Christmas - The real story
We're all familiar with the Christmas scenes that are displayed in many stores, city displays, and front yards....... the stable, the manger with the baby Jesus surrounded by shepherds, the three wise men kneeling before Him offering their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh, while the famed Star of Bethlehem sparkles overhead.....
But how many people know that these scenes are incredibly inaccurate?
Luke, the Greek physician and author of the Biblical books of Luke and Acts, traveling companion of the apostle Paul and always the meticulous historian, carefully researched the events leading to Jesus' birth and put the events in order as they happened in the Book of Luke. His writings are so carefully researched that archaeologists trust him virtually without question in his accuracy, and have used his writings to locate lost Biblical sites. And to date he has never been proven wrong.
Note carefully his words as quoted below.
LUKE 1:1-4
1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,
2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,
3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,
4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
Note that Luke is careful to note to Theophilus to whom he is writing that he has attained perfect
understanding in all things concerning the life of Jesus, and has determined to write all things in
order.
LUKE 1:5-10
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
The priesthood had grown so great by the time of Jesus, that a priest might serve his Temple duty in his course only once in his life. Zacharias was thus serving his allotted priestly duty before the Lord.
Also Luke, by speaking of Herod the Great, sets the timing of the events of which he speaks.
LUKE 1:11-12
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
There had been no word or vision from the Lord since the closing prophecies of Malachi 400 years earlier. And no one else was supposed to be in the Holy Place (the court outside of the Holy of Holies, which the High Priest alone could enter, only once a year).
In light of this, it is easy to see why Zacharias was so surprised and fearful, as no one else should
have been there but he himself.
LUKE 1:13-17
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Zacharias must have been stunned! Here the angel was telling him he was going to have a son in his old age, a son who would be a Nazirite (NOT a Nazarene, as in someone from Nazareth, but one dedicated to the Lord who would neither drink wine, or cut his hair. (Numbers, chapter 6)
This son was also going to fulfill two of the last great prophecies of Malachi, in which he said;
MALACHI 4:4-6
4 “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to
their fathers, lest I come and strike the Earth with a curse.”
And;
MALACHI 3:1
1 “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
As those familiar with the Bible understand, these prophecies were fulfilled by John the Baptist.
John did indeed come in the spirit and power of Elijah, he just didn't come with the miracles that Elijah performed. Scripture never said that he would come with signs and wonders, neither did they say that he would be Elijah himself, resurrected.
That's why people of his time didn't recognize him as the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecies.
They were expecting a "miracle man". And if John had come performing miracles, there would have been a conflict among the Jews as to who was the Messiah, Jesus or John.
But just as Elijah tried to turn Israel back to the Lord during the time of Ahab and Jezebel, John did the same thing during his time on Earth, warning all who would listen that the Lord was coming.
Poor Zacharias. This would be enough to make a strong man skip a few heartbeats, let
alone an old man! His shock and confusion are understandable;
LUKE 1:18-25
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.
20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple.
22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.
23 So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house.
24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,
25 “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Back then, being barren was viewed as a punishment from God for sin in the life of a husband or wife. As such, a barren woman was looked down upon and scorned, for she was not raising sons for Israel.
However this is a wrong attitude, for God does things in His timing and for His reasons, and a woman being barren is not necessarily so because of sin.
Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel also suffered scorn because she was barren;
1 SAMUEL 1:1-7
1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.
4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.
5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb.
6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.
7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.
Elkanah's second wife badgered and mocked Hannah more than likely out of jealousy because Hannah was Elkanah’s primary wife and had no children. Those who know Scripture will remember that Abraham's wife Sarah suffered similar persecution from their servant Hagar.
But in the cases of Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth, God closed their wombs for a very
specific reason.
Zacharias’ wife Elizabeth remained in her house for five months after becoming pregnant, as at
her advanced age, pregnancy would be a taxing phenomenon. I also suspect that she wanted to
keep the fact hidden until John's birth, until she could show the surprise to everyone.
