Was Jesus really born on December 25th?

For years now, I have been convinced of the accuracy of December 25th, 1BC, as the birthdate of Jesus Christ, if not actually, then very close.

Although I fully admit I cannot prove it, I believe I can make a compelling case for it, using Scripture and other sources.

First, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus ministry began when He was about 30 years old, in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar- about AD 30. Give or take 3 years for ''about 30'', and Jesus age in 30 AD was between 27 and 33. His ministry lasted about 3-3 1/2 years, we could conclude that His death, about Tiberius' 18th year, and during the tenure of Pontious Pilate, had to have occurred around 33-34 AD. However, the Scriptures tell us that He died on a Friday, immediately preceding the Passover. 30 AD and 33 AD are the only years possible. Since His ministry lasted at least three years after 30 AD, April 3rd, 33 AD is the only possible date for the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Interestingly enough, many learned Scripture scholars insist that a prophecy from the 9th chapter of the Book of Daniel, affixes the date of the death of the Christ on exactly that date.

Going back to our approximate age of Jesus in AD 30 as between 27 and 33, His approximate age at death would be 30-36. This places His birth between 3 BC to 3 AD.

For Jesus to have been born after 1 AD would make it impossible for Him to have been born during the reign of Herod the Great as the Scriptures tell us He was. So we now have about a 4 year span of when He could have been born.

This entire range would have allowed him to be born under Herod the Great, be about 30 in AD 30 (Tiberius' 15th year) and to have died under Tiberius Caesar, Herod Antipas and Pontious Pilate.

The clincher is the Bible's proclamations that Caesar Augustus had ordered a Census while Quirinius was acting as Governor. The only possible date that places Jesus birth under Herod the Great, Augustus, Quirinius and a census is between the years 3BC to 1AD.

This likely places the year of His birth at 3BC-1AD, his age at Tiberius 15th year at 30-33 and the age of His death at 33-36, in 33 AD...... pretty much as the Church calendar prescribes.

Now that we have established an approximate year of Christ's birth, what would establish a date?

5THERE 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. 6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 8And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, 9According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. The Course of Abia would have served twice in the temple, in June and then again in October. If it were the June service, Elizabeth would have been in her sixth month in December when the angel Gabriel visited Mary and She conceived. This means that in cold December, Mary would have traveled-alone- in to the hill country to visit her cousin. This is highly unlikely, even more unlikely than the much objected to sheep in the fields.

This would have meant John the Baptist would have been born in March, with Jesus birth coming in September. Plausible, but I feel unlikely.

1) The large crowds suggested surrounding the service of Zechariah suggest the October service which would have coincided with the feast of Tabernacles. Large crowds would have been unlikely in June.

2) Climate. Using the assumption that December is too cold for the sheep to have been in the field, watched by Shepherds, actually serves to highlight a very compelling argument that that is exactly where they would have been.

As this chart indicates, September in southern Israel is still hot and very dry, while December is very comfortable and the hills are lush with grass and vegetation, beyond the city of Bethlehem after 3 solid months of rain. The grass in the hills in September is parched and barren after 4 dry months.

Smith's Bible Dictionary, under the heading 'Palestine: the Climate', explained the rarity of snow in southern Palestine, while it conceded its more frequent occurrence in the northern parts of the land. The mean temperature at Jerusalem during December is said to run around 47 to 60 degrees F. It certainly would not hurt sheep to be out at night in that sort of temperature. The Dictionary further states:

"As in the time of our Saviour (Luke 12: 54), the rains come chiefly from the S. or S.W. They commence at the end of October or beginning of November, and continue with greater or less constancy till the end of February or middle of March, and occasionally, though rarely, to the end of April. It is not a heavy continuous rain, so much as a succession of severe showers or storms with intervening periods of fine bright weather, permitting the grain crops to grow and ripen. And although the season is not divided by any entire cessation of rain for a lengthened interval, as some represent, yet there appears to be a diminution in the fall for a few weeks in December and January, after which it begins again, and continues during February and till the conclusion of the season."

It may be noted that the traditional date for the birth of Christ falls in this period of the diminution of rainfall toward the end of December.

The former rains would have produced grass on the hills, and the fine bright weather intervening between the rains, with temperatures averaging 55 degrees F. would be excellent for sheep grazing on the hills east of David's royal city.

