December 25, 2005

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

 

Interesting Facts about Jesus’ Birth

 

Several Mistaken Things

 

Celebration of Birth Did Not Begin in 1^st Century

 

John Chrysostom (golden orator) who delivered the homily on December 25, 386 in Antioch, called the celebration of Christmas the fundamental feast or the root from which all other Christian festivals grow.  It is believed that Christmas was first introduced in Antioch about 380 AD, just a few years before Chrysostom’s remarks.  The feast of Epiphany (which means divine manifestation or appearance) was introduced in Alexandria about 430 AD.  The feast of Epiphany is celebrated in the Eastern Church on January 6.  Christmas was celebrated in the Western Church on December 25.

 

The Christmas festival was probably the Christian transformation or regeneration of a series of kindred heathen festivals—the Saturnalia, Sigillaria, Juvenalia, and Brumalia—which were kept in Rome in the month of December, in commemoration of the golden age of universal freedom and equality, and in honor of the unconquered sun, and which were great holidays, especially for slaves and children.  This connection accounts for many customs of the Christmas season, like the giving of presents to children and to the poor, the lighting of wax tapers, perhaps also the use of Christmas trees, and gives them a Christian import.  The church fathers themselves confirm the symbolical reference of the feast of the birth of Christ, the Sun of righteousness, the Light of the world, to the birth festival of the unconquered sun, which on the twenty-fifth of December, after the winter solstice, breaks the growing power of darkness, and begins anew his heroic career.  It was also the prevailing opinion of the church fathers in the fourth and fifth centuries that Christ was actually born on the twenty-fifth of December.  That view has been challenged due to the reference in Luke 2:8.  The shepherds would not have been out in the fields watching their flocks by night in mid-winter.

 

 

 

Jesus Was Not Born in 1 AD

 

According to Josephus, Jesus was born during the reign of the Jewish king, Herod the Great.  We know that Herod died in the year 4 BC.  That means that Jesus had to be born no later than 4 BC.  Jesus was born sometimes between the slaying of the children in Bethlehem and the death of Herod.  Many scholars believe that Jesus was born between 7 and 5 BC.  Even though our calendars are based on the birth of Jesus (BC stands for “Before Christ” and AD stands for “An'no Domini” (or in the year of our Lord), the calendars are off by a few years.  How did that happen?  Well, the monk, Dionysius Exiguus, 256 AD, who did the original calculations made some mistakes that have never been corrected.  Before this time, events were dated from kings, earthquakes (Amos 1:1), and other important events.  Dionysius desired to base time on the birth of Jesus, instead of the wicked Emperor Diocletian.  Dionysius based his calculations on the building of Rome, the year of Rome, 750.  But he used the numbers 754, hence the error of four years.  It was several centuries afterwards before it was widely known and so it was allowed to stand.  So Jesus was not born in 1 AD. 

 

It is fitting that all our dates in history are based on the coming of Jesus into the world.  Jesus is history’s most significant figure.  He is the promised Messiah and Savior of the world.  (John 4:42.)

 

Jesus Was Not Mary’s Only Child

 

Because of the special circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth, some have concluded that Jesus was the only child that Mary conceived.  We know that Jesus was not born of the union of Joseph and Mary, but Jesus was conceived by the power of God by the Holy Spirit.

 

The angel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.  Therefore, also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”  (Luke 1:35.)

 

Those named as his brothers, Joseph, James, Simon and Jude, are said to be his cousins.  (Matt. 13:55.)  They appear again with Mary pleading with Jesus to come home.  (Matt. 12:46-50.)  Jesus was told that his mother, brothers and sisters, were calling for him.  He asked, Who is my mother, my brother or my sister, but these who do the will of God?  The Bible says that his brothers did not believe in him before his death and resurrection.  (John 7:5.)

 

This doctrine known as the Perpetual Virginity of Mary is just one of many surrounding Mary.  Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, said by the Spirit concerning Mary: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.  And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  (Luke 1:42-43.)  But nowhere in the New Testament is she called the mother of God.  In later centuries, Mary was declared to be immaculately conceived; that is, she was born without any trace of original sin.  Being pure of sin, she was worthy to become the mother of our Lord and be called the mother of God.

 

Early theologians of the church also placed Mary opposite of Eve, the wife of Adam, who sinned.  Among those were Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian.  As Eve became the fountain for sin, Mary became the fountain for righteousness and salvation.  The first Eve fell, but the second one did not fall.  The Bible discusses Adam and Christ, the second Adam, but it does not discuss Eve and Mary. The Bible clearly places Jesus as the fountain for salvation.  (Rom. 5.12-21.)  It is easy to see how the notion of the perpetual virginity of Mary arose.  If she was born without any trace of sin, lived without sin, gave birth to Jesus without normal conception, then she could not have given birth to any other children.  Thus, Mariology, the worship of Mary, arose.  Some styled it correctly, Mariolatry.

