When was Jesus born?

During the Advent season, most parishes are in a countdown to the birthday celebration of Jesus: they are counting the days until Christmas. It is not uncommon to hear discussions about whether or not the 2nd4. December is the correct day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and whether it is appropriate to celebrate the day at all. Finding the exact year, month, and day of Jesus' birth is not new. Theologians have been studying this for about two thousand years, and here are some of their ideas.

  • Clement of Alexandria (around 150-220) named various possible dates, including November 18, January 6, and the day of Passover, which depending on the year, is December 21. March, 24. / 25. April or May 20th.
  • Sextus Iulias Africanus (around 160-240) called the 2nd5. March.
  • Hippolytus of Rome (170-235), a disciple of Irenaeus, mentioned two different days in his commentary on the Book of Daniel: “The first apparition of our Lord in flesh took place in Bethlehem eight days before the calendar of January (2nd5. December), on the fourth day (Wednesday), held under the rule of Augustus in the year 5500. “In another document and in an inscription of a statue of Hippolytus, the 2. April is given as the date.
  • According to the statements of the Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus, some place the birth of Jesus in the period from Jan.2. March to 11. April in the year 4 BC, since Christ was born to Herod before the death of Herod.
  • John Chrysostom (around 347-407) called the 2nd5. December as the date of birth.
  • In the calculations of Passion, an anonymous work of probably North African origin, the 28. Called in March.
  • Augustine (354-430) writes in De Trinitate that “it is believed that on the 2nd5. March was received. On the day on which he also suffered and according to tradition on the 2nd5. December was born ”.
  • Messianic Jews name several possible birthdays. The most representative considerations are based on the priestly services (more precisely: “from the order of Abijah” (Luke 1,5). This approach leads them to fix the birth of Jesus on the Sukkot / Feast of Tabernacles. His circumcision took place on the eighth day of the festivities.

It is interesting to speculate that Jesus might have been born (or conceived) during Passover or the Feast of Tabernacles. I like the idea that Jesus reversed the work of the Angel of Death if it happened during the Passover. There would be a satisfactory symmetry in his arrival when conceived or born during the Feast of Tabernacles. However, there is not enough evidence to be certain of the day Jesus came to earth, but perhaps with the little evidence we have, a good estimate can be made.

In Luke 2,1-5 we can read that the emperor Augustus issued a decree on the taxation of the Roman Empire and therefore everyone should return to their own city to pay this tax. Joseph and Mary also returned to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. It can be assumed that such a census did not take place at any point in history. After all, it shouldn't have coincided with the harvest time. It can also be assumed that such a census would not have been ordered in winter if the weather had made travel difficult. In the spring the land was tilled. Perhaps autumn, after the harvest season, was a time for such a census and therefore also the time for the birth of Jesus. However, it is not clear from the biblical texts how long Mary and Joseph stayed in Bethlehem. Jesus may also have been born several weeks after the census. Ultimately, we cannot determine with any certainty the date of birth of Jesus. Scoffers cling to this uncertainty, claiming that everything is just a myth and that Jesus never existed. But even if the date of birth of Jesus cannot be clearly stated, his birth is based on historically verifiable events.

The biblical scientist FF Bruce says the following about doubters:
“Some writers toy with the idea of ​​the Christ myth, but they do not do it on the basis of historical evidence. The historicity of Christ is axiomatic, that is, it is neither provable nor does it require proof just like the historicity of Julius Caesar. It is not the historians who propagate the Christ myth ”(in The New Testament Documents, p. 123).

The people of Jesus' time knew from the prophecies when to expect the Messiah. But neither the prophecies nor the gospels set an exact date for the coming of the Messiah, even if modern historians so wish. It is not the aim of the Bible to give us an exact point in time, for it can "instruct you [...] to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2. Timothy 3,15).

The focus of the writers of the New Testament is not the day of Jesus' birth, but that God the Father has sent His own Son to earth at just the right time in history to fulfill His promises and bring salvation.

The apostle Paul said:
“When the time was fulfilled, God sent his Son, born of a woman and put under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might have children” (Galatians 4,4-5). In the Gospel of Mark we read: “But after John was imprisoned, Jesus came to Galilee and preached the gospel of God and said: The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel ”(Mark 1,14-15).

The knowledge of the exact date of the birth of Christ is historically interesting, but completely irrelevant theologically. We just have to know that it happened and why he was born. These questions are answered clearly by the Bible. Let's keep this look for the Advent season and not focus on small details.

by Joseph Tkach


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