When Was Jesus Born?
by Denise Morris on 12/25/2007 at 12:01 AM
We obviously celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25, but is that really when He was born? Well, I'm not sure. But there are a few ideas out there.
We know that Jesus was conceived six months after John the Baptist (Luke 1:24-27, 36). So, if we can figure out when John was born, we can figure out when Jesus was born.
John the Baptist's father was a man named Zacharias. Zacharias was from the tribe of Levi, which meant that he was to serve in the temple each year. The Jews kept a record of temple service, and people much smarter than me have figured out when Zacharias would have been serving in the temple during that year. From what we can deduce from the biblical accounts, John the Baptist would've been born in the spring -- around Passover. This, in itself, is pretty cool because during a Passover meal, the Jews always leave a cup for Elijah in case he returns. Who did Jesus say John the Baptist was? (Matthew 11:7-15)
Anyhoo, if John was born at Passover and Jesus was born six months after that, it puts His birth in the fall -- during the festival of Sukkot. Here's why I think that's cool:
Sukkot is a holiday that was commanded by God in Leviticus 23:33-44. It is one of the most joyful of all Jewish holidays -- God commands them to rejoice before Him for seven days. It also comes during the harvest -- the time when you thank God for His provision. (What better provision than a Messiah to save us from our sins?) Also, according to this site, during Sukkot is when the Jews finish their cycle of Torah readings and begin again. This time is considered to be the "fulfillment of the Torah" -- quite symbolic, since that is what Christ came to do.
During Sukkot, Jews build Sukkahs, which are temporary shelters that they live in. It is to remind them of the time they lived in shelters during their wandering in the wilderness once they left Egypt. To the Jew, the Exodus is the most pivotal event of their faith -- and if you study Jesus' life, He does much to compare Himself to Moses, the leader of the Exodus. It seems only right that Jesus would come at a time they remember the Exodus from Egypt. (And don't forget that Jesus dies during Passover, another very symbolic holiday about the Exodus.)
There are also arguments for Jesus being born around December 25, although I'm more likely to believe that the early Christians replaced a pagan holiday by celebrating the birth of Jesus instead.
Either way -- I don't think it's a huge deal when we celebrate Jesus' birth. I do think it's really cool to understand some of the significant things about Christ's timing when we study Jewish culture and holidays.
But the most important thing is taking time to really be joyful and thankful for the God who came to earth as a baby to redeem all of creation. He kept the promise He made so long ago. And that is something to celebrate.
1. Aletha said the following at 12:38 AM on Dec 25:
This is cool! Very helpful!
2. Christina Holder said the following at 10:21 AM on Dec 25:
Wow! I love the connection between Jesus' birth and the most joyous of all Jewish holidays. Recently, God used the weeks leading up to Christmas to deepen my joy for His birth. His birth ushers in the promise of justice and redemeption. He is coming back for His broken people.
3. Irene M. said the following at 10:34 AM on Dec 25:
"We may take it as certain that the feast of Christ's Nativity was kept in Rome on 25 December before the year 354. It was introduced by St. John Chrysostom into Constantinople and definitively adopted in 395. On the other hand, the Epiphany feast on 6 January, which also in the beginning seems to have commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ, is referred to as of partial observance in that character by Clement of Alexandria (Strom., I, 21), though a recently discovered discourse of Hippolytus for this day (eis ta hagia theophaneia) is entirely devoted to the theme of Christ's baptism. This last, in fact, is and has long been the primary aspect of the feast in the Oriental churches. But the feast of the Nativity is of importance in the calendar not only for itself, as one of the greatest celebrations of the year, but also for the other days which depend upon it. These are mostly of later date in point of origin, but are ecclesiastically of high rank."
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03158a.htm#nativity
You're also right about Christmas being placed within relation to John the Baptist's birthday. St. John the Baptist's feast day is celebrated on Midsummer's day, meaning that the Northern Hemisphere becomes progressively dimmer as Christmas approaches. When the calendar was established December 25 was believed to be the shortest day of the year, therefore the earth grows brighter after the birth of Christ. The placement of Christmas on December 25 is thus both symbolic of the roles of Jesus and John the Baptist and a practical way to displace pagan holidays.
4. Jo said the following at 4:16 PM on Dec 25:
Haha! I'm pointing my friend Debs to this thread...