In fact, the very argument used to impugn the December birth argues against the June birth!

If we are to believe a fall/winter trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem (about 90 miles) by Joseph and Mary by donkey is implausible, how then can we believe that Mary traveled 85 miles to see her cousin Elizabeth, on foot, by herself? Is it reasonable to conclude that Joseph would have allowed such a trip?

Logic seems to dictate that the Course of Abia in question was in fact, in October. This would, like the climatological data, place Christ's birth near the end of December.

To me, the weight of scriptural evidence and logic leans toward the end December, rather than September birth. Yet, is there more evidence? I would argue that there is.

The mysterious scriptures concerning the star that led the Magi to Jesus are a great point of conjecture. The scriptures are elsewhere, silent on this star so we can only guess based on what we know.

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. The Escape to Egypt 13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. There are many astronomical events that some have tried to make fit the mold. For me, the most tantalizing is the fact that The planet Jupiter stood directly over Bethlehem on exactly December 25th, 2 BC

As tempting as it is, I don't want to use known astronomical evidence to buttress the case because, for all we know, maybe only the Magi saw the star.

The early church is the best indicator. Though Christmas detractors insist that the celebration of the Nativity did not exist until chosen by the church to supplant a pagan feast in the 4th or 5th century, this argument is simply untenable.

Celebration of December 25th as the Nativity is known to have dated back at least as far as 127 AD under Bishop Telesphorus in Rome. This would have likely been the very first fully post-Jesus generation in the history of the Church so second-hand knowledge of the Savior's birth would have been quite strong.

There are at least two early records of massacres that are recorded as having occurred on the ''day of the Nativity''. The first was reported to have occurred in the catacombs circa 161-180 AD and the second in 300 AD under the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian.

During the time of Clement of Alexandria (220 AD), it was widely accepted as knowledge that Jesus was born on the 25th day of the month, although December was only 1 of 5 different months suggested.

Throughout the third century, it was commonly believed that Jesus birth coincided with the Winter Solstice. John Seldon would write, years later that when the Church was in it's infancy, the Winter Solstice fell on the 8th of the Kalends of January or, what we know as December 25th.

The Apostolic Constitution declared, still in the 3rd century, that the 25th day of the -then- 9th month was to be officially recognized as the birth date celebration of Christ.

Though none of these things alone (or together) prove the December 25th case, they do prove widespread existence of it's observance hundreds of years prior to the dates given by the conspiratorialists and unbroken, nearly all the way back to the time of Christ Himself.

1) The Biblical, logical and historical case argues much stronger, by far, for December 25th than for any other calendar date.

2) The argument that the date was invented out of whole cloth, solely to counter paganism (or adopt it) is patently absurd.

You are correct in that Herod died on the night when there was an eclipse of the moon. However, it was not in the year 1. Please read the source information on Herod's death from the Jewish historian, Josephus.

There has always been controversy as to the year of birth, but with a little sleuthing it is quite easy to determine it.

The time of year was obviously during the fall Festivals for a host reasons that we won't bother with now.

King Herod is the key and his period of reign may be verified by secular history. Our Lord was born in the days of King Herod [Matthew 2:1] and we also know that it was near the time of Herod's death [Matthew 2:13-15].

Herod went Rome during the winter "And thus did this man receive the kingdom, having obtained it on the hundred and eighty fourth Olympiad, when Caius Domitus Calvinus was consul the second time and Caius Asinius Pollio (the first time)". [Josephus, Antiquities, 14:14:5]

Olympiads were four years and were figured from July to July. The 184th Olympiad was July 44 B.C. to July 40 B.C. and Calvinius and Pollio were consuls in the year 714 AUC, which would have been 40 B.C. (AUC means from the year of the founding of Rome...."Handbook of Biblical Chronology").