 

The Bible says that Joseph “knew her not until she had brought forth her first-born son and he called his name Jesus.”  (Matt. 1:25.)  Two things are said in this passage.  “Joseph did not know her until she gave birth to Jesus” implies at least that he did know her sexually after Jesus was born.  Secondly, Jesus is called the first-born son.  This implies that other sons were born.  In fact, four are named in Scripture and unnamed sisters as well.

 

The Shepherds and Magi Not at the Same Time

 

The Gospel of Matthew tells of the Magi, or wise men, who came from the East (probably Babylon) to visit the newly-born Jewish king.  Luke tells about the shepherds to whom Jesus’ birth was announced, possibly the same night he was born, but at the least he was still an infant.  Luke calls him a “babe” when he was visited by the shepherds. (Luke 2:12, 16.)  Note that Matthew calls him a child at the time the wise men came.  (Matt. 2:9, 11.)

Contrary to our Christmas cards, the shepherds and Magi did not arrive at the same time to pay homage to Jesus.  By the time the Magi arrived, Jesus may have been as old as two years.  When Herod realized that the Magi had tricked him, he ordered the slaughter of all the baby boys in Bethlehem and vicinity who were two years old and under.  Jesus was at least one and maybe two years old when the wise men worshipped him.

 

Jesus Never Traveled Outside of Palestine

 

Some fictional books about Jesus and his life depict him traveling to China, India and other countries.  But the truth is that we have no record that Jesus ever traveled outside of Palestine.  This small country is only about 200 miles from the north to the south, and 40 to 50 miles wide.  Palestine is about 12,000 square miles, or about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Jesus grew up in the northern province, Galilee, and traveled several times to Jerusalem, where he was crucified.  Instead of taking the normal route that other Jews followed, crossing the Jordan at the north and then again further south, to avoid Samaria, Jesus went through Samaria.  (John 4:4.)  All the stories about the foreign travel of Jesus are just legends and fictional stories.

 

However, Jesus did commission his apostles to go into all the world with the Gospel.  (Matt. 28:18, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47.)  They were to be his witnesses and make disciples of all nations.  They have accomplished that work.

 

Some Accurate Things

 

Jesus’ Name Was Given Beforehand

 

When Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus to Joseph, he said, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  (Matt. 1:21.)  Jesus is from the Greek form of the Hebrew name, Joshua, (or Yehoshua), which means “The Lord Saves” or “The Lord is Salvation.”  Since Jesus’ main purpose in coming into the world was to save man, it was appropriate that he be named Jesus.  There were many Jewish boys named Joshua and Jesus up to the day of Jesus Christ.  Josephus names some 19 people named Jesus.  By the end of the first century, there were few who were named Jesus.  The reason is obvious—that name belongs uniquely to Jesus Christ.

The Place of His Birth

 

When Herod heard from the Magi that the King of the Jews was born, he demanded of the scribes and chief priests where he was to be born.  They said to him, “Bethlehem of Judea, for this it is written by the prophet, ‘And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art not the least among the princes of Judea; for out of thee shall come a Governor (Ruler) that shall rule my people Israel.”  (Matt. 2:5-6, Micah 5:2.)  What troubled Herod and the city of Jerusalem was that they already had a Jewish king, Herod.  He did not want someone challenging him for his position as king.  Dictators and wicked rulers in that day often killed their own sons to keep them from challenging their rule.  So, Herod went to the experts in the Jewish Scriptures to ask them where Jesus was supposed to be born.  They seemingly answered immediately.  They did not need to go and deliberate on the question.  The Jews had for several centuries been looking for the Messiah.  They knew all the relevant passages about where and when the Messiah would come. 

 

Languages Jesus Spoke

 

Jesus’ native language would have been Aramaic, a form of Hebrew spoken by the common people of Palestine.  Though the New Testament was written in Greek, it does record several Aramaic words that Jesus spoke.  The Greek culture was spread widely by the conquests of Alexander the Great, four hundred years before Jesus’ day.  About ten miles from Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, was a large Greek city named Sepphoris.  Therefore, it is not unlikely that also spoke Greek, although the Bible does not mention it directly.

 

The Main Point of His Coming

 

Often the Bible tells us the specific reason for Jesus coming into the world.  Here are some of those:

 

Now is my troubled, and what shall I say?  Father, save me from this hour?  But for this cause came I unto this hour.  Father, glorify thy name.  (John 12:27-28.)

 

Thou sayest that I am a king.  To this end was I born and for this cause came I unto the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice.  (John 18:37.)

 

And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin.  (1 John 3:5.)

 

Many people spent more time celebrating and thinking about Jesus’ birth than they do his adult life, teaching, death and resurrection.  He came to save us from sin, but he could not and did not do that as a child.  His birth is obviously important, but he was not born so that we would celebrate his birth.  In fact, in the first four centuries after his birth, there is no record of a celebration of his birth religiously.  Most of the four gospels spend their time on the last few years of Jesus’ life and teaching.  The Gospel of John begins with the work of John the Baptist and Jesus.

 

We can become disciples of Jesus and follow him today just as many did in the first century.  We must be born again, as Jesus taught Nicodemus in John 3.  You can do that today and be saved by Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection from the dead.