs: but it is impossible for divine wisdom to be deceived: therefore he who is not deceived chose what is more troublesome to the flesh; that therefore is better, that more useful, that more to be chosen." Let us therefore be with Christ, as is said in Second Corinthians six, "as needy, yet enriching many, as having nothing, yet possessing all things."