The calendar years for Consuls were reckoned from January to January and when you combine this data with the July to July length of the Olympiads you can then figure out exactly when this occurred......with in a 6 month margin of error. In addition we are told that Herod's reign in Jerusalem began when the rigor of winter was over....in his third year since he had been made king at Rome [Josephus, Antiquities, 14:15:14]

But.....Herod was unable to take the city of Jerusalem until the summer when Marcus Agrippa and Canninius Gallus were consuls of Rome, on the hundred eighty and fifth Olympiad....in the third month on the solemnity of the Fast [Josephus, Antiquities, 14:16:2-4]. The 185th Olympiad was from July 40 B.C. to July 36 B.C. and Agrippa and Gallus were consuls in 717 AUC....or the year 37 B.C. The fast of the third month would have been Sivan 23 and Herod completed the conquest of the city in the summer of 37 B.C. When you put all these facts together this is what emerges.....Herod crowned in Rome January/March 40 B.C. and began reigning in Jerusalem a little over 3 1/3 years later (37 B.C.) Herod died having reigned since he had Antigonus put to death.....34 years , but 37 years since he had been declared King by the Romans [Josephus, Antiquities, 17:8:1] Josephus tells us that Antigonus was killed shortly after Herod took Jerusalem, [Antiquities 14:16:4] Herod began his reign in 40 B.C., reigned 37 years.......so, including the first year of his reign.....he would have died in 4 B.C.

Our Lord was born in 5 B.C. and began His ministry (30 years of age) [Luke 3:23] during the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius [Luke 3:1]. This is confusing to many folks as they do not consider that Tiberius co-reigned with Augustus for two years. The key to this dispute is the Battle of Actium which took place during the 187th Olympiad in the seventh year of the reign of Herod [Antiquities 15:5:1-2]. This Olympiad would have been from July 32 B.C. to July 28 B.C. and Herod's 7th year was 31 B.C. to 30 B.C.

Augustus ruled 44 years from the victory at Actium...the last two....jointly with Tiberius. Thus the co rulership began in 12 A.D. and the 15th year of Tiberius would have been 26/27 A.D.

During the first Passover of His ministry the Jews stated that the temple had been 46 years in the building [John 2:20]. The first Passover would have been 27 A.D. [Josephus, Antiquities 15:11:1] says: "And now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign (18 in Jerusalem...but 21 from his coronation in Rome) undertook a very great work, that is to build of himself the Temple of God". The 18th year of Herod's reign was 20 B.C./19 B.C. which was the first year of the building of the Temple. This means that the 46th year would have been 27 A.D.

Our Lord celebrated three Passovers in scripture [John 2:13][John 6:4] and [John 13:1] so it is assumed that He had a three and one half year ministry, being born during the fall Festivals and Crucified on Passover. The year according to my reckoning would be 30 A.D. and as you can see the Crucifixion on Nisan 14 (Passover) [Leviticus 23:5] would then allow a three day entombment with a Sabbath resurrection on Nisan 17 [Matthew 12:39-40].

Your case is quite compelling. Your info regarding the year of His birth and death actually seem to be correct. However, I am fairly certain He was born in late December and not the fall, as you suggest. I’d like to see your evidence to the contrary.

[Daniel 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 (69 weeks): the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubled times. The total years from the decree to restore Jerusalem can thus be stated: 69 weeks x 7 is 483 prophetic days.....or years [Ezekiel 4:4-6][Numbers 14:34].

Ezra had been ordered to rebuild the temple by King Artaxerxes of Assyria during the 7th year [Ezra 7:8] of his reign [Ezra 7:11-26]. Secular history tells us that the King's ascension year was 465 B.C. so his 7th complete year would be 458/457 B.C. (Babylonian Chronology, Brown University, page 17; Chronology of Ezra). 483 minus 457 equals 25 years....or 25 A.D. and since there was no year Zero the actual year would be 26 A.D.

Therefore the first complete year of Our Savior's ministry would have begun in 26/27 A.D. [Daniel 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, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. A prophetic week is seven years of time and Our Messiah was to be cut off in the middle of this week.....or 3 1/2 years after He began his ministry.

We know from scripture that Our Lord was crucified at Passover 30 A.D. so it is simply a matter of subtracting 3 1/2 years from that date to arrive at his Baptism by John at the beginning of his ministry in the fall of 26 A.D. [Luke 3:23][Numbers 4:3,23,29]. The first complete year of His ministry would have been from the fall of 26 A.D. to the fall of 27 A.D. and since He was thirty years old when He began......this would place His birth (again no zero year) at 5 B.C.

