Of the four Gospels, it is Luke who provides us with more details surrounding Jesus’s birth, such as the census required from the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. The purpose of a Roman census was to collect taxes and increase military conscription. As Joseph was Jewish, he would not have been required to serve in the Roman army. He would, however, still need to journey to Bethlehem to pay his taxes.

Journeys are a part of the grand biblical story. Abraham journeyed to the land of Canaan. Led by Moses, the Israelites journeyed out of Egypt, eventually making it to Canaan. Naomi and Ruth journeyed from Moab to Bethlehem. The distance of Joseph and Mary’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was approximately ninety miles. For us, that is ninety minutes in a car, with heat or air conditioning as needed, and exit ramps with a variety of food options prepared to our liking.

Joseph and Mary had to bring their own provisions, consisting mostly of dried bread and water carried in wineskins. Temperatures would have fluctuated between very cold during the nights to extremely hot during the days. The terrain would have varied between the flatlands of the Jordan River and the hills leading up to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem sits 2,600 feet above sea level. Because it was late in Mary’s pregnancy, they probably would not have traveled more than ten miles each day, with her condition making them an easy target for robbers along the way. Each journey found in the Bible is used to fulfill God’s purposes, and none more than the journey of Mary and Joseph. Your life is a journey that, if you let Him, God will use to fulfill His purpose in you.