Luke chapter 2

vs 1

Well, that gives us a good idea of when this is dated. A census would have taken a crap load of work. But I guess the taxes you'd receive from it would make up for it.

vs 2

Why is this important? I honestly have no idea. Perhaps there was as second census taken in this time, and so Luke is distinguishing this as the first.

vs 3

So if you lived far away from your home town, that could be quite a trip. I bet the merchants were rubbing their hands together.

vs 4

I've heard lots of arguments from people about how Mary had some lineage with David, but as far as I know, the Bible doesn't draw that link, at least not strongly. The gospel authors obviously had David' lineage in mind when they wanted to draw back to Jesus.

vs 5

Interesting that they would go together without being married? You'd think they would be separate till then. Note that we don't really hear anything from Mary's family - what their reaction was to their unmarried daughter getting pregnant, why they'd let her go off with Joseph - it might have been one of the rules that prospective marriages were censused.

vs 6

What a joyous occasion.

vs 7

And thus Sunday School Christmas plays were born.

vs 8

I'm sure there were. That's the sort of thing shepherds do, as a rule.

vs 9

Understandably. This was not covered in shepherding the flock 101. Or in anything, really. Who's prepared for angels to appear?

vs 10

And it is good news. In fact, you could almost say that this angel is bringing the gospel to these shepherds, and Jesus has only really been born! I'm sure they were excited, eventually.