History of the Birth of Jesus Christ

Happy Sabbath once again! It is great to see all of you with us today. And obviously, it's that time of year again, isn't it? It's probably the time of year of your... Did you hear your favorite carols? Like grandma got run over by a reindeer. Perhaps, like my favorite, Frosty the Beer Mug. Whatever your favorite carols may be, it's that time of year. And we in the Church of God certainly are not ashamed of the birth of Christ. I want to tell you a true story. We have a young man now who serves in the Church. A very gifted young man from a Church family in another state. He actually has a Ph.D. He's a very smart young man, has a couple of children. He and his wife attend services in one of our Texas congregations. And when he was 13 years old, he's obviously an adult now, but when he was 13 years old, he was stunned.

And what stunned him so much as he had to talk to his mother is that he discovered that Jesus Christ was born, and that it's in the Bible, and there was a manger, and there were wise men. And all of these things that he assumed were just myth and made up actually were in the Scripture. And the reason, of course, he was confused because the particular congregation he attended never talked about the birth of Jesus Christ, almost as if they were ashamed to talk about the birth of Christ. The birth of Christ is mentioned in two Gospels, four chapters total in two Gospels. We are not ashamed of the birth of Jesus Christ. What we refuse to do, as we'll see near the end of this sermon, is we refuse to take relabeled and borrowed pagan customs and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on the wrong day, in the wrong way, and annually when it was never intended to be observed on an annual basis. But it was a remarkable one-time event that literally fulfilled a number of prophecies. We do not have a Savior if Jesus Christ wasn't born. The birth and the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ, again, are part of two Gospels, and that is what I would like to talk today. As we talk about the history of the birth of Jesus Christ, near the end we will see why we do not celebrate a day that is called Christmas, that is celebrated by our world today. First of all, if you have your Bibles, it's okay. Open your Bibles and turn to these Scriptures, if you would rather do that. In contrast to looking at the screen, we're going to begin by going to Isaiah 7, verse 11, and this is from the Scripture, the New Century Version. God was having a communication with Ahaz. Ahaz was being a little testy. God said, I'll prove to you that I'm God. I will do any sign that you want me. Just tell me what you want me to do. What you want me to do is a sign and I will prove it to you. We'll pick it up here a little bit out of context. He says, but Ahaz said, I will not ask for a sign to test the Lord. So God asked him to do one thing, and in essence he refused to do what God asked him to do. Then Isaiah said, Ahaz, descendant of David, listen carefully.

Isn't it bad enough that you wear out the patience of the people? Do you also have to wear out the patience of my God? So he's saying, Ahaz, you are obnoxious. It's bad enough that you are an irritant to your very own people. Now you are an irritant to the eternal God because he asked you to do something and you won't even do that. Verse 14, the Lord himself will give you a sign.

The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and she will name him Emmanuel, which of course in Hebrew is a description. It's not a name. It's a description that means that he will be God with us. Now that's a prophecy from Isaiah the prophet. Here's another one in chapter 9.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. All titles, all names, refer to Jesus Christ. In verse 7, of the increase of his government, verse 7 is more specifically oriented towards his second return, not the first time he came to earth as the Son of God.

Verse 7, and the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. Now I want you to notice the enthusiasm that God has towards this prophecy that a child would be born, who would have those terms and titles.

The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. And again, this was written by the prophet Isaiah approximately 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. So it's an important event, an important prophetic event. So now let's get into the New Testament. We'll take a look at some verses through Luke and Matthew today as we try to understand a little more clearly the history and the background of the events of the birth. of Jesus Christ. And along the way, we'll discover some myths that the world has incorporated in what they call their Christmas celebrations. Luke 2, verse 1. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census took place while Carineus was governing Syria, so all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. So this was a command that went out, and I want you to notice here that it doesn't say actually that Carineus was the governor at this time, title, governor, but he was governing, so he was an authority in Syria at that time. So being obedient, all went out to be registered, everyone, to his own city. So again, we want to emphasize that this word governing does not mean governor per se, and here's why that's important. History does not show that he was governor around the time that Jesus Christ would have been born, but he was governing. And I will let the Believer's Study Bible explain it. It says, this gentleman, Carineus, a prominent Roman governor of Syria, and 6 AD, that's when he was the title of governor, who was in control of the military in Syria under Verus in 6 BC and would have directed the census. So he wasn't literally the governor in around the time of 6 BC, but he was in control of the military. So he is the one whom the governor would have said, you take care of this census for me, you make sure that it's done right and that everything is in order. Continuing what the Believer's Study Bible says, Luke is a careful historian as well as an accomplished theologian. Matthew 2, 19 places Christ's birth prior to Herod's death. Thus, Christ's birth may have occurred in the summer or early fall of 4 BC. Shepherds would not normally have been tending their fields in December due to the cold of winter. So this happens to be the time that we believe is the most likely time of the birth of Jesus Christ, and that would have been 4 BC.

