When Was Jesus Born?
Most people recognize December 25 as the date of Jesus' birth. But are most people correct in their recognition? And for that matter, does it make any difference whether Jesus was born on December 25th or any other day of the year? The answer to this last question is both yes, and no. As Christians, we do not celebrate the day that Jesus was born, but the reality of, and the purpose for which He was born. We celebrate that God sent His son into the world to take on human flesh and ultimately die on the Cross in order to atone for mankind’s sin. What day of the year that this occurred has little, if any bearing on the purpose of the incarnation. However, the Bible does state a number of historical references to the time of Jesus’ birth as well as His ministry, and these references must agree with each other or the integrity and authority of the Word of God fails. When all is said and done with this study, I will not declare a specific date on which Jesus was born, but I trust that you will see that the Bible truly is the Word of God, not a writing of fallible men.
The first clue Scripture has to offer concerning the time of Jesus’ birth is found in Matthew 2:1 where it says that Jesus was born “in the days of Herod.” This Herod is none other than Herod the Great. History records that Herod was proclaimed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate in 40 BC, but he did not actually take control of the region until 37 BC. History also states that Herod ruled for 34 years making the time of his death in 4 BC. Most historians believe that Herod died sometime around late March to early April of 4 BC. Therefore, Jesus had to be born sometime before this time.
A second clue is found in Luke 1, dealing with the announcement to Zacharias of the birth of John the Baptist. There we find that Zacharias was a priest of the course of Abijah. During King David’s reign, he divided the priests into 24 different courses, each course ministering in the Temple (tabernacle in David’s day) for one week, two times a year plus various special feast days. The first course would minister on the first week of the year which was in the month Nisan. The second course served on the second week, and so on. According to 1 Chronicles 24:7-10, the course of Abijah was the eighth course. Since the Hebrew calendar is based on a lunar cycle rather than a solar cycle, the days of the year vary in correspondence to our Julian calendar each year. Generally, the Hebrew month of Nisan begins between March and April. Using March 1st as the earliest possible date for the first course to minister, the course of Abijah would then minister mid to late April. Using the last week of April as the latest that the month Nisan could begin, Zacharias would have been ministering in the Temple in the middle of June. When his week of ministry was completed, Zacharias went to his home in the hill country of Judah, (Luke 1:39) which probably took him a day, or two or three. Assume that Elizabeth conceived John almost immediately upon Zacharias’ return. If so, in the sixth month of her pregnancy she is visited by Mary, who has just conceived Jesus. Nine months from that time Jesus would be born. The possibilities of the time of Jesus’ birth are:
This places the birth of Jesus between the end of July and the end of September. Obviously, if Elizabeth did not conceive John immediately upon Zacharias’ return from ministry, then these dates get moved back some. It seems probable to me that John was conceived within one month of Zacharias’ return from ministry. We also must account for the second time that Zacharias ministered in the Temple, which would be six months after the first ministry. This time frame would be:
This puts the birth of Jesus between the end of January and the end of March, again assuming that Elizabeth conceived John immediately upon Zacharias’ return from Jerusalem.
Clue #3 is found in Luke 2:1-2. There we are told of the issuance of a decree dealing with a taxation from Caesar Augustus while Quirinius was governor of Syria (Quirinius- Latin = Cyrenius- Greek). In that this decree is what moves Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem to accomplish the birth of Christ, this decree had to be made before the death of Herod in 4 BC. Critics of the inspiration of Scripture point out that here is one of those “human mistakes,” in that history records that Quirinius did not become governor of Syria until late 6 AD to early 7 AD. A literal, word-for-word translation of verse two is below. From it, there are a number of important observations.
