when was jesus born
Christmas is a very popular celebrated by some 2,000 million people Worldwide. It has become such an ingrained part of modern culture that even people in nations with little or no Christian history or tradition celebrates it in increasing numbers.
He Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke they are the only two accounts of the birth of Jesus in the New Testament. Both gospels show different angles of the story.
Luke begins in Nazareth and Matthew focuses solely on the events in Bethlehem.. Both are not particularly detailed in terms of a calendar date, which makes determining Jesus’ birthday quite difficult.
«The gospel writers rarely tell you when things happened and the time of year.«
History shows that the December 25 became popular as the date of Christmas, not because Christ was born on that day, but because it was already popular in pagan religious celebrations such as the birthday of the sun. But could December 25 be the date of Christ’s birth?
The Bible does not give a specific date for the birth of Jesus Christ.some bibles mention him at the beginning of his works as the following:
New Catholic Encyclopedia. «The true date of birth of Christ is unknown.» Encyclopedia of early Christianity. «The exact date of Christ’s birth is not known.»
While the Bible does not directly answer the question, «When was Jesus born?» It describes two events surrounding his birth that led many to conclude that he was not born on December 25.
it was not in winter
This could be the closest thing to the birth record. Shortly before Jesus was born, Caesar Augustus issued a decree ordering «that all inhabited earth be searched«. Everyone had to register in «his own city», which could have required a trip of a week or more. (Luke 2: 1-3).
That order probably made to support taxes and military conscription– would have been unpopular at any time of the year, but it is unlikely that Augustus would have further provoked his subjects by forcing many of them to prolong their lives.
early autumn
We can estimate when Jesus was born by counting backwards from his death on Easter, in the spring of the year 33 CE (John 19: 14-16) Jesus was in his early 30s when he began his three-and-a-half year of ministry, so he was born in the early fall of 2 B.C. C. -Luke 3:23.
First, we know that shepherds were out in the fields tending their flocks at the time of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:7-8). The shepherds were not in the field during December.
Clues to determine the birthday of Jesus
According to Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays, Luke’s account suggests that Jesus may have been born in the summer or early fall.
As December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely that the shepherds have sought shelter for their flocks at night. The weather would not have allowed» shepherds to watch over their flocks in the fields at night.
Theologians have also suggested that Jesus was born in the spring based on the biblical narrative that shepherds tended their flocks in the fields on the night of Jesus’ birth, something they would have done in the spring, not the winter.
Nowhere does the Bible state that Jesus was born in the middle of winter. UnfortunatelyNo one knows exactly when Jesus was born.
The exact day of Jesus’ birth?
Therefore, according to the above texts, we can approximate andThe month of the birth of Jesus in the middle or end of September.
Likewise to arrive at this date, start with the conception of John the Baptist, in June, count six months to arrive at Gabriel’s announcement of the conception of Jesus, in December, and then count nine months, the time it takes. For human gestation, to get to September, it is the closest to when Jesus was born.
Why is Christmas on December 25?
The church adopted December 25 – the date of the end of the Roman mist, immediately after Saturnalia as the date of Christ’s birth (although Biblical evidence shows that this cannot be the right time for this event).
The early Christians did not celebrate the birth of Jesus because they considered the celebration of someone’s birth it was a pagan custom.
Since there is no evidence that the birth of Jesus Christ occurred on December 25, why is Christmas celebrated on this date?
The Encyclopedia Britannica says that church leaders they probably chose it to coincide with the pagan Roman festival marking the birthday of the unconquered sun, at the time of the winter solstice.
This Roman festival celebrated in mid-December, provided the model for many of the joyous customs of Christmas. From this celebration, for example, the elaborate banquets, the delivery of gifts and the burning of candles were derived.
the roman decree
In AD 336 C., the Western Church, based in Rome, chose December 25 to celebrate as Christmaswhich means «the Mass of Christ». The Eastern Church chose January 6.
The day was called Epiphany, which means «appearance.» Eventually, the period from December 25 to January 6 became known as the Twelve Days of Christmas..
Most Christmas customs, such as decorating the evergreen tree, using mistletoeexchanging gifts, Santa Claus, do not come from the Biblebut from ancient pagan religions. For centuries, Christianity tried unsuccessfully to rid itself of the paganism of Christmas.
Interesting information:
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