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The Very First

Christmas Story
(of the Season)

Preached at Barlow & Mt. Carmel United Methodist Churches, Millry, Alabama

September 14, 1997

EMAIL B. Wayne Dean

Hosea 5: 15- 6:3
1 Chronicles 24: 7; 10; 19
Numbers 24: 17
Luke 1: 5-17

I guess you all think I’m all mixed up this morning - that I’ve got my seasons confused - football’s just getting started good and the preacher’s talking about Christmas!. Who ever heard of a Christmas sermon in September? Well, I have not lost my mind.

There used to be sort of a joke that said, "When you see the first Christmas displays go up in the department stores, you knew it was Halloween - I think nowadays you could say when you see the first Christmas display, you know it’s Labor Day. Well, not quite, but I have seen Christmas displays in September at a store in Mississippi and my daughter told me last week that she had already seen some in Mobile this year!

Well, I am I not trying to make the season even longer. But the reason for the sermon this morning does have a little to do with that mad-cap rush we always seem to experience during December. I felt that it might be helpful to examine the birth of Christ without the television and radio blaring BUY! BUY! BUY! - and without seeing that "jolly old man" and his GET! GET! GET! message everywhere you look! Perhaps if we take time to really look at the birth of Christ - perhaps even taking the wraps off some misconceptions concerning His birth - just perhaps it will lead us to a greater understanding of exactly what the true meaning of His birth is and, yes, perhaps even a greater gratitude for what Father God Yahweh has done for us by sending His son to be born, in a stable, of a poor woman.

Besides, this time of year is probably closer to the actual time of Jesus’ birth anyway. December 25 is most definitely not the accurate date of His birth. That fact all serious Biblical scholars know. Most of you do too.(But, don’t get concerned that, because we’re speaking on Jesus being born in September that we are not going to celebrate the Christmas season in December - we are - so don’t worry.)

But, from history, and the Bible, we know that the apostles, their immediate successors and the early church attached absolutely no significance whatsoever to the date of Christ’s birth at all. In fact they probably could not have even identified it had they been asked. The exact date just wasn’t important!

Historians didn’t even begin to date history from Christ’s birth until the sixth century, when a learned monk of Rome, Dionysius Exiguus, introduced the method. Of course we now know that Dionysius erred in his computations and dated Christ’s birth some four to five years too late in history. When later historians learned this, than adjusting the dates for all later historical events, they merely moved Christ’s birth back. That’s why, many books, even some of those still used today simply list Christ’s birth as having occurred at about 4 B.C. - paradoxically meaning "Before Christ". Serious scholars have since calculated that Jesus’ birth came in about 6 or 7 B.C. This revised time was determined partly due to the fact that the Holy Scriptures record that Herod the Great ruled Judea when Jesus was born and history records that Herod died in 4 B.C - so Jesus had to be born prior to Herod’s death.

But, regardless of the exact year, one deduction about the day of His birth can easily be made. It was, without question, not during the month we know as December. At least two observations lead us to this conclusion.

To begin with, in the Middle East, then and now, December is not a month when shepherds or sheep remain in the open fields at night. Luke records, "Now in this same district there were shepherds out in the fields, keeping watch through the night over their flock, when suddenly there stood before them an angel of the Lord" (Luke 2: 8-9) NEB)

But winters in the mountain regions of Judea are not a time for flocks to be long exposed to the elements of nature. Because of the bitter cold weather and the chilling rains of winter in that part of the world, it is highly unlikely that the shepherds would have their sheep outdoors. During the cold rainy season, livestock was driven home from pasture by the shepherds and sheltered in folds during the night.

A quote from the book The Two Babylons notes, "...though the heat of the day may be considerable, the night from December to February, is very piercing, and it is not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than the end of October".

It is probably, then, Jesus was born sometime after the rains of April and before those of November - the season sheep would be found in the open fields at night. Of course, of this, we cannot be totally certain. Does it matter?