LUKE 1:26-28
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with
you; blessed are you among women!”
There has been much controversy concerning this fulfillment of Isaiah which states;
ISAIAH 7:13-14
13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
There has been much noise among some scholars concerning the term "virgin", with some saying that the Hebrew word for virgin used here, "'almah", merely means "a young girl, or young woman of marriageable age".
However, the term literally means "veiled" or "private" in relation to the young lady, and that just
as with our culture a virgin wears a veil to her wedding ceremony, this refers to the same thing in
this case.
Please hold that thought, and allow me to digress for a moment.
If Jesus had been born to a human father, the sin and curse we inherit from Adam would have been passed on to Him for as the apostle Paul states, sin passed to all men from Adam.
ROMANS 5:12-14
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
Remember also that God held Adam responsible for what happened in the Garden of Eden, and held him responsible for his wife's actions.
GENESIS 3:17-19
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it
you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
Adam's sin doomed all mankind as sinners, even though we weren't there when Adam sinned, nor did we sin in his likeness, not being born yet. Yet death takes us all because of that first sin and God's resulting curse on mankind. And as Paul said, sin passed onto all men because of Adam. (For more on this issue, please see the study concerning the Fall of Man in this Web site.)
Therefore Jesus, to be the sinless sacrifice required for God's justice concerning sin, had to be born outside of the "sin cycle" started by Adam, yet had to be born of flesh for sin can only attack the flesh. Remember, without flesh there is no lust, greed, envy, covetousness, etc. As such, He needed a human body for the sins of the world to be contained in when He went to the cross.
Jesus then, by having a virgin human mother (a ritually clean woman in accordance with the Law), but a non-human Father would fit the exact requirements for the perfect, sinless sacrifice that would remove sin from Man forever.
And by the same token, if He had been born of a woman who was not a virgin, especially if she was not married, He would have been illegitimate, and the Law was clear concerning illegitimate male children;
DEUTERONOMY 23:2
2 “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
If Jesus had been illegitimate, the Pharisees and Sadducees of His time would have certainly known about it, and would have immediately barred Him from entering the Temple. But nowhere in history or the Scriptures does it state that such a charge was ever leveled at Him.
I find it difficult to understand why scholars have such a hard time believing in the "virgin birth", when these same scholars will defend with all their might the fact that God created Adam from the dust of the ground!!!
Ok, back to the study.
LUKE 1:26-33
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His
name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Here Mary is given the honor of being the chosen vessel who would bring the promised Redeemer into the world, an honor hoped for by Jewish women down through history since the original prophecy of Isaiah concerning the event.
There had been no king of the line of David on the throne of Judah since the Babylonian captivity over 400 years earlier, and she was told that her Son would inherit the throne of king David, in fulfillment of God's promises to David 1,000 years earlier, when He had said;
2 SAMUEL 7:1-16
1 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around,
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.”
3 Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying,
5 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?
6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7 Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’
8 Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.
9 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.
10 Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously,
11 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.
12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne
shall be established forever.” ’ ”
Note that in verse 11, God tells David that He will "make you a house", meaning that David's lineage would become a dynasty, and that his descendants would rule over Israel. (Later, after the destruction of the rebel Northern Kingdom of Israel in 586 B.C. by the Assyrians, the line of David would rule over the tribes of Judah and Benjamin)
Some believe that verses 12-16 above refer to Solomon, but some sharp differences prove otherwise.
1. Solomon's kingdom wasn't established forever - 10 tribes of Israel rebelled against his son Rehoboam after Solomon's death in 930 B.C. and seceded as a punishment from God because of Solomon's sins of marrying multiple foreign wives in violation of the Law of Moses, and worshiping their pagan gods.
2. Solomon was never beaten with a rod for his sins, even though he was considered by God to be an evil king. As Scripture says of him;
1 KINGS 11:1-13
1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—
2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.
3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.
8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded.
