Jesus Was Not Born in Winter
"Christmas" festivities are not just "pre-Christian"dating to
pagan worship of the sun godthey in fact have no connection to the
date of birth of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ. How do we know
this? While the Bible does not explicitly tell us the exact day of
Jesus birth, it gives us clear evidence of the approximate time.
From Scripture, it becomes obvious that winter is the one season in
which Jesus could not have been born.
Luke tells us that on the night of Jesus birth, the shepherds were
still keeping watch over their flocks in the field (Luke 2:8 ). In
ancient Israel, the rainy season began after the Feast of
Tabernacles (which generally occurs in early October). By November,
when the weather was turning cool and wet, the shepherds had
already brought their flocks in from pasture and were keeping them
in winter quarters. Shepherds were no longer spending the nights in
the fields with the sheep, as they had done from the beginning of
spring through the early fall season.
Another vital piece of evidence is overlooked by most. From Luke
1:3536 we learn that John the Baptist, born to Marys cousin
Elizabeth, was approximately six months older than Jesus. We are
told that Johns father, Zacharias, was an elderly priest
officiating in the temple, burning incense on the altar when an
angel appeared to tell him that he and his wife would have a son
who would prepare the way for the Messiah (vv. 817). We know
approximately when the angel made this announcement, because we are
told that Zacharias was "of the course of Abijah" (v. 5,
KJV).
What was the "course of Abijah"? Centuries earlier, in the days of
King David, there had been many priests. King David divided them
into 24 "courses" (or groups) that served by rotation in the temple
(1 Chronicles 24:119). The course of Abijah was the eighth of the
24 courses, and would normally have done its first week of service
around the end of May. As Pentecost, the second of the three great
pilgrim festivals, came the week after the eighth course servedand
all 24 courses served during each of the three festival
seasonsZacharias could not have begun his return home until after
the first week of June, or thereabouts. If John the Baptist was
conceived shortly after his return home, near the middle of June,
his birth would have been nine months lateraround mid-March.
Jesus, who was six months younger, would thus have been born soon
after mid-September. This, of course, would have been while the
shepherds were still staying with the fields at night with their
flocks (Luke 2:8 ).
Consider also the traditional image of the three wise men who,
together with the shepherds, are commonly represented standing in
the stable to celebrate the newly born Messiah.
The Bible nowhere says that there were three wise men, and it makes
clear that they did not come until at least a few weeks after His
birthby which time Jesus and His parents were living in a house
(Matthew 2:11). We are told that these Magi came from the east. In
first century parlance, this usually meant that they came from
beyond the Euphrates River (which was then the eastern border of
the Roman Empire). East of the Euphrates was the Parthian Empire,
home to many remnants of the ten tribes of Israel who had gone into
Assyrian captivity more than seven centuries earlier.
The Magi arrived at the kings palace in Jerusalem several weeks
after Jesus birth, looking for the Messiah. They had seen a
mysterious "star" in the east, which had prompted them to make
their journey to Judea. Upon hearing from the Magi about the timing
of the stars appearance, and what it portended, Herod ordered the
slaughter of all boys in Bethlehem aged two years and younger
(Matthew 2:16).
We know from Luke 2:22 that Jesus parents presented Him in the
temple when He was 40 days old (cf. Leviticus 12:24), so they were
still in the Jerusalem area when He was nearly six weeks old. Yet
the family fled to Egypt, spurred by a warning Joseph received in a
dream, immediately after the Magi visited them (Matthew 2:1314).
Clearly, the Magi did not arrive until well after Christs
birth.
John H. Ogwyn