Secondly, December is not a likely month for a governor to call a registration or taxation. Again in the same chapter of the gospel according to the physician Luke, we read, "In those days a decree was issued by the Emperor Augustus for a registration to be made throughout the Roman world. This was the first registration carried out while Quirinius was governor of Syria. For this purpose everyone made his way to his own town." (vv. 1-3, NEB- alternate footnote translation)

Now since it was necessary for everyone to make his way to his own town, it is most highly unlikely that a governor would choose the bitter winter when travel would be difficult. And poorer Israelites would have little money for the authorities to collect at that time - being so far removed from the harvest season. No, it is most likely the shrewd Roman administration logically and politically would have chosen a time near the Feast of Tabernacles to levy such taxes - at the end of the harvest season when people gathered to thank God for His bountiful blessings - and when they had the money to pay the taxes.

So as we continue to ponder the question - in what month - on what day - did the miraculous, virgin birth of Jesus occur - let’s see what conclusions have been reached by scholars following centuries-long speculation. Possible dates these learned men have arrived at include: January 6, February 2, March 25, April 19, May 20, October 4 and November 17.

A British physicist and astronomer, David Hughes, has calculated that the date is September 17, 7 B.C., based on various scientific evidence, including that of a conjunction of two planets, Jupiter and Saturn, in the constellation Pisces on that date. He concludes that this extraordinary celestial display was the "Star" seen by the distant wise men or Magi. The 17th century German astronomer, Johannes Kepler, similarly had calculated that a three planet conjunction, including Venus along with Jupiter and Saturn, occurred in the same constellation in 7 B.C. If this September 17 date is true, that would put our worship service this morning pretty close to His real birthday, wouldn’t it? But, of course, we don’t know for certain. And, anyway, does it really matter?

Of course, as we’ve talked about before, all this attempting to identify the "Star" by natural occurrences is, in one way, an attempt by man to "explain" this supernatural occurrence by means of "science" rather than through faith and belief in the word of God.

Well perhaps we should examine the Holy Scriptures as preserved in our Bible to see what we can find there. If we look at the prophesy of Balaam in Numbers 24:17, referred to by Matthew, the so-called "Star" is probably not a heavenly body at all - but an angel - so the "Star of Bethlehem" could have occurred anytime.

Then, beginning with Luke 1: 5, we can uncover a sequence of events that will give us an idea of the accurate time of Jesus’ birth.

The crucial point appears in verse 5 in the term "the course or division of Abijah." By looking closely at 1 Chronicles 24:10, we discover that the division of Abijah comprised a priestly division. Now, there are actually about 50 weeks in the scriptural lunar year and every member of the priestly family served one week in the first half of the year and another week in the fall and winter months. The beginning of these cycles of service was the week after the major annual observances of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the spring and the week after the Feast of Tabernacles - some know it as the Feast of Booths - held in the fall.

Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, was of the division of Abijah, the eighth division or course. Therefore his period of service occurred eight weeks after the Feast of Unleavened Bread and eight weeks after the Feast of Tabernacles. This week of service is not that hard to locate if we look at a calendar that specifies the scriptural holidays indicated or superimposed upon the Roman calendar we use today.

We can know from the Bible that six months after the conception of John the Baptist, the angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary and announced to her the conception of the Messiah. So, consequently, we can see that if John the Baptist was conceived in the ninth week after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus would have been conceived a few weeks prior to December 25. Then how could He have been born of the day the world has chosen to celebrate as His birthday? Obviously, it is impossible! His birth would actually be some nine months following the middle of December, wouldn’t it?

With this knowledge from the Bible itself, we must then conclude that Jesus was born sometime around or during the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall - the time of year we are now experiencing -not on December 25. This would indeed seem to confirm that He was born sometime during September, would it not?

Well, preacher, if that is so obvious, how did we get caught up in all this December 25 ballyhoo? To explain, let’s examine what was originally observed on December 25. For some time before the spread of Christianity, December 25 was a time of pagan celebration. The pagans knew that, at this time of year, the shortest day and the longest night had passed - that day by day the sun would rise higher and higher and remain longer and longer in the sky - bringing with it the hope and promise of the coming spring.