11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
Therefore, these promises were meant for a future descendant who would be of David's lineage,
one who could establish the kingdom forever, namely Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
LUKE 1:34-38
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
This shows tremendous faith on Mary's part, believing what the angel had told her. Note that there is nothing described to show that she knew it was an angel that spoke to her. No shining light, no wings, no strange phenomena. Just someone who appeared to be a man who spoke to her.
I think the angel told her of Elizabeth's pregnancy to verify his words as God-given for Elizabeth had hidden herself for six months, and no one yet knew of her pregnancy.
I find it fascinating also, that he who would become John the Baptist was of the line of the priests, who would naturally be the heralds of the Lord, who would seek to turn the hearts of the people to the Lord, to prepare them for His coming.
It is now necessary to examine the account given in Matthew at this time to get a more complete view of the event of Jesus' birth.
MATTHEW 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His
name Jesus.
During the time of Jesus, when a woman was "espoused" (engaged) to a man, she was considered
to be a married woman, and was "off-limits" to any potential suitor. However, even though they
were considered to be married, the marriage was not consummated until after the actual wedding,
which date was determined by both sets of parents. Until that time, the young lady stayed at her
parent's house, and any visits between the engaged parties were closely supervised by either the
parents of the young lady, or trusted chaperones.
When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, he was probably horrified, and greatly distressed. The Law was clear that any woman caught in adultery (remember, engaged women were treated as if married) was to be stoned to death.
LEVITICUS 20:10
10 ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery
with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
According to the Law, Joseph couldn't marry her, but rather than see her stoned for her infidelity, he had compassion on her, and determined to divorce her secretly, sparing her life. He also probably had a hard time believing her story, for a virgin birth had never happened before.
This is interesting, because all Mary had to say was that she had been raped by a Roman soldier (not uncommon) and was pregnant as a result, and she would have been spared the death penalty. But she stuck to her story, signifying her faith in what she had seen.
However, God knowing the integrity of Joseph's heart, spoke to him, verifying what Mary had
said and telling him that his Son would be the promised Redeemer and Messiah.
Note carefully also, that Joseph married her, but didn't have intercourse with her until after Jesus was born, showing his faith, love, compassion and integrity of heart.
Some question the concept of the “virgin birth” saying that it is impossible for a female vertebrate to spontaneously give birth.
Actually it is possible.
In the animal kingdom females of a vertebrate species can and have given birth without male interaction. I read several years ago about a female shark who after several years of isolation in an aquarium tank gave birth in a process called “parthenogenesis” (Greek: ‘virgin creation’). Biologists reluctantly admit that it could happen in humans, but Mary is the only verified human in history to do so.
Interestingly enough in such births the fetus contains only the mother’s DNA. Therefore
any human mother today who claims a ‘virgin birth’ could easily be tested to verify her claim.
Ok, back to the book of Luke.
LUKE 2:1-5
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
Scholars had a problem with this for a long time.
First, there has been nothing found in surviving Roman annals concerning this tax although the famous contemporary Jewish historian Josephus verifies this tax in his writings, and agrees that Cyrenius was charged by Caesar to perform this duty.
Secondly, scholars had a hard time believing that people scattered across the Empire would need to return home to be registered and taxed.
Finally, there was no evidence that Cyrenius (some versions call him Quirinius) ruled Syria
during this time.
In 104 A.D. a Roman prefect (governor) of Egypt created a document which stated;
Gaius Vibius Maximus, prefect of Egypt:
Seeing that the time has come for the house to house census, it is necessary to compel all those who for any cause are residing out of their provinces to return to their own homes, that they may both carry out the regular order of the census, and may also attend diligently to the cultivation of their allotments.
A census is a count of people in an area; "cultivation of their allotments" is a flowery term for "pay their taxes".
It is well known that the Caesars heavily taxed the Empire, so I find it difficult to believe that scholars would have such a problem with the concept of a Empire-wide census and tax.
