While much of the world
celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December, can
the actual day of Jesus' birth be determined from scripture? This
question will be explored in some detail, and will yield a result
that is quite intriguing. The first passage we will consider begins
with the father of John the Baptist, Zacharias:
Luke 1:5 There was in
the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named
Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
Luke 1:8 And it came to
pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in
the order of his course, ...
Luke 1:23 And it came to
pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were
accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, ...
The clue given to us here is
that Zacharias was of the "course" of Abia.
The 24 Courses of the Temple
Priesthood.
7. But David, being
desirous of ordaining his son king of all the people, called
together their rulers to Jerusalem, with the priests and the
Levites; and having first numbered the Levites, he found them to
be thirty-eight thousand, from thirty years old to fifty; out of
which he appointed twenty-three thousand to take care of the
building of the temple, and out of the same, six thousand to be
judges of the people and scribes, four thousand for porters to
the house of God, and as many for singers, to sing to the
instruments which David had prepared, as we have said already.
He divided them also into courses: and when he had separated the
priests from them, he found of these priests twenty-four
courses, sixteen of the house of Eleazar, and eight of that of
Ithamar; and he ordained that one course should minister to God
eight days, from sabbath to sabbath. And thus were the courses
distributed by lot, in the presence of David, and Zadok and
Abiathar the high priests, and of all the rulers; and that
course which came up first was written down as the first, and
accordingly the second, and so on to the twenty-fourth; and this
partition hath remained to this day. —
Josephus,
Antiquities of the Jews,
Book 7, Chapter 14, Paragraph 7.
King David on God's
instructions (1
Chr 28:11-13)
had divided the sons of Aaron into 24 groups
(1 Chr 24:1-4),
to setup a schedule by which the Temple of the Lord could be staffed
with priests all year round in an orderly manner. After the 24
groups of priests were established, lots were drawn to determine the
sequence in which each group would serve in the Temple.
(1 Chr 24: 7-19).
That sequence is as follows:
|
1 Chr 24:7 |
1. Jehoiarib |
2. Jedaiah |
|
1 Chr 24:8 |
3. Harim |
4. Seorim |
|
1 Chr 24:9 |
5. Malchijah |
6. Mijamin |
|
1 Chr 24:10 |
7. Hakkoz |
8. Abijah |
|
1 Chr 24:11 |
9. Jeshuah |
10. Shecaniah |
|
1 Chr 24:12 |
11. Eliashib |
12. Jakim |
|
1 Chr 24:13 |
13. Huppah |
14. Jeshebeab |
|
1 Chr 24:14 |
15. Bilgah |
16. Immer |
|
1 Chr 24:15 |
17. Hezir |
18. Aphses |
|
1 Chr 24:16 |
19. Pethahiah |
20. Jehezekel |
|
1 Chr 24:17 |
21. Jachim |
22. Gamul |
|
1 Chr 24:18 |
23. Delaiah |
24. Maaziah |
1 Chr 24:19 These were
the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of
the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father,
as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.
Now each one of the 24
"courses" of priests would begin and end their service in the Temple
on the Sabbath, a tour of duty being for one week
(2 Chr 23:8, 1 Chr 9:25).
On three occasions during the year, all the men of Israel were
required to travel to Jerusalem for festivals of the Lord, so on
those occasions all the priests would be needed in the Temple to
accommodate the crowds. Those three festivals were Unleavened Bread,
Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Deut 16:16).
The Yearly Cycle of Service
in the Temple.
The Jewish calendar begins
in the spring, during the month of Nisan, so the first "course" of
priests, would be that of the family of Jehoiarib, who would serve
for one week, Sabbath to Sabbath. The second week would then be the
responsibility of the family of Jedaiah. The third week would be the
feast of Unleavened Bread, and all priests would be present for
service. Then the schedule would resume with the third course of
priests, the family of Harim. By this plan, when the 24th course was
completed, the general cycle of courses would repeat. This schedule
would cover 51 weeks or 357 days, enough for the lunar Jewish
calendar (about 354 days). So, in a period of a year, each group of
priests would serve in the Temple twice on their scheduled course,
in addition to the 3 major festivals, for a total of about five
weeks of duty.
The Conception of John the
Baptist.
Now back to Zacharias, the
father of John the Baptist.
Luke 1:23 And it came to
pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were
accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, ...
Beginning with the first month, Nisan, in the spring
(March-April), the schedule of the priest's courses would result
with Zacharias serving during the 10th week of the year. This is
because he was a member of the course of Abia (Abijah), the 8th
course, and both the Feast of Unleavened Bread
(15-21
Nisan)
and Pentecost (6 Sivan) would have occurred before his scheduled
duty. This places Zacharias' administration in the Temple as
beginning on the second Sabbath of the third month, Sivan
(May-June).
|
|
1st Month |
2nd Month |
3rd Month |
Abib - Nisan
(March - April) |
Zif - Iyyar
(April - May) |
Sivan
(May - June) |
First
Week |
Jehoiarib (1) |
Seorim (4) |
All Priests
(Pentecost) |
Second
Week |
Jedaiah (2) |
Malchijah (5) |
Abijah (8) |
Third
Week |
All Priests
(Feast of Unleavened
Bread) |
Mijamin (6) |
Jeshuah (9) |
Fourth
Week |
Harim (3) |
Hakkoz (7) |
Shecaniah (10) |
Having completed his Temple service on the third
Sabbath of Sivan, Zacharias returned home and soon conceived his son
John. So John the Baptist was probably conceived shortly after the
third Sabbath of the month of Sivan.