A three and one half year ministry beginning in the fall of 26 A.D. would bring us to his crucifixion during the Passover week of 30 A.D. as outlined in my previous post #92.

Other folks on this thread have indicated the correct chronology from [Luke 1:5-25] regarding Zechariah and his temple service. As we know the priestly division of Abijah [I Chronicles 24] was the eighth course and each division served two separate weeks plus a week during the required Festivals of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Zechariah's eighth course of the year would have him in the temple for two straight weeks.....the first week of his division and the week of Shavuot (Pentecost) which is the ninth week of the Hebrew year (see above calendar and click next month for "Sivan" 6 which is Pentecost). The Hebrew year begins on Nisan 1 and Pentecost falls nine weeks later.

This chronology would bring the conception (shortly after Pentecost) [Luke 1:23-24] and subsequent birth of John to the Passover week the following year. It is interesting to note the prophecy from Malachi regarding John: [Malachi 3:1] Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts and Our Lord Himself confirmed it was John of whom Malachi spoke {Matthew 11:10-14] For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

It is tradition to this day to place a cup of wine for Elijah (Elias) on the Passover table during many a Seder. The Jews have been anticipating the return of Elijah during Passover before the coming of the Messiah......for centuries. With John being born during the eight day celebration of Unleavened bread it is quite fitting that Our Lord would be born during the eight day celebration of Tabernacles......exactly 6 months later [Luke 1:26]. These two celebrations (Pesach and Sukkot) are the only ones during God's Holy Calendar which have a Sabbath at the beginning and another at the end [Leviticus 23]. The first for the day of birth and the second for the dedication [Luke 2:21]. Our Lord was said to have "Tabernacled" among us [John 1:14]. John came to us in the first month of the year and Our Lord in the Seventh and one day we will all be required to keep this particular Feast of The Lord God [Zechariah 14:16-19].......And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

The above is a Millennial prophecy.

The Romans would have no reason to require folks to travel during the winter months for such an important occasion (to them)....taxation and census....as they would naturally desire full and complete obedience to this decree [Luke 2:1-3]. This is one of the reasons that there was no room in the Inn.....everyone being in Jerusalem and Suburbs (Bethlehem) for the Festival (Sukkot).....and the census. This would have been a natural time to tax the citizenry (the fall harvests completed) and everyone attending the Festival.

During the Festival weeks it is estimated that the population of Jerusalem swelled to over two million men who were required to attend. All homes were open to guests as the normal population was around 120 thousand. And, of course.....Inns and houses of lodging would also be quite full. This is the reason Our Savior was laid on a food tray after birth as He, Joseph and Mary were staying in a "Sukkah" as this was the only place for them. A sukkah is a temporary shelter everyone was expected to spend time in during the Feast of Tabernacles. A sukkah is a tabernacle and the temporary nature of it was to remind the folks of their temporary stay in the Sinai desert during their 40 years of wandering. A food tray was installed in the sukkah to keep food off the floor and to provide a table for the temporary inhabitants. When the King James folks translated the Bible they could not understand what a food tray would mean to the Hebrews since they had long ago in their history forsaken the celebration of any of God's Holy observances. So.....they assumed a "Food Tray" was a manger or something to feed the cattle with and this is where the tradition of Our Lord being born in a stable among the cattle and being laid in a manger came about.

He was born on the first Sabbath of the Feast of Tabernacles, laid on a food tray and dedicated eight days later on the second Sabbath of Tabernacles.....and our understanding of the Greek is much better now than it was 400 years ago.

Now.....perhaps I have given you something else to ponder besides the obvious reasons many folks stipulate that the birth could not have been anywhere around Christmas time. I pray that will be the case. It is interesting to note that Our Savior did indeed observe Chanukah [John 10:22]....the Feast of Dedication and the anniversary of His own conception..... nine months before Sukkot.

I dispute your contention that the birth could not have occured “around Christmas time”. All of the data EMPHATICALLY places the birth in late December. Your case for the year is at least compelling but your case for a September birth is very weak....basically consisting of your interpretaion of John 1:14.

Given the climate, September is simply impossible. In my view, that Jesus was born on December 25th is an issue of verified historical fact.

The year is something more fluid...

more for you to consider...