The first observation concerns the word translated taxation in the KJV. The word is more accurately translated as registration or census, but this census would ultimately lead to a taxation, so it is not incorrect to use taxation. The second observation concerns the word “first.” While the word order would seem to indicate that the KJV is correct, Greek grammar does not. “First” is an adjective and cannot modify a verb (adverbs modify verbs). In Greek grammar, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number and case. “Registration” is feminine, singular, nominative and so is “first;” therefore, the correct English translation would be, “This first registration…” indicating that there were others which followed it. The problem of when Cyrenius was governor can now be addressed. From 9/8 BC to the middle of 6 BC, Sentius Saturninus was the governor of Syria, and from the middle of 6 BC through 4 BC, P. Quinctilius Varus was its governor. However, toward the end of Saturninus’ reign, there was an uprising of the Homonadenses in Cilicia. Incoming governor Varus had no military experience and, consequently, no ability to put down the revolt, so a military governor was sent from Rome to lead the armies and restore peace to the land which was accomplished by 5 BC. Who was this military governor? Well, if you guessed Cyrenius you would be correct. While history accurately records that Varus was the political governor of Syria at this time, Cyrenius was governing the military in Cilicia, which was a part of Syria and, consequently, Scripture is correct also.
The fourth possible clue concerning Jesus’ birth is found in Luke 2:7. There we are told that when Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem and Mary gave birth, they laid Jesus in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Why was the inn full? It would seem that there had to be something special going on that would bring an unusual number of people to Bethlehem. Since there is no specific statement of any special event, the clue is only a “possible” clue. It is possible that there was an unusual number of people due to the census registration, although I tend to believe that the period of time for the registration was wide enough that there would not be a great influx of people all at one time. Another possibility is suggested by Deuteronomy 16:16. According to this verse, every Hebrew male was required to come to Jerusalem for worship at three specific times during the year: Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles falls between the end of September and October and if Zacharias was in the Temple between April and June (first scenario above), then Jesus could have been born during the Feast of Tabernacles. A number of people feel this is appropriate, in that John records the incarnation when he writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt (literally tabernacled) among us.” (John 1:14). While this seems plausible, there is a problem with it. The antitype to the Feast of Tabernacles is the Second Advent of Christ, not His first. If, though, Zacharias was ministering in the Temple between October and December, (second scenario above) then Jesus could have been born during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover). This too would be quite appropriate, for you would have the shepherds leaving their sheep and coming to see the Passover lamb. In either case, there is no necessity that Jesus be born on a feast day and so this clue is only a possible clue.
The next clue is also a possible clue. Luke records that the shepherds were watching their flocks by night (Luke 2:8). Generally, sheep were grazing in the hills during the warm months but then brought down out of the hills and into enclosures during the winter. Consequently, this verse would seem to indicate something other than a December birth date for Jesus. Dr. Dwight Pentecost, in his book The Words & Works of Jesus Christ, notes though that it is possible that the weather was mild enough for the sheep to be outside and that the Mishnah, “implies that the sheep around Bethlehem were outside all year, and those that were worthy for the Passover offerings were in the fields thirty days before the feast- which could be as early as February- one of the coldest and rainiest months of the year.”
The last couple of clues have been possible clues. The next clue is not a clue at all. Associated with the birth of Christ is the appearance of a star. Specifically, the wise men came to Herod and said, “We have seen His star…” (Matthew 2:2) Astronomers have sought evidence of comets, conjunction of stars, planets, etc. as an explanation of what the magi saw, and thus sought to date the time of Jesus’ birth. But there is no reason to believe that a natural star could appear, disappear, and then reappear about a month later, and then lead them to the place where Jesus was, and hover there (Matthew 2:9). I believe that what the wise men saw was a special manifestation of the glory of God, in similar fashion as with Abraham (Acts 7:2-3).
All these clues happened before or at the time of Jesus’ birth. There are yet a number of historical clues given to us in Scripture that happened after His birth, but can be used to trace time backwards and arrive at His birth date. The first of these is the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry and the baptism of Christ. Luke 3:1-2 states a number of references to people in particular offices or administrations. It is agreed by historians that the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius was 29 AD. Shortly after John began his ministry, Jesus came to him to be baptized. Luke goes on to say that Jesus, “began to be about thirty years of age…” If you go back 30 years from 29 AD, you have a birth date of 3 BC. As noted above, Jesus was born before Herod the Great died and so He had to be born before 4 BC. At this point there seems to be a contradiction. But the construction of Luke’s declaration of Jesus’ age is a very unusual construction. Some Greek scholars believe that what Luke wrote was an idiomatic statement which could be translated, “Jesus was in His early thirties.” Thirty-two certainly fits the “early thirties” category and the time frame of Herod’s death.