Note that Gaius Vibius Maximus stated that those living outside of the provinces were to be
compelled (forced) to return home to be counted and taxed.
Now for the problem with Quirinius.
Roman coins recovered in Syria have shown Quirinius to have been governor of Syria starting in 6 A.D. The book of Matthew states that Jesus was born during the days of Herod the Great, and it is known that Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., so that created quite a quandary for people to try to reconcile.
However, recently coins have been found with the name "Quirinius" dated 11 B.C. stating that he was the proconsul (governor) of Syria and Cilicia when Jesus was born. So again, the validity of Scripture and the careful devotion to detail and the truth by Luke are proven.
LUKE 2:6-7
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
This I think shows how God does things in ways that Man would not. If Man had written this story, the birth of the King of Kings would have been a glorious even, surrounded by miracles and fantastic phenomena. Yet God decreed that His Son, the Creator and Savior of the world, the King of Kings was to be born in a humble stable, and placed of all places in a cattle feeding trough!
LUKE 2:8-20
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they
had heard and seen, as it was told them.
Those poor shepherds! Can you imagine their shock and terror at what they saw?
Imagine you're out the fields, watching over your sheep. The sky is brilliant with stars, and the Fall air is becoming chilly, promising the soon coming of frost. Your thoughts wander sleepily as you stare at the night sky, and you idly think over preparations that need to be made for sheltering your flock during the coming winter.
Suddenly the sky lights up, and is filled with angels praising God, and the glory of God illuminates the Earth about you. You realize that you're not dreaming as you hear the frightened shouts of your companions indicating that they see it too.
Then you hear the stunning message for which Man had been waiting to hear for thousands of years, that the Messiah had been born, and you are told to go see Him and bear witness of His birth! What an honor, to be chosen by God to witness this great event!
And note that God didn't go to the priests, learned scholars, or the doctors of the Law to proclaim the message of the birth of His Son. He went to the poor and humble, those who would accept the message in reverent faith, those who depended on God daily for their food and shelter.
This also confirmed to Joseph the truth of the vision he'd had concerning the child that Mary bore.
LUKE 2:21-35
21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,
28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against
35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts
may be revealed.”
Again, God confirms the birth of His Son through Simeon, and ensured that this was spoken in the Temple where many would hear. The sword that he spoke of as piercing Mary's soul, was to be the spoken Word of God through the Holy Spirit, as the author of the Book of Hebrews confirms;
HEBREWS 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
LUKE 2:36-40
36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
39 So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of
God was upon Him.
This is a tremendous tribute to Anna, the prophetess, for Luke speaks with admiration of her, saying that she was 84 years old, and had been widowed after having a husband for only 7 years. Most women of that era married when they were about 14-15, so she was probably about 21-22 years old when she was widowed. She had spent the rest of the time in the Temple, devoted to the Lord and had not married again, but served the Lord with prayer and fasting and God had rewarded her with the gift of prophecy.
This was also done so that seeing she was well-known by the people as a prophetess, they would pay close heed to her words concerning the Child.
She was considered as blessed, as most people back then rarely lived to see 60 years of age.
Remember when I said that the "Nativity scenes" were incorrect? We will now go into the reasons why the typical scene is incorrect.
MATTHEW 2:1-3
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
The term "wise men" could better be termed "astrologers", for they were star-watchers who believed that positions of stars and planets foretold of great events.
Also Herod was paranoid concerning his rule, and constantly believed that others were plotting against him to take his throne. He had already killed several of his own sons and wives whom he suspected of seeking to overthrow him, and was so cruel that even Caesar Augustus said of him, "It is better to be Herod's pig, than his son." (He said this, knowing that the Jews avoided all contact with pigs.)
Herod also knew the people hated him because of his cruelty, his pandering to Rome and especially the fact that he wasn't a true Jew but was of the line of Idumea, (Roman for Edom) mongrel descendants of Jacob's brother Esau. Herod held the throne only by the permission of the reigning Caesar, whom he constantly flattered in order to maintain his throne.