To celebrate a week long event, the Saturnalia, in honor of the god Saturn was held from December 17 through 24. This festival would bring hope for peace,, happiness and goodness that they believed occurred during Saturn’s reign.

Emperor Aurelian, who ruled from 270-275 A.D., quickly capitalized upon the heathen worship of the sun and, in the year A.D. 274, "officially" declared December 25 to be the birthday of the Unconquered Sun (dies natalis solis invicti) - their celebration of the winter solstice - thereby more firmly imbedding the celebration in the people lives.

Evidently, as we earlier noted, sometime during the early fourth century, Christians began to search for the proper day to celebrate Christ’s birthday. Some churches had been celebrating Jesus’ birth on January 6 - others on April 20, May 20, March 29 and even September 29. Well, you can imagine that this situation was creating so much confusion that Saint Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, about the middle of the fourth century, inquired of the Roman bishop, Julius, regarding the "correct date".

Well, Julius wrote Cyril and reported that he personally favored December 25. Well, Cyril obviously refused to accept this date as valid so he and the Jerusalem church, for many years, continued to celebrate Jesus’ birth on January 6th.

Then, in A.D. 354, two years following the end of Saint Julius’ reign, the new Roman bishop, Liberius, ordered all his people to celebrate December 25 as the "correct" date of Christ’s birth.

With the passage of time, and with no strong protest, this date became the more popular and was soon adopted by most of Christendom.

But despite the fact that Julius preferred December 25 and that Liberius ordered it, and that most of Christendom now celebrates it - we do know that December 25 really is not the date as we have just proved from the Bible. His birth was being celebrated on December 25 during the early period of Christian history partly because the pagan people of that time refused to submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to cleanse their minds of their idolatrous religion of sun worship. The Roman church merely accommodated them by "substituting" "Son" worship on that day?

Is it of any significance that the Messiah’s birthday went unobserved for about three centuries after His death and resurrection? Does it make any difference?

What is the true message of Christmas?

You see, for all the clouded chronology and legal background of Jesus’ birth and Christmas, the biggest mystery still lies in its message - the message that God has entered the human race in love for it - one with it - and one of it!

So, it really doesn’t matter what month - or on what day He was born. If, indeed, it was that important, the exact date would be revealed in the Scriptures, but it is not.

What is important is recorded in the Bible: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth".

That, friends, is the mystifying core of Christmas - an awesome concept that has challenged hearts and minds since His birth - whenever that was. It holds that Jesus was truly human, sharing the nature of all people - yet also was truly God!

"Emanuel ... God with us." "The light of the world."

No it doesn’t matter when Christ was born - but it is a matter of eternal consequence that He was born.

But then, on the other hand, it indeed does matter when Christ was born, if we are interested in interpreting prophecy as Matthew did - over and over - in Jesus’ birth. Let me leave you this morning with this mystery. If a day of the Lord is like 1000 years, then interpret this prophesy of Hosea:

Hosea 5:15-6:3

Does it matter when Christ was born? What do you think?

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father Yahweh. Yes, it does matter that Your son was born. We thank You for sending Him to save us from sin and death by shedding His precious blood on the cross at Cavalry. We thank you that our Messiah was truly God and yet was truly human. We thank You for loving us. We lift up Your name on high in praise and worship and ask that You grant us the wisdom to understand what the birth of Your son Jesus the Messiah really means. It is in His name we pray. AMEN.

"Deceptive Winter Holidays" . Jacob O. Meyer. The Sacred Name Broadcaster, 12/1996; "What About Christmas?. The Rev. Jackson H. Snyder, upd. 12/3/96; "Mystery - What Year Was Jesus Born? The Rev. Jackson H. Snyder. upd. 11/29/96; "Festivals". The Two Babylons. Chapter 3; The Wesley Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1990.

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