Understanding that a certain criticism implied a sort of challenge to apply my theory of Luke's character as a historian to the Gospel, I took what is generally acknowledged to be the most doubtful passage, from the historian's view, in the New Testament, Luke 2:1-4. Many would not even call it doubtful. Strauss (in his New Life of Jesus) and Renan dismiss it in a short footnote as unworthy even of mention in the text. This passage, interpreted according to the view which I have maintained — that Luke was a great historian, and that he appreciated the force of the Greek superlative (in spite of the contradiction of Professor Blass and others) — gave the result that Luke was acquainted with a system of Periodic Enrollments in Syria, and probably in the East generally. I looked for evidence of such a system; and it was offered by recent discoveries in Egypt. The confirmation afforded to Luke was explained in the Expositor, April and June, 1897.

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