Luke 2:3

And all went to enroll themselves, every one to his own city.

Here again we must take notice of the carping allegations that Luke erred in supposing that the enrollments were taken in the native cities of the citizens. Barclay called attention to the existence of a document of the Roman government with instructions pertaining to this great periodical census and with the edict.

It is necessary to compel all those, who for any cause whatsoever are residing outside their own districts to return to their own homes, that they may both carry out the regular order of the census, and may also diligently attend the cultivation of their allotments.[5]

In the light of such documentation, Gilmour's imaginative comment that "It is improbable that any Roman census would require a man to report to the home of his ancestors"[6] appears contrary to established fact. Whether or not documented proof is available in every instance, Luke has been repeatedly proved to be far more dependable than any writer from the non-Christian community of that period.

[5] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 15.

[6] S. MacLean Gilmour, The Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1952, Vol. VIII, p. 50.