The Conception of Jesus
Christ.
Now the reason that the information
about John is important, is because according to Luke, Jesus was
conceived by the Holy Spirit in the sixth month of Elisabeth's
pregnancy:
Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife
Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Luke 1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein
he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from
God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
Note that verse 26 above refers to the sixth month
of Elisabeth's pregnancy, not Elul, the sixth month of the Hebrew
calendar, and this is made plain by the context of verse 24 and
again in verse 36:
Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth,
she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the
sixth month with her, who was called barren.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for the last 3 months
of her pregnancy, until the time that John was born.
Luke 1:56 And Mary abode with her about three
months, and returned to her own house.
Luke 1:57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be
delivered; and she brought forth a son.
Now working from the information about John's
conception late in the third month, Sivan, and advancing six months,
we arrive late in the 9th month of Kislev (Nov-Dec) for the time
frame for the conception of Jesus. It is notable here that
the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, the Festival of
Lights, is celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev, and Jesus is called
the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46). This
does not appear to be a mere coincidence. In the book of John,
Hanukkah is called the feast of dedication (John 10:22).
Hanukkah is an eight day festival of rejoicing, celebrating
deliverance from enemies by the relighting of the menorah in the
rededicated Temple, which according to the story, stayed lit
miraculously for eight days on only one day's supply of oil.
The Birth of John the
Baptist.
Based on a conception shortly after
the third Sabbath of the month of Sivan, projecting forward an
average term of about 10 lunar months (40 weeks), we arrive in the
month of Nisan. It would appear that John the Baptist may have been
born in the middle of the month, which would coincide with Passover
and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is interesting to note, that
even today, it is customary for the Jews to set out a special goblet
of wine during the Passover Seder meal, in anticipation of the
arrival of Elijah that week, which is based on the prophecy of
Malachi:
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
LORD:
Jesus identified John as the "Elijah" that the
Jews had expected:
Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying,
Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly
shall first come, and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and
they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they
listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them
of John the Baptist.
The angel that appeared to Zacharias in the temple
also indicated that John would be the expected "Elias":
Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the
spirit and power of Elias, 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.
So then, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on
the 15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, and this is a likely date for
the birth of John the Baptist, the expected "Elijah".
The Birth of Jesus
Christ.
Since Jesus was conceived six months
after John the Baptist, and we have established a likely date for
John's birth, we need only move six months farther down the Jewish
calendar to arrive at a likely date for the birth of Jesus. From the
15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, we go to the 15th day of the 7th
month, Tishri. And what do we find on that date? It is the festival
of Tabernacles! The 15th day of Tishri begins the third and last
festival of the year to which all the men of Israel were to gather
in Jerusalem for Temple services. (Lev 23:34)
Immanuel.
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give
you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel.
Immanuel means "God with us". The Son of God had
come to dwell with, or tabernacle on earth with His people.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), occurs five
days after the Day of Atonement, and is a festival of rejoicing and
celebration of deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Leviticus
23:42-43).
Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn
son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a
manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in
the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the
glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore
afraid.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I
bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people.
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Why was there no room at the inn? Bethlehem is
only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, and all the men of Israel had
come to attend the festival of Tabernacles as required by the law of
Moses. Every room for miles around Jerusalem would have been already
taken by pilgrims, so all that Mary and Joseph could find for
shelter was a stable. During Tabernacles, everyone was to live in
temporary booths (Sukkot), as a memorial to Israel's pilgrimage out
of Egypt - Lev. 23:42-43. The birth of the Savior, in what amounted
to a temporary dwelling rather than a house, signaled the coming
deliverance of God's people from slavery to sin, and their departing
for the promised land, which is symbolized by Tabernacles.
Also of note is the fact that the Feast of
Tabernacles is an eight day feast (Lev 23:36, 39). Why
eight days? It may be because an infant was dedicated to God by
performing circumcision on the eighth day after birth:
Luke 2:21 And when eight days were
accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was
called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was
conceived in the womb.
So the infant Jesus would have been circumcised on
the eighth and last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a Sabbath day.
The Jews today consider this a separate festival from Tabernacles,
and they call it Shemini Atzeret.
The Baptism of Jesus
There is another indication in scripture as to
when Jesus was born.
Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in
prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the
kingdom of God,
Mark 1:15 And saying, The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye,
and believe the gospel.
Jesus said this after His baptism, upon emerging
from 40 days in the wilderness, when He began His preaching
ministry. The book of Daniel gives us the "time" or prophesy Jesus
was speaking about.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that
from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and
threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and
the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut
off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that
shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end
thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war
desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to cease, ...
The
70th week of Daniel, a period of 7 literal years, began with
"Messiah the Prince". Messiah means anointed, and Jesus was
publically anointed by the Holy Spirit at His baptism. Daniel
9:26-27 tells us that the Messiah would be "cut off" (crucified) in
the "midst of the week", which is to say the Messiah would be
crucified 3 1/2 years after His baptism.
It is very
likely that by understanding this prophecy the wise men knew when to
look for the Christ child.
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a
bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven,
which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of
age, ...
Luke hints that at His baptism Jesus became about
thirty, so it was likely that His birthday coincided, more or less,
with His baptism. This agrees with the time of Tabernacles, and 3
years and 6 months later at Passover, Jesus was crucified exactly
and precisely as Daniel had prophesied.
Conclusion
So, if you have followed the above reasoning,
based on the scriptural evidence, a case can apparently be made that
Jesus Christ was born on the 15th day of the month of Tishri, on the
first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which corresponds to the
September - October timeframe of our present calendar!
