Evidence Jesus was born on December 25?

By Gene Edward Veith @

http://cranach.worldmagblog.com/cranach/archives/2006/12/draftevidence_j.html#more

In response to my column on the evidence that December 25 was
not set aside as Christ's birthday because of some pagan holiday, but for good reason, alert WORLD reader Rev. Gary Hinman sent me this article on yet another line of evidence. The calculations are based on the course of Temple duties for the clan of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. The months are laid out with precision in the Gospel of Luke, including when his wife Elisabeth visited her relative Mary, and the unborn John leapt in the womb as he came into the presence of the unborn Jesus. Counting out the months leads us somewhere after the middle of December as the time of Jesus' birth. The article also makes an argument from when lambs are born, requiring shepherds to be out in the fields watching their flocks. But the argument from Zacharias' temple duties is even stronger than mine, since it comes straight from the Bible.

I found the article online. It was written by John Stormer, author of the Cold War classic "None Dare Call It Treason," who later became a Christian and a Baptist pastor.

"Lambs are born at the Christmas Season"
Is there evidence that Jesus was born at Christmas??

by John Stormer

For too many years, pastors and teachers have said, "Of course we don't know when Christ was actually born- but the time of year is not really important." Jehovah's Witnesses and others have taught that Christmas was "invented" in the fourth or fifth centuries. The supposed goal was giving a "Christian" facade or influence to the wild pagan or Satanic holiday observances during the winter solstice (the shortest days of the year).

What's the real story? Is there any real evidence that Jesus Christ
was born at Christmas? A careful examination of a number of seemingly
unrelated Bible passages gives clear indication that the Lord Jesus was
indeed born at Christmas time. Such study will give new emphasis to what
Christ came to do. It will also provide a much deeper appreciation of all
that is hidden in the Word of God which can be discovered by those who
prayerfully search the scriptures.

Every word in the Bible is there because God put it there. He has a
purpose for every one of His words. Therefore, seemingly casual listing of
periods of time, genealogical references, etc. have significance which can be
discovered through prayerful study.

In Luke Chapter 1, the Bible records seemingly unimportant details
about what a priest named Zacharias was doing when an angel announced to him
that he and his wife were to have a child. The child was to be John the
Baptist who would prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Bible
further records that the Lord Jesus was conceived in the sixth month after
John the Baptist was conceived. Therefore, if the time of the conception of
John the Baptist could be determined, the birth date of the Lord Jesus could
be calculated.

The scriptures say (relevant passages are underlined): "There 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.

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office
before God in the order of his course... " Luke 1:5,8
At this point Zacharias demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to his
duties as a priest. Even though he had been given the wonderful news by the
angel that he and Elisabeth would have a son, Zacharias stayed in the temple
until the days of his course were completed.

"And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration
were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his
wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months..." Luke 1:23-24
The passage then describes how an angel came to Mary to announce that
she was to be the virgin mother of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. The
scripture says:
"And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a
city of Galilee, named Nazareth. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary..." Luke
1:26-27
And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with
haste, into a city of Judah; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and
saluted Elisabeth." Luke 1:39-40

Contained within these quoted passages are scriptures which point to
the exact time when Jesus was born. (Remember that God puts every word and
every detail into the Bible exactly as He wants it and for a purpose.) The
underlined words are the key.

In Luke 1:5 and Luke 1:8, we are told that Zacharias was a priest of
the course of Abia and that he fulfilled his priestly duties in the order of
his course. To understand the importance of the course of Abia and its
bearing on the date of John the Baptist's conception, it is necessary to turn
to 1Chronicles 24:1-10. This passage describes how a thousand years before
Christ, King David established the courses for priestly service in the coming
temple. Twenty-four courses were established and numbered by drawing lots -
twelve courses for sanctuary service and twelve for the government of the
house of God.

Members of each course would serve during a month starting with the
Hebrew month of Nisan. (Because of the way the Hebrew calendar fluctuates,
the month Nisan can start anytime between early March and early April.) The
sons of Abijah (the Old Testament spelling for Abia) were in the eighth
course. Priests of Abia like Zacharias would, therefore, have each
ministered for some days during the eighth month which in some years because
of the fluctuation in the Hebrew calendar started as early as the fifth day
of our month of October. Zacharias would have returned home when his days of
service were accomplished and John the Baptist could have been conceived
sometime between October 15 and the end of the month.

After conception the scripture says that Elisabeth hid herself for
five months. Then in the sixth month of her pregnancy (which, based on the
above calculation, would have started about March 15 and continued until
April 15) the angel announced to the Virgin Mary that the Lord Jesus would
be conceived in her womb by the Holy Ghost. If this took place on or about
April 1 a "normal" gestation period of 270 days would have then had the Lord
Jesus due on or about December 25. How about that!

There are other scriptural and natural indicators that confirm that
the Lord was born at Christmas time. IN the account of His birth in Luke
2:8, we read:
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night."

My son-in-law, who has a degree in agriculture, after hearing the
above presentation, told me, "Certainly, the Lord Jesus was born at
Christmas. The only time shepherds spend the night in the fields with their
sheep is during the time when the lambs are born. The ewes become
'attractive' to the rams in the month after June 21, the longest day of the
year. The normal gestation period is five months so the ewes start lambing
about mid-December." He added: Isn't it natural that the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world would be born when all the other lambs are
born?

This "coincidence" was too amazing for me to accept until I checked
it out. A former teacher from the school where I am the administrator is
married to a Montana sheep rancher. She confirmed what I had been told. She
said, "Oh, yes! None of the men who have flocks are in church for weeks at
Christmas. They have to be in the fields day and night to clean up and care
for the lambs as soon as they are born or many would perish in the cold."
Isn't that neat? God's Lamb, who was to die for the sins of the world, was
born when all the other little lambs are born. Because He came and died the
centuries old practice of sacrificing lambs for sin could end.

There is another neat confirmation that God had His Son born at
Christmas. The days at the end of December are the shortest (and therefore
the darkest days) of the year. Jesus Christ said, "I am the light of the
world." So at the time of the year when the darkness is greatest, God the
Father sent God the Son to be the Light of the world.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a sinless life and was
therefore qualified to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind (which is
death). He paid it all- but all do not benefit from the wondrous gift God
bestowed on mankind at Christmas.

"He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name." John 1:11-12

John Stormer, Pastor Emeritus
Heritage Baptist Church, Florissant, MO
from the PCC Update, Winter 1996 (The ABeka magazine)
(PCC - Pensacola Christian College)