BARNEY BRIGHT
Well-Known Member
The Bible does not give the date of Jesus’ birth, nor does it say that we should celebrate his birthday. As McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia states: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of New Testament origin.” The Bible itself doesn't tell us on what day or even in what month Jesus was born, but it does tell us something about the time of year. Luke wrote that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, “shepherds were living out of doors,” caring for their flocks. (Luke 2:8-11) In the month of December, Bethlehem is cold, rainy, and snowy, so shepherds would not have been staying outside with their flocks at night.
Shortly before Jesus was born, Caesar Augustus issued a decree ordering “all the inhabited earth to be registered.” Everyone had to register in “his own city,” which might have required a journey of a week or more. (Luke 2:1-3) That order—probably made to support taxation and military conscription—would have been unpopular at any time of year, but it is unlikely that Augustus would have provoked his subjects further by forcing many of them to make long trips during the cold winter.
What do we learn from this? That Jesus was born when the weather was mild, not in December. We can estimate when Jesus was born by counting backward from his death on Passover, Nisan 14 in the spring of the year 33 C.E. (John 19:14-16) Both the Bible and historical evidence indicate that he was born sometime during the months we now know as September and October.
Shortly before Jesus was born, Caesar Augustus issued a decree ordering “all the inhabited earth to be registered.” Everyone had to register in “his own city,” which might have required a journey of a week or more. (Luke 2:1-3) That order—probably made to support taxation and military conscription—would have been unpopular at any time of year, but it is unlikely that Augustus would have provoked his subjects further by forcing many of them to make long trips during the cold winter.
What do we learn from this? That Jesus was born when the weather was mild, not in December. We can estimate when Jesus was born by counting backward from his death on Passover, Nisan 14 in the spring of the year 33 C.E. (John 19:14-16) Both the Bible and historical evidence indicate that he was born sometime during the months we now know as September and October.