So, the news of the birth of one destined to be the "King of the Jews" disturbed him greatly, and fanned his fears of a forcible takeover of his throne. I also suspect that Herod was a highly superstitious man, and the arrival of astrologers predicting that the stars foretold the birth of a king would play heavily on those superstitions.
MATTHEW 2:4-8
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child,
and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
It is interesting to note that Scripture was very careful to prophesy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem in Judah (Judea), as when the prophecy was made there were two cities of Bethlehem, one in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and one in Judah. King David was born in the southern city of Bethlehem in Judah (Bethlehem Ephratha), and it was from the lineage of David that the Messiah would come.
Apparently even Herod the Great was aware of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, for he demanded of the priests and scribes as to where the prophesied King was to be born. He also inquired from the astrologers when the star appeared, so he could know the age of the Child he was seeking.
Then he veiled his true intentions by telling the wise men that he wished to worship the
Child also. The astrologers had no clue to anything different, so they went their way with
all intentions of finding the child, then reporting back to Herod that he might worship him
also.
MATTHEW 2:9-10
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
There has been much controversy concerning the "Star of Bethlehem". Scholars point out that the Chinese, who were excellent astronomers and who kept meticulous records of their observations, didn't record any unusual celestial phenomenon during the time of Jesus' birth.
Actually this would fit with the descriptions given by Scripture, for to astrologers like the "wise men", it is the position of the stars and planets with relation to each other and their position in the Zodiac that are significant. And being expert astronomers, they could predict the position of a particular star or planet with reasonable accuracy several years in advance.
Therefore when Scripture speaks of a "star", it may very well have been a particular star of no special brightness, or even one of the known planets, but in either case it was in a position of significance according to their calculations and astrological charts.
So, what was the "Star of Bethlehem"? To this day, astronomers and astrophysicists have
no firm idea. However, we do have a possible candidate.
In March and September of 7 B.C., a celestial phenomenon occurred in which the planets Mars and Jupiter were in close enough conjunction so as to appear as a single bright star. And it is interesting that John the Baptist, Jesus physical cousin, was born 6 months before He was. Hold that thought for a few moments.
MATTHEW 2:11-18
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,
15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.
A lot of important points in these verses!
First, the above verses help establish the time frame of Jesus' birth. We know that Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., therefore Jesus was born at least two years before Herod's death.
The "Nativity scenes" always show three "wise men", because three gifts are offered to Jesus. However, during that time, robbers frequented the roads and merchants usually banded together and traveled in heavily-armed caravans just for that reason.
So how many actual "wise men" were there? We have no idea, but it was probably more than three, considering the value of the gifts they brought.
The gifts were of themselves significant, for they brought gold, signifying that the recipient
was considered royalty; frankincense was used as an expensive incense, signifying that the
recipient was considered deity; and myrrh was a fragrant spice used in the burial of the
dead signifying His future atoning death for the sins of the world.
Note carefully that the wise men came to the house where Jesus was staying, not the stable where He was born!
Also king Herod had the infants in Bethlehem and the surrounding suburbs who were two years old and under killed in his effort to destroy Jesus, as determined by when the "star" appeared. This indicates that Jesus was born at least two years earlier putting His birth sometime in 7 B.C. (Remember, Herod the Great died in 4 B.C.)
The fact that Luke reports that the shepherds still had their flocks in the field when Jesus was born shows that winter had not yet set in. Taking into account the two celestial conjunctions in March and September, this evidence points to Jesus being born in sometime in September of 7 B.C.
So now you see why the "Nativity scenes" are so inaccurate. They show three "wise men" bowing before the newborn Jesus, lying in the manger in the stable, with the "star of Bethlehem" overhead.
Yet Scripture clearly indicates that the "wise men" arrived two years after Jesus was born, and that they arrived at the house where he was staying. Scripture also verifies that He was at least two years old when they arrived.
