Belated Birthday
From my family to yours, I hope you had a Merry Christmas. If you didn't have a chance to read my last blog, I would recommend reading that first here, before you continue.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)
Most Christians traditionally celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day, December 25th. However, the actual birth date of Jesus Christ is not officially recorded anywhere. The Bible doesn't specifically tell us when He was born, but it does offer some convincing context clues.
Many historians believe Jesus was actually born sometime in the Spring or Fall. I've heard a few arguments made for a Summer birth too. But I recently came across information that offers a compelling argument that Jesus' birth was sometime in September or October (early Fall).
Time out! Is this information relevant to my faith in Jesus? Does it matter that we celebrate Jesus' birthday on December 25th? I think the answer is both YES and NO. First, I think it's important that we can discern between the modern holiday we know as Christmas and the actual birth of Jesus as spoken of in the Gospels. The specific date of his birth is not a critical element of having faith. Yet, the Bible tells us to be diligent students of scripture. That being said, I think we can understand God's plan of salvation better by developing a more complete picture of what is true and what isn't true about the birthday of Christ. Let's continue...
Now, the argument for Jesus being born sometime in early Fall begins by studying some of the ancillary details presented about Jesus' birth. Thankfully, we have four gospel accounts to study, as opposed to just one. There is only one account that goes into detail on the birth of John (the Baptist), who is widely accepted to be one of Jesus' cousins. The Gospel of Luke records that John's father and mother were Zacharias and Elizabeth, with the latter being accepted as a cousin or relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The important figure here in determining Christ's birth date is Zacharias. It is known that he was a priest and you may also recall that God caused Zacharias to become mute until the birth of John (that's another blog for a different day). What is interesting about the Bible's account of Zacharias is that it tells us he was from a specific line of priests.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah... (Luke 1:5)
Now, if you really want to be a student of scripture, take a look at 1 Chronicles 24:1-19. From these verses, we learn that the different divisions of priests in ancient Israel were assigned a particular time of year to be in the temple, performing their duties. Zacharias, being of the division of Abijah, would have been responsible for part of the Hebrew month of Tamuz (our June-July).
Here's where it gets really interesting. Zacharias was performing his priestly duties at the time he was visited by an angel of the LORD, announcing to him that he would have a son to be named John (ref. Luke 1:8-13). It was not long after that his wife conceived. Assuming it was a normal 36-40 week pregnancy, that would place John's birth sometime in the month of Nisan (our March/April appx.). Being able to estimate John's birthday provides us remarkable insight into Jesus' birth date because it would have been approximately 6 months after John's.
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26-27)
The sixth month being referred to here is that of Elizabeth's pregnancy. It was here during this angelic visit that we learn that her cousin (relative) Mary would be mothering Jesus, the Son of God. Assuming another 36-40 week pregnancy, Jesus would have been born sometime around the month of Tishrei (our September-October).
Wow!!! So Jesus was a Fall baby? It looks so and there is further Biblical evidence that seems to support this notion. If you study Hebrew customs and feasts (ref. Old Testament) through the lens of the New Testament, you will see that they all point to Jesus. For example, Jesus' death and resurrection at the time of Passover and the Feast of First Fruits is the actual fulfillment of those prophetic holy days. Passover foreshadowed Jesus' death and the Feast of First Fruits (which occurs 3 days after Passover) foreshadows his resurrection (since Jesus became the first fruits of humanity - the first to rise from the grave).
This topic can be an entire blog itself. But let's just take a simple look at the holy days that occur in Tishrei. Those days are Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). I could drill into each of these, but the most significant one here regarding Jesus' birth would be the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast commemorates Israel's time dwelling with God in the desert. It celebrates that God will one day again set up "camp" on earth and dwell with us.
Now, if you look at the prophetic words spoken by the angel...
Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us. (Matthew 1:23)
God with us. A Fall birth for Jesus would fulfill this feast and the prophetic meaning behind it.
Other clues that point to a Fall birth for Jesus include...
Shepherds being with their flocks at night (wouldn't occur during seasons of extreme weather, cold or hot)
Caesar Augustus issuing a census to be taken (most likely in the month of August, to honor his rule) - this is the same census that would have led Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary on a journey to Bethlehem, placing their arrival potentially in September/October.
Halloween, October 31st. While not mentioned in the Bible, the Word of God tells us that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. Why wouldn't the enemy, Satan, be looking to "steal" God's very birthday by raising up a celebration focused on death, fear, murder, and demonic spirits.
Does this mean I'm going to start sipping Pumpkin Spice to the glory of God instead of Peppermint Mocha? Haha, maybe. What we could and should take away from this information is that God indeed had a plan for the birth of His Son and it was planned many generations before. God always intended on sending Jesus to earth to become our Savior, our sacrificial Passover lamb. By studying just these small details in the Bible, you can also see that God indeed wants us to know Him. He wants us to know who He is and have a real relationship with us. While the world, influenced by Satan, wants us to be confused and lack knowledge, God has provided knowledge in His Word and by His Spirit.
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (1 Corinthians 14:33)
Needless to say, the birth of Jesus is so monumental and important, that I would venture to say it's specific time/date remains in question because we are not meant to celebrate it one day a year, but truly every minute of our lives.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, the humble King who stepped off His throne in Heaven, to be born among sinners and one day, die for us all.
If you would like to know more about Jesus' gospel and salvation please follow this link:
THIS IS REALLY 'GOD' SHANE!
VERY INSIGHTFUL.
VVV