Jesus Christ was born about 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, Judea in southern Israel, during the kingship of Herod the Great. At that time, the area was part of the Roman Empire under Emperor Augustus (previously Octavian) Caesar, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, who eventually succeeded him. These are the facts.
The gospels do not specifically spell out the date of His birth, as it contributes nothing to His story. But it is part of our human nature to be curious about such things. This date is now written as the year of our Lord, (Latin, anno Domini), AD 00, using the Gregorian calendar. But the Gregorian calendar was not introduced until A.D.1582 and has discrepancies with previously used calendars.
Additionally, using this calendar, Herod’s death, which is well attested in Roman records, is given as 4 B.C. (before Christ) which can hardly be accurate. Herod was very much alive when Christ was born, and lived for some time afterwards, according to both the Gospels and Roman sources. He was the one who ordered the killing of all male children under the age of two around Bethlehem in order to get rid of the Christ child whom he considered a rival king. From this incident alone, (and there are others to consider), the latest date for His birth would therefore be about 6 B.C, using the same calendar.
After His birth, magi, ‘wise men from the East’ came to see Him, having seen His star in the sky while in their home country. They gave him three gifts from their treasures: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We are not told their names or number. But probably from these three gifts has arisen the legend that there were three of them. In some circles they are even given names whose origins are unknown. They are named as Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar, and are assigned roles, namely:
• Melchior, King of Arabia: often depicted with long white hair with white beard; and wearing a gold cloak. Supposed to have brought the Gold.
• Gaspar (or Caspar): King of Sheba and often shown with brown hair and corresponding brown beard; also shown in green cloak, with a gold crown bearing green jewels. Supposedly brought the Frankincense.
• Balthazar: King of Egypt with black skin and beard; often pictured wearing a purple cloak. Allegedly brought the Myrrh.
Similar to this is the legend of Father Christmas (UK and Europe) and Santa Claus (USA origin), two originally different characters that have now merged to become one. He is often depicted as coming from the North Pole in freezing weather and riding in a sleigh drawn by reindeer and carrying gifts for children! He puts these in stockings after coming down chimneys while everyone is asleep. If the gifts supposedly distributed by Santa Claus or Father Christmas are reminiscent of the visit of the magi, then he should come from east of Palestine, not from the North Pole!
There are obvious commercial interests involved in building up this legend, the promotion of which has now become a veritable industry year by year. Interestingly, the legend is more prominent in the wealthy countries of the Northern Hemisphere. Not all countries have snow, and chimneys. December time is summer in the southern hemisphere but the incongruity of polar reindeer driving through the snow during summer in countries like Australia and New Zealand or most of South America does not faze the merchants.
We celebrate Christ’s birth as Christmas in December although He was probably born in a warmer season. We know this because the Gospel stories speak of shepherds as watching their flocks in an open field. It was to them that the announcement of the birth was first made by angels. Sheep are not kept out in open fields in wintertime. This time (December 25) was chosen for its celebration by the church to coincide with, and replace, the earlier very popular Roman pagan festivals of Saturnalia (December 17) and Dies Natalis or Sol Invictus, the ‘Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun’ (December 25).
Nothing much in this, of course. Celebrations are organised at convenient times, not necessarily on the exact dates of the events being celebrated. Birthdays are no exception and are often celebrated outside of their chronological periods, much like the late Queen’s birthday (21 April 1926) which is usually celebrated on a Saturday in June in the UK, and on variable dates in other Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia.
Considering the seasons of the major events in Christ’s life, it is more likely that His crucifixion and Resurrection, which are celebrated as Good Friday and Easter respectively, took place in winter. This is because the Gospels speak about the cold weather, with people warming themselves by an open fire in the High Priest’s courtyard, when He was brought there at night for trial. Thus, the timing of the two main annual Christian festivals is more for convenience than fact.
But does it matter?
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As we anticipate this year’s Christmas, I have been thinking about that earth-moving event of over 2000 years ago – the coming of Christ into the world as a helpless baby. Most people are familiar with His miracles – like turning water into wine, walking on the water, calming a stormy lake, raising Lazarus from the dead, or even His own resurrection. But there is another side to the miracles associated with Him.
Christmas and its associated stories are very much in the air. If, like me, you sometimes allow your mind to wander, you could ask yourself ‘What reasonable man in his right senses would take his nearly full-term pregnant wife on an arduous trek over about 100 miles?’
I had a conversation about this with a female colleague in the office some time ago.
“One of the miracles around Jesus Christ is the story of his birth.”
“You mean about his mother being a virgin?”
“No,” I said, “although that was a miracle in its own right”.
She turned her swivel chair around.
“What do you mean?” Her face screamed curiosity.
“I mean the place of his birth.”
“Explain.”
“How many men do you think would voluntarily take their pregnant wives on a 100-mile trek through hill country in the last weeks of pregnancy?”
“I guess none; no man in his right mind would do that. Unless they’re plainly evil or were being downright mischievous.”
“That’s what Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ did. He took his wife Mary probably riding on a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, just before Jesus was born.”
“Why did he do that? I never heard of that story.”
“Well, many people who know the story don’t give it much thought. The distance is roughly 70 miles as the crow flies, but they would not have taken the direct route.”
“Why not?”
“They would have avoided Samaritan territory which was in between. Jews did not associate with Samaritans and even avoided having to pass through their territory”.
“Why did he do it; I mean why the arduous journey in late pregnancy?”
“Well, he was being a good citizen, obeying the law. At that time, Palestine was a Roman colony, and the Emperor Augustus had just passed a decree for a population census for taxation purposes. This required everyone to return to his native city to be counted. That was why Joseph made that journey. He did not just decide to do it by himself; he was compelled.”
“Human rights were obviously not a big issue for the Romans!”
“One may say that; after all they had their slaves, and the populace was divided between the plebeians, and the patricians or aristocrats.”
“Interesting!”
“But that is not really the miracle. The miracle is that that birth was prophesied to take place in Bethlehem more than 500 years before it took place. It required a decree of the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar to make a prophecy made over 500 years before to come true. And it did under the most unusual of circumstances. That is the miracle. God knows the future and can foretell it accurately.”
There were other predictions or prophecies that were also fulfilled at His birth. The fact of His mother being a virgin – or unmarried woman was prophesied by the Prophet Isaiah even before the prophecy of the place of birth. And there was that other prophecy of what King Herod – a Roman appointed king – would do, again hundreds of years before the actual event. As was the case with many prophecies, this one was cryptic and made no sense to the people who heard it, until it was fulfilled. Rachel, the favourite wife of Jacob was described as weeping in Ramah (a town in Israel) for her children and being inconsolable because “they were no more”.
King Herod felt his position threatened when the Magi – ‘wise men from the east’ came to pay homage to the newborn Christ whose star they said they had seen in the sky. Their description of Him as ‘King of the Jews’ made him very uncomfortable. And when they did not return to tell him the new King’s exact location as he had requested, he ordered all the male children under the age of two in the vicinity killed in an effort to get rid of his perceived new-born rival. It is thought that he chose two years because he calculated that this was the time it would have taken the magi after sighting the star at their home in ‘the east’, (whose exact location is unknown), to arrive Jerusalem and go back again. This is what is today remembered in the church as the Massacre of the Innocents, on Innocent Day (December 28).
Statisticians compute that the possibility of these three prophecies (among others) separated in time and place, all coming to fulfilment at the same time and place by chance as being very, very, rare indeed (less than one in a million).
My colleague was deep in thought at the end of our little chat.
May others like her who have not given the most significant event in human history much thought ponder it and take some time to investigate this aspect of our story.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
