Footnote 1 – The Magi and the Star

The situation is complicated by the Gospel of Luke, however, which indicates that Jesus was born during a worldwide census conducted by the Syrian governor; from extrabiblical sources, we know of a census conducted in 6 C.E. (although not of the scope described by Luke). Most scholars find the worldwide census described in Luke too improbable to be historical and thus favor the account in Matthew. See the discussion by Jerome Murphy-O’Connor and Steve Mason in “Where Was Jesus Born?” BR 16:01.