(3) We know from an inscription from Paphlagonia in Asia Minor - cf.
Lewis and Reinhold, Roman Civilization, Source Book II, pp. 34-35 - that in
3 BC all the people took an oath of allegiance to Augustus. The same oath
is also reported by the Armenian historian Moses of Khorene, and by the
later historian Orosius.

(4) Augustus was to receive the great title of Pater Patriae on Feb. 5,
2 BC. So the actual governor of Palestine, probably Varus, would have had
to go to Rome for the festivities, and since sailing on the Mediterranean
stopped about Nov. 1, and did not resume until Spring, he must have gone in
the early fall of 3 BC. But Quirinius was nearby, had just finished a
successful war against the Homonadenses. So he was left as acting Governor.
Luke does not use the noun governor, but the participle, “governing”.

(5) There is an obscure decade in history, 6 BC to 4 AD, as Classicists
readily recognize. Yet this period is important, including the time when
Tiberius was absent from political life at Rome, being at Capri. It is hard
to fit the events of this period into place if we make the birth of Christ
early as is commonly done. But if we put it in 3 BC the difficulties are
over. For example, we know Augustus received his 15th acclamation for a
major victory, won by one of his generals, around this time. If we pick 4
BC for the death of Herod, we cannot find a victory to warrant the
acclamation, which came in 1 AD. But if we put the birth of Christ in 3 BC,
then the war would be running at about the needed time, and finished in 1
AD.

Objection: a) Josephus says Herod had a reign of 37 years after being
proclaimed king by Romans, and had 34 yrs. after death of Antigonus, which
came soon after Herod took Jerusalem. b) Further, his 3 successors,
Archelaus, Antipas and Philip started to reign in 4 BC. So Herod died in 4
BC.

Reply: a) That calculation would make death of Herod actually in 3 BC,
not in 4 BC - scholars have to stretch the date to 4 BC, since no eclipse
of moon happened in 3 BC. - But, Herod took Jerusalem late in 36 BC (on Yom
Kippur in a sabbatical year, so well remembered - and Josephus says Pompey
had taken Jerusalem in 63 which was 27 yrs. to the day of Herod’s capture
of Jerusalem). Using the common accession year dating, we see Herod started
his 34 years on Nisan 1 in 35 BC, and those years would end on Nisan 1 BC.
So 34 years after 35 BC yields 1 BC for death of Herod after eclipse of
Jan. 10.—b) As to the 3 successors, Herod lost favor of Augustus in 4 BC,
on a false report, was no longer “Friend of Caesar”, but “Subject”.
Antedating of reigns was common - reason here was to make the three seem to
connect with the two “royal” sons, of Hasmonean descent, Alexander and
Aristobulus, whom Herod executed on false reports from Antipater (do not
confuse with Antipas).

The Star: In the evening of June 17, 2 BC, there was a spectacular
astronomical event in the western sky. Venus moved eastward seemingly going
to collide with Jupiter. They appeared as one star, not two, dominating the
twilight of the western sky in the direction of Palestine. This conjunction
had not happened for centuries, would not happen again for more centuries.
Jupiter was considered the Father, Venus the Mother. Ten 19 days later, on
August 31st. Venus came within .36 degrees of Mercury. On Sept. 11 came the
New Moon, the Jewish New Year. This happened when Jupiter, the Kin planed
was approaching Regulus, the King star. Further, there were three
conjunctions of Jupiter and Regulus within the constellation of Leo, the
lion which was considered the head of the Zodiac. Now Gen. 49:10 had
foretold there would always be a ruler from Judah, whom Jacob called the
lion, until the time of the Messiah. Leo was dominated by the star Regulus,
which astronomers called the King Star. The Magi, being astronomers and
astrologers, would surely read these signs. (The three conjunctions with
Regulus were Aug. 12, 3 BC; Feb. 17, 2 BC, and May 8/9 2 BC).

Also, on Dec. 25 of 2 B.C., Jupiter stopped for 6 days over Bethlehem.
This is a normal motion for Jupiter, it stops twice, and reverses its
seeming movement. This may have been the very time the Magi came with their
gifts. This was also the time of the Hanukkah festival, during which it was
customary for Jewish Fathers to give gifts to their children.

.....the December 25th, 2BC date actually fits very well to almost all criteria...but I’ll keep looking into this.

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