Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year, don’t you think?? Christmastime - the season we celebrate the birth of that baby boy Jesus!! The message of Jesus the Messiah coming to earth as a human, living a sinless life, dying at the hands of executioners not for His crimes but for our crime, being buried, then 3 days later rising from the dead…that message…the Gospel…is a message powerful enough to dispel all our fears. The greatest fears embedded into the human psyche are the fears of death and eternal hell. Jesus the Messiah, the little baby born in Bethlehem…resolved, reconciled and released the requirement for us to experience the sting of death and eliminated the reason for us to spend eternity separated from God in hell. Jesus brings peace, Jesus gives us peace, Jesus is our peace; a man at peace has no need to fear anything! Don’t be afraid…born this day is a Savior!

Born this day…December 25th?? Is December 25th the day Jesus was born? There’s debate around the actual day Jesus was born even though December 25th was selected as that day. However, in scripture God doesn’t reveal the exact date; so, since there’s no firm date, December 25th is as good a day as any to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. The point of the story is God giving himself to a cross and an empty tomb! His birth is the catalyst point for His life as a fully-God yet fully-human being.  

If December 25th isn’t the day Jesus was born, do you ever wonder what day it could have been? Through the years I’ve studied the various theories with no real, definitive proof that any of them are correct. I’ll give you one argument that seems to me the most logical and probable date Jesus was born. I’m not saying this is THE ANSWER; I’m saying this is the proposal that seems the most reasonable to me. 

Let’s call this the early spring date, it goes something like this….Luke 2:8. says the Shepherds were out in the fields at night. This narrows the time of year down to mid spring through early fall when it was warm enough to be “out” in the fields. I think though we can rule out the fall feasts because during the fall feast of the Tabernacles all males had to be in Jerusalem. Neither Joseph nor the shepherds would’ve been in Bethlehem during Tabernacles. Jesus wouldn’t have broken the law with His birth!  

Shepherds were out in the fields at night. Why would they be out at night in the fields? They do this primarily one season in the year: in the spring when the sheep give birth to lambs. Sheep are seasonal breeders - they give birth typically one season of the year, mid-February through April. The majority of sheep are typically born during this period. The shepherds would be “out” in the fields overnight to watch over the birthing sheep, to care for the new lambs. This birthing season tended to occur during the Hebrew months of Adar and Nissan; February to April. The shepherds watching for lambs to be born without really knowing they would also witness the birth of THE LAMB of GOD. 

Bethlehem was in close proximity to the Temple. Most of the lambs used in Temple sacrifices were born in the Bethlehem area in early spring. Being 5 miles from the Temple made it a convenient place to raise and keep the lambs used in sacrificing. Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God, was most likely born at the time when sacrificial lambs were born…where sacrificial lambs were born. 

God, instituting the Passover during the month of Nisan, says take a lamb, a perfect lamb, that’s 1 year old. For the Passover lamb to be 1 year old, it must have been born one year earlier during the Passover season. From a rabbinic tradition, they’d try to get a lamb as close to one year old as they could. The Passover lamb is born and sacrificed during the Passover season. Jesus, our Passover Lamb of God, was crucified during Passover; so, it stands to reason to keep the parallel imagery intact, He most probably was born during the Passover season. The major events of Jesus’ life occurred during the Feast days, the Holy days of Israel.  

It also stands to reason that Jesus would be born on a significant Holy Day of Israel…but which one? The autumn feasts are more likely connected to His Second coming; it’s more likely His first coming would be connected to the spring season during the month of Nisan. Nisan means the beginning. Going backwards, as God does things in order, Jesus resurrects on the 17th of Nisan, Jesus is killed on the 14th of Nisan, Jesus is “taken to the house” on the 10th day of Nisan, Palm Sunday, so that leaves only 9 days in which Jesus could be born if God sticks to imagery timing and ordered arrangement. What day before the 10th would have the theme of the beginning of the year - the beginning of everything…Nisan 1! God’s New Year, the first day of the Hebrew year (Exodus 12:2). This is not a day all men needed to be in Jerusalem: the shepherds would’ve been in the field; and the first day of the calendar changes the year, just as Jesus changed everything. I think Nissan 1 is the most likely candidate for Jesus’ birthday! Which if He was born in 2BC for example would be March 9th 2BC.  

Now, in the long scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter what day Jesus was actually born. We know He came as a baby, lived to adulthood, died on the cross, was buried, and rose the third day. Because of Jesus we have the right to become the children of God. Praise Jesus for His willingness to carry out this amazing, unbelievable plan just because He loves you and me. But it’s interesting to ponder details like this - if nothing else than it makes it more real! Fear not…for born unto you this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord!  

Merry Christmas!!