Was Jesus Born on

December 25?
Evangelist Miller

 Was Jesus born on December 25? There is no evidence for

this date. So then, who decided that Jesus' birth would be
celebrated on that date? The early Christian church did not
celebrate Jesus' birth. It wasn't until A.D. 440 that the church
officially proclaimed December 25 as the birth of Christ. This
was not based on any religious evidence but on a pagan feast.
Saturnalia was a tradition inherited by the Roman pagans from
an earlier Babylonian priesthood. December 25 was used as a
celebration of the birthday of the sun god. It was observed near
the winter solstice.
The apostles in the Bible predicted that some Christians would
adopt pagan beliefs to enable them to make their religion more
palatable to the pagans around them. Therefore, some
scholars think the church chose the date of this pagan
celebration to interest them in Christianity. The pagans were
already used to celebrating on this date.

The Bible itself tells us that December 25 is an unlikely date for His birth.
Palestine-Israel is very cold in December. It was much too cold to ask
everyone to travel to the city of their fathers to register for taxes. Also the
shepherds were in the fields (Luke 2:8-12). Shepherds were not in the fields
in the winter time. They are in the fields early in March until early October.
This would place Jesus' birth in the spring or early fall. It is also known that
Jesus lived for 33.5 years and died at the feast of the Passover, which is at
Easter time. He must therefore have been born six months the other side of
Easter - making the date around the September/October time frames.

Other evidence that December 25 is the wrong date for the birth of Jesus
comes from early writings. Iranaeus, born about a century after Jesus, notes
that Jesus was born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus. Since
Augustus began his reign in the autumn of 43 B.C., this appears to
substantiate the birth of Jesus as the autumn of 2 B.C. Eusebius (A.D. 264340), the "Father of Church History," ascribes it to the 42nd year of the reign
of Augustus and the 28th from the subjection of Egypt on the death of
Anthony and Cleopatra. The 42nd year of Augustus ran from the autumn of
2 B.C. to the autumn of 1 B.C. The subjugation of Egypt into the Roman
Empire occurred in the autumn of 30 B.C. The 28th year extended from the
autumn of 3 B.C. to the autumn of 2 B.C. The only date that would meet
both of these constraints would be the autumn of 2 B.C.

John the Baptist also helps us determine that December 25 is not the birth
of Jesus. Elizabeth, John's mother, was a cousin of Mary. John began his
ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. The minimum age for the
ministry was 30. As Augustus died on August 19, A.D. 14, that was the
accession year for Tiberius. If John was born on April 19-20, 2 B.C., his
30th birthday would have been April 19-20, A.D. 29, or the 15th year of
Tiberius. This seems to confirm the 2 B.C. date, and, since John was 5
months older, this also confirms an autumn birth date for Jesus.

Another interesting fact comes from Elizabeth herself. She hid herself for 5
months and then the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary both Elizabeth's
condition and that Mary would also bear a son who would be called Jesus.
Mary went "with haste" to visit Elizabeth, who was then in the first week of
her 6th month, or the 4th week of Dec., 3 B.C. If Jesus was born 280 days
later it would place his birth on Sept. 29, 2 B.C. Some scholars interpret the
6 months to be in line with the Hebrew calendar or the August-September
time frame. Since Mary's pregnancy commenced a little before the sixth
month around July, Jesus would be born somewhere around March-June.
But does it matter if Jesus was born on the spring, the fall, or on December
25? Does it matter, theologically, when Jesus was born? What do you think,
does it matter what day we celebrate His birth?

The Conclusion

We have all sinned and deserve God's judgment. God, the

Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those
who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of
God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died
for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was
buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you
truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus
alone as your Savior, declaring, "Jesus is Lord," you will be
saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.

So you know what that tells me We shouldn't let Celebrate

Jesus Christ just one day we should always celebrate Jesus
7 days a week, 31 days in a month and 12 months a year,
we should always celebrate Jesus Christ because He Brings:

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