Second in a series of three:
If Jesus’ conception occurred in mid-December, then Jesus would have been born
nine months later during the Jewish month of Tishri. This month corresponds
with our months of September and October. Is there documentation that Jesus was
born during September or October? Again we go to Scripture for additional
puzzle pieces. This one is from Luke.
Luke
2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch
over their flocks at night.
At
the time that Jesus was born there were shepherds living in
the fields. Shepherds lived in the open country during the months from spring
until the colder rainy season, which began most often in early October. This
would not have been mid-December. There would have been no grass for the sheep
to eat. It would have been sometime before the colder rainy season.
Earlier
we established that John the Baptist was born during the time of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread (Passover) one of three main festival days of the Lord. We
have established the month of Jesus’ conception as mid-December which places
His birth in mid-September. Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated in the seventh
month, the month of Tishri, corresponding with our months of September or
October (according to whether or not it is the Jewish leap year). Is there
reason to believe that Jesus may have been born during the Feast of
Tabernacles?
John
gives us a piece of the puzzle.
John 1:14a
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
The
“Word” is Jesus who was born a baby. He made His dwelling among us. The Greek
word “dwelling” means “to encamp, to make a temporary residence, to tabernacle”
Jesus
came to earth as a baby to “tabernacle” among us, to take up temporary
residence with us.
The
Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day festival. If Jesus was born on the first
day of the feast, then he would have been circumcised on the eighth day of the
feast.
Luke
2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named
Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
So
we can place the date of Jesus’ birth during the Feast of Tabernacles. Can we
know the year? We again return to Scripture for that piece of the puzzle.
Matthew
gives us the piece of that puzzle. After Jesus was born, Joseph was warned in a
dream to take Jesus and His mother to Egypt until the death of Herod.
Matthew
2:14-15 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and
left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was
fulfilled
Jesus
was born while Herod was in power. Matthew tells us that wise men from the east
appeared in Jerusalem and inquired of Herod concerning the birth of the “king
of the Jews”. The possibility of another “king” in the midst angered Herod so
much that he ordered the deaths of all baby boys aged two years and younger. Of
course Joseph by this time had already taken Jesus safely to Egypt.
According
to the Jewish historian, Josephus, Herod died in the spring of 4 B.C. This
means that Jesus was born before 4 B.C. at least one to two years before,
either 5 B.C or 6 B.C. A date of 5 B.C. fits with other Biblical data. Jesus
was “about” 30 when He began His official teaching mission. (Luke 3:23). We
know that Jesus was baptized in or around 27 AD based on the scripture account
in Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his
brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of
Abilene--
We
say in or around 27 AD because Tiberius Caesar ruled prior to
his “official” rule that began in 14 AD. Scripture tells us that Jesus started
His ministry when He was about 30 years of age. We do not know
for certain that He was baptized at the very beginning of His ministry. As a
cross reference for date finding, we add three years to the date of 27 AD and
arrive at 30 AD as the date of Jesus’ crucifixion. In looking at the Hebrew
calendar we discover that all the Biblical days of the week during Holy week
exactly match the Hebrew calendar year 3790 (30 AD). None of the years
immediately before or after 30 AD match the Biblical timeline. It is
established by Biblical truth with calendar and scientific cross references. So
the birth year of 5 B.C. fits with the date of crucifixion in 30 A.D.
For
additional details see the book The Journey of Jesus from the Manger to the
Mansion.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076JQ1ZY1/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
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