I wrote a short humorous 'nativity' play a few years ago which aimed to dispel some of the Christmas nostalgia and get to the heart of it all - I had Jesus born in a back alley and a horoscope writer as my wise woman, and set the story in September. I adapted it to a two-man sketch this year for Debs and I, and she kept on and on about how she didn't agree with my September point. Since I wrote it so long ago I didn't remember much of my basis for it, but this will help clear things up. :P
As to the real date of Jesus' birth, well it seems there are good arguments for all kinds of different theories. My pastor's wife also came and contended my September claim after we performed the play on Sunday (much to Debs' delight) and gave a lot of interesting evidence for December 25th, including that while most shepherds wouldn't have been out with their sheep in the cold winter (my main point in the play), the temple shepherds WOULD have been watching the sheep meant for sacrifice - a great link can be found there too, and those shepherds of course would have been especially devout, a possible reason for God choosing them to be Jesus' first visitors.
Bottom line, it doesn't matter. But it's fun to speculate. :)
5. xeres said the following at 7:16 PM on Dec 25:
This is a good post, Denise.
6. brynna said the following at 8:04 PM on Dec 25:
Jesus was conceived 6 months after John was born, which means he was born 15ish months after, not 6...when would that put his birth?
7. DannieA said the following at 10:41 PM on Dec 25:
I would think that it is common knowledge that Jesus was NOT born on December 25...
8. Michael said the following at 10:56 PM on Dec 25:
Brynna, the passage says that Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy.
9. Jo said the following at 2:32 AM on Dec 26:
bryanna - no, jesus was conceived 6 months after john was conceived. hence mary's visit to elizabeth when her baby (jesus) leapt for joy in her womb to see elizabeth.
10. Melissa* said the following at 9:21 AM on Dec 26:
Bryanna, He was conceived six months into Elizabeth's pregnancy. The women's pregnancy overlap would be three months, with Jesus being born six months after John.
11. Kari said the following at 12:10 PM on Dec 26:
Brynna, from Luke 1:36, the angel appeared to Mary when Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant, not 6 months after John's birth. I guess an argument could be made that Mary did not conceive as soon as the angel left her, but that isn't directly addressed in the Bible.
12. brynna said the following at 6:07 PM on Dec 29:
"We know that Jesus was conceived six months after John the Baptist" - I interpreted this as "after JtB was born" instead... :)
13. Nancy said the following at 6:02 AM on Jan 1:
If anyone is interested in a detailed sermon on this very topic may I recommend you go to www.bridgelane.org
This sermon title is 'What the Gospels tell us about the birth of Jesus Christ' and it's in 2 parts. Really intersting stuff to think on.
Happy New Year 2008!
14. cn said the following at 9:45 AM on Jan 1:
Great post! It gets even cooler when you think about how Roshashana, the feast of the trumpets, falls before Sukkot. It has significance, not just surrounding His birth, but also His return!
15. JOSEPH G. DUMAS said the following at 12:06 PM on Jan 1:
Christ was born in Bethlehem and I'll stay on the safe side and say nobody knows what day. But my question is: About how long was it after the death of Moses and his work with the 10 C's.
In other words, how long did God give us to learn about them before He sent His Son to show us?
16. Charne van der Walt said the following at 2:47 PM on Jan 2:
A pastor (who loves Jesus wholeheartedly and KNOWS the greek of the bible...) once said that in seeking answers to these kind of questions need to bring us closer to God. If I can add to this : if it makes us more legalistic regarding our faith or have ended in idle talk (that the Bible warns against - think about it... an idle car uses fuel, creates fumes and basically uses up energy but stays in one place), then let's rather refrain from it. If it doesn't bring us closer to God or to the knowledge of His Glory in Jesus, then it will surely not help bring those closer we've been called to disciple to!
17. Carrie Lea said the following at 3:32 PM on Jan 3:
Charne van der Walt,
Of all I have learned in my Baptist upbringing and my later Hebrew Roots discoveries, it is the biblical festivals in Leviticus 23, with both their historical and prophetic associations, that have breathed the most life into my walk with God. I am filled with incredible awe, wonder, and excitement when I ponder all the meanings and connections that God packed into these gems of perfect timing. I agree that getting dogmatic about Jesus's actual birthdate is useless, but I wish every Christian the joy that I have experienced in studying the festivals. I would go so far as to say that if all Christendom celebrated the festivals with their full meaning, many Jews would investigate Jesus further as a result and perhaps even be drawn to Him.