Shawn Ryan

Many scholars criticize Luke, who wrote the gospel and the book of Acts, who says, by the way, I carefully investigated everything so I could write an orderly account about the certainty of what took place.

So Luke is saying, hey, I checked all this out.

I think he interviewed Mary.

If not, he interviewed Johanna and Susanna, who were friends of Mary, who he mentions in his gospel.

So Luke is writing about this experience.

What was it that you want to know specifically again?

Why Bethlehem?

Oh, that's right.

Okay.

So people thought that Luke was wrong in his telling of Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem.

And the reason was Luke said there was a census.

And he said it was the first census when Quirinius was governor.

And the census said you have to go to your hometown.

Well, no.

Joseph was of the lineage of David.

Bethlehem was his hometown.

That was the town of David.

And so he had to go with Mary to Bethlehem to register for the census.

But critics have said, no, no, no, Luke's got this all wrong, because the census took place when Quirinius became governor in 6 AD.

And yet King Herod was still alive, according to Luke, at the time of this.