When was Jesus Christ born? Was Jesus born on December 25 - Christmas Day? History shows that December 25 was popularized as the date for Christmas, not because Christ was born on that day, but because it was already popular in pagan religious celebrations as the birthday of the sun. But could December 25 be the date of Christs birth? Lacking any scriptural pointers to Jesuss birthday, early Christian teachers suggested dates all over the calendar. Clement...picked November 18. Hippolytus...figured Christ must have been born on a Wednesday...An anonymous document[,] believed to have been written in North Africa around A.D. 243, placed Jesuss birth on March 28 (Joseph L. Sheler, U.S. News & World Report , In Search of Christmas, Dec. 23, 1996, p. 58). A careful analysis of Scripture, however, clearly indicates that December 25 couldnt be the date for Christs birth. Here are two primary reasons: First, we know that shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at the time of Jesus birth (Luke:2:7-8 ). Shepherds were not in the fields during December. According to Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays , Lukes account suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night (p. 309). Similarly, The Interpreters One-Volume Commentary says this passage argues against the birth [of Christ] occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields at night. Second, Jesus parents came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census (Luke:2:1-4 ). Such censuses were not taken in winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and roads were in poor condition. Taking a census under such conditions would have been self-defeating. Given the difficulties and the desire to bring pagans into Christianity, the important fact then which I have asked you to get clearly into your head is that the fixing of the date as December 25th was a compromise with paganism (William Walsh, The Story of Santa Klaus , 1970, p. 62). If Jesus Christ wasnt born on December 25, does the Bible indicate when He was born? The biblical accounts point to the fall of the year as the most likely time of Jesus birth, based on the conception and birth of John the Baptist.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 13:32:31 +0000