So where did the erroneous concept of the "Nativity scene" come from? It appears to have come from the Hollywood fiction production of "Ben Hur", which has all of the characters and time frame displayed by the "Nativity scene".
On what date was Jesus born?
We aren't certain, but it is interesting that Yom Kippur, the great Day of Atonement in which the Jews confess their sins as a nation, and the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies to atone for the sins of the nation occurs in September.
(Yom Kippur occurs during the 10th day of the Hebrew calendar month Tishrei which falls between mid September and mid October of present day calendars.)
And it would be fitting that God would have His Son be born on the Day of Atonement, seeing as how Jesus, 33 years later would become the only acceptable atonement before God for the sins of the world.
So why does the world celebrate Jesus' birth on December 25th?
Actually this is a date set by the Roman Catholic Church in the latter part of the 4th century A.D. and coincides with an old pagan Greek and Roman festival celebrating the return of the sun from the Winter solstice (called the Nativity of the Sun). (Many other ancient cultures had similar celebrations)
Pagan belief was that the sun god (called "Sol") traveled South to "die" each winter, and through sacrifices and prayers was "reborn" at which time it returned northward to bring light and heat again. It was a time of great celebration, feasts and the exchanging of presents to celebrate the sun god's "birth/rebirth".
It is generally believed that the Catholic Church created the Christmas holiday to bring pagans into the Church, yet still allow them to keep their pagan holiday.
In fact, concerning the "Christmas" date, the Catholic Encyclopedia says, "The well-known feast of "Natalis Invicti" celebrated on 25 December, has a strong claim on the responsibility for our December date". (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p.727) (Natalis Invicti means "the Nativity of the Unconquered Sun").
Apparently there was much confusion among the pagan "Christians" concerning this holiday, as early scholars such as Tertullian and Augustine vehemently asserted to their constituents that Jesus was not Sol, the "sun god".
So is it coincidence that the birth date set by the Roman Catholic Church for the "Nativity" of Jesus, and the ancient Greco/Roman "Nativity" of the sun god Sol are the same? The fact that both were "born" during this time, both bringing light and life to the world? Hardly.
The year that Jesus was born is significant for several reasons.
When Jesus was born, there had been no word from the Lord for 400 years after the last great prophecies of Malachi. However, Malachi stated that several events would happen when the Messiah came.
MALACHI 3:1
1 “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
Several points of interest here.
First, a messenger would come, proclaiming the coming of the promised Messiah. That's
why John the Baptist caused so much excitement among the Jews when he appeared
proclaiming the coming of the promised Redeemer. They were well aware of Malachi's
prophecy and knew that when the messenger appeared, the Messiah would follow soon
after.
Secondly, He would suddenly appear at His Temple.
The Jewish people have a tradition that the Messiah will appear at the end of time and will build the Third Temple. (Solomon built the First Temple, Zerubabbel built the Second Temple (Herod the Great expanded and modified the Second Temple, so it is still considered the Second Temple).
This also means that Jesus appeared at the Temple as prophesied before it was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman Tenth and Thirteenth Legions, and there has been no Temple since then. And if the Messiah is to build the Third Temple as tradition states, how can He build it, yet suddenly appear at it as Malachi prophesied?
Therefore the Messiah had to appear at the Temple before it's destruction in 70 A.D. to fulfill Malachi's prophecy.
Next, the prophet Daniel had been told that from the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem after it's destruction by the Babylonians, to the coming of the Messiah would be 483 years.
Note carefully that the prophetic time frame was based from the command to rebuild the
city, not the Temple!
DANIEL 9:21-26
21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
24 “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
25 “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
This set a solid time frame in which the Messiah needed to appear, and Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, hailed as the Messiah, exactly 483 years later, just as prophesied. (For those interested in Daniel's prophecies concerning this event and the 70 "weeks", please see the End Times Part 3 devoted to the fulfillment of this prophecy.)