Another clue found early in the earthly ministry of Christ is His confrontation with the Jews after His first cleansing of the Temple. The sign of Jesus’ authority would be that if they destroyed His temple He would raise it up within three days, speaking of His death, burial and resurrection. The Jews did not understand and responded concerning how He could do that when the Temple had been in construction for forty-six years (John 2:20). Herod’s reconstruction of the Temple began in 18 BC. Forty-six years from that time would be 29 AD, which agrees with Luke’s chronology of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Another time indicator of Jesus’ ministry is found in Luke 19:42, 44 in what is called the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem or more commonly, Palm Sunday. Weeping over the unbelief of the people of Jerusalem, Jesus bemoans that they didn’t know the things concerning their peace “in this day” (v. 42) and the “time of thy visitation” (v. 44). Jesus is making reference to the prophecy found in Daniel 9. There Daniel writes that “Seventy weeks were determined” upon the people of Israel and upon Jerusalem (v. 24). These “weeks” would begin with the issuance of a commandment to rebuild Jerusalem. At the conclusion of the 69th week, Israel’s Messiah would present Himself to the nation. Sometime afterward He would be “cut off” (killed) (v. 24-25). The word “weeks” literally means periods of seven, in this case groups of seven years. From the issuance of the commandment until the Messiah presented Himself, a total of sixty-nine seven-year periods would transpire or 483 years. Sir Robert Anderson, a noted Bible historian, found the date of the commandment to be March 14, 445 BC. The date of the triumphal entry was April 6, 32 AD. The difference here is only 476 years and seemingly does not fit. However, as noted earlier, the Jewish calendar is lunar based and only has 360 days in a year rather than our 365 day long years. 483 years times 360 days/year equals 173,880 days. From March 14, 445 BC to March 13, 32 AD would be 476 years times 365 days/year or 173,740 days plus 116 days for each leap year in that time frame plus 24 days from March 14th to April 6th inclusively, and the total is 173,880 days. Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled to the very day. Jesus was then cut off (crucified) later that week as Passover occurred. From John’s Gospel, we know specifically that Jesus’ ministry had covered 2 other Passovers. John 6:4 states a Passover which would be in the spring of 31 AD. John 5:1 indicates a feast in Jerusalem that Jesus attended. This may be a Passover feast, although not specifically stated, but even if it wasn’t, the time frame between the Passover of John 6 and the next specifically stated Passover found in John 2 requires a Passover feast to be in between. Consequently the feast in John 5 would occur in 30 AD and the Passover of John 2:13 would be in the spring of 29 AD, which was shortly after the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Once again, all time elements harmonize.
One more clue that is not a clue comes from darkness being over the land at the crucifixion of Christ. As with the star at His birth, astronomers have sought to find eclipses that would date the crucifixion. But no eclipse can last for three hours. It seems fitting that there was a manifestation of glory (light) when Jesus came into the world that there be darkness as His life is laid down. As the star was not a natural phenomenon, but a supernatural one, so too is the darkness.
All the evidence that Scripture gives as to the date of Jesus’ birth points to a time frame of 5-4 BC. Narrowing the time frame is difficult, if not impossible. Probability suggests a fall of 5 BC date, but that’s only probability. Hippolytus (c. 165-235 AD) and Chrysostom (345-407 AD) both stated that December 25th was the exact date of Jesus’ birth and I’m sure they had their reasons for their pronouncements. As I stated though, at the beginning of this paper, we do not celebrate when Jesus was born, but the fact that He came into this world in order to die for our sins. That is the message that Scripture gives to us, and if that message is to be believed, then the historical facts surrounding it must be verifiable. I find it truly amazing that historical references were given by the various writers of Scripture concerning the birth of Christ that seemingly were superfluous to the story. They easily could have been omitted and the Christmas story would still be the same. Why did they include these things? My only conclusion is that God specifically wanted them to be there as more unmistakable proof of the inspiration of the Bible and that we might stand rightfully in awe of God.