Finally, just as the Jews had spent 430 years in Egypt without word from the Lord until
Moses arrived, Malachi made his last prophecy 400 years before Jesus' birth, so that when
He began His ministry at the age of 30, again the word of the Lord came to the Jews after
430 years of silence.
Ok, back to the rest of the study!
MATTHEW 2:19-23
19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”
21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
With the death of Herod the Great, Augustus Caesar in order to bring the Jews into greater subjection to Rome, split Israel/Judea into four parts which would be ruled by Herod's surviving sons, namely Judea, ruled by Herod's son Archelaus; Galilee (former territory of the ancient Northern Kingdom of Israel) ruled by Herod Antipas; Trachonitis, ruled by Herod Philip; and Abilene, ruled by Herod Lysanius. (The locations of Trachonitis and Abilene are uncertain).
However, like his father, Archelaus was a cruel ruler, and killed so many Jews during the 10 years of his reign, that Caesar banished him to Gaul (present-day France), and ruled Judea directly through Roman governors (procurators) until the destruction of Judea by Roman legions in 70 A.D.
Being warned by God concerning Archaelaus, Joseph took his family to Galilee, ruled by
Archelaus' brother Herod Antipas. (This would be the same Herod Antipas that executed John
the Baptist, and who would mock Jesus at His trial, and would send Him back to Pontius Pilate
for the sentence of crucifixion).
For a long time scholars and Bible experts have criticized Matthew’s comment in verse 23 as there is no prophecy that says the Messiah would be a Nazarene. But several things need to be made clear;
1. Matthew said this prophecy was spoken (not written) by the prophets.
2. This is a play on words as the Hebrew word ‘Netzar’ means ‘Branch’; the name ‘Nazareth’ comes from the Hebrew ‘Netzaret’. People from Netzaret could be called ‘Netzarim’, linguistically related to ‘Nazarene’. Thus ‘Nazarene’ would indicate someone from Nazareth (Netzaret’)
This would fulfill a prophecy by Isaiah which said;
ISAIAH 11:1-2
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Conclusion
We have seen that the typical Nativity scenes that proliferate during the Christmas season are actually inaccurate in their portrayal of Jesus' birth. We have also seen that "Christmas" was originally a pagan Roman holiday celebrating the birth / rebirth of the sun god Sol but was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church as a way to bring pagans into the Church.
Strong evidence indicates that Jesus was actually born in September of 7 B.C., at least two years before the death of Herod the Great, and that He was at least two years old and living in a house when visited by the "wise men".
There were two conjunctions of Mars and Jupiter, one in March of 7 B.C. the other in September of 7 B.C. which could have been the famed "Star of Bethlehem". John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, was born six months before He was.
An interesting fact that most people aren’t aware of is that when Jesus was born, the constellation of Cygnus the Swan, also called “the Northern Cross” was standing upright in the western sky. So while the symbol of His birth sparkled overhead, in the west brooded the symbol of His death.
The timing of the birth of Jesus was critical, for He began His ministry exactly 430 years
from the last prophecy of Malachi, and He entered Jerusalem and was hailed as Messiah
exactly 483 years from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity as
prophesied by Daniel.
Now, the question arises: should we celebrate Christmas?
This is a choice that you must make. As long as we use the holiday to honor God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ there is nothing conceivably wrong with this, and I believe that such celebration would be acceptable to God.
But seek God's counsel concerning this when making your decision.
And if you choose not to celebrate Christmas because of it's pagan origins, that is also acceptable to the Lord, as He has not commanded that such a holiday be celebrated.
As the apostle Paul says;
ROMANS 14:5-6
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.
Some may decide to still celebrate Christmas, while others may consider it a stumbling block in their walk with the Lord.
But above all, as Paul says, let each of you be fully persuaded in your own mind in the matter, and be at peace with the Lord concerning your decision.
Questions? Comments? E-mail: watchmen_777@yahoo.com