So let's go back to the Scriptures now, Luke 2 and 4. Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth in the Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. So part of the census said you had to go back to your hometown in order to be counted. And by the way, the census also included paying taxes. You have to go back and be counted in the city that you're from. So if that were to happen today, I would probably have to go back to the Collinwood area of Cleveland, because that is my native hometown. So they had to go back to their hometown in order to be registered for the census. And verse 5, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child, so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. So Mary was required to register for the census with Joseph, because they were counting all peoples that was part of the taxation requirement. And I want you to notice here something that we'll dig into a little bit later in more detail. Bethlehem, which is only six miles away from Jerusalem, is very crowded. It's not a... it's actually what we would call a small village today in the 21st century. It's a small village. It is so crowded, there is no place to stay. There's not even an inn available. Why? What caused this to happen? It had to be more than just a few people coming back into Bethlehem because they were born there as a census requirement. There... it's overpacked. And there obviously is no room. Why is that? We'll discuss that in more detail a little bit later. Let's focus on verse 7. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them at the inn. The... the reary Bible note says this. Cloths were wrapped around an infant in the Near East in Biblical times. They were actually like long strips of cloth. And like you would wrap a little mummy in, they would go and wrap up their arms, and then they would wrap up their legs, and then they would wrap up their body. We all, of course, know today the importance of layering and how layering keeps us warmer.

That was their way of layering a child to make sure that an infant wouldn't get chilled and wouldn't get cold. Continuing regarding a manger, it says a feeding trough for animals in a stall or stable. Tradition says that Jesus was born in a cave, in which case the manger may have been cut out of a rock wall.

It's very possible. Again, there's no room at the end. There's no place to stay. They very well may have found a cave or a stable in order to go in. If it was a cave, it probably was an area that was hewn out of a wall face in which they normally put animal feed in, and that is where they put the newborn child.

Or it could have been a little manger in a stable as well. But I wanted to provide you with both of those possible options of what they did with the Christ child. Verse 8, now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people.

That great joy, we later learned and understand, is the fact that Jesus Christ is a Savior. That because he was born, because he lived a perfect life, because he shed his blood for us, because he was resurrected from the dead, the totality of his life provides an opportunity for us to be reconciled to God and to live forever in the family of God. That's what the great joy and the good tidings are all about.

The shepherds did not have their sheep out in December, and I will let Adam Clark's commentary explain this. Again, Adam Clark, as far as I know, until he died, he observed Christmas. He was just a good scholar.

He was just a man who tried to do the best he could. But he was pro-Christmas, but here's what he said about these events. Quote, It was a custom among the Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts about the Passover and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain during the time they were out.

The shepherds watched them night and day as the Passover occurred in the spring, and the first rain began in the month of Marshevan, which answers to our part of October and November. We find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole of the summer.

And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that consequently our Lord was not born on the 25th of December when no flocks were out in the fields. So again, this is a comment from Adam Clark's commentary of the Bible. So let's go back now to Luke chapter 2 verse 11 and see what else is being said here. For there is born to you for your benefit, for your blessing. There is born to you this day in the city of David a savior.

That's one title given to Jesus Christ as an infant. A savior who is the Christ. That's the second title. The Lord. That's the third title. And this will be assigned to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will towards men.

Again, this was the fulfillment of numerous prophecies from the Old Testament. Jesus again has three titles. Savior. He is the Redeemer of sin and death. Number two, he is Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Ruler, the King of Kings, who will come back and rule the earth. And he is the Lord. He is God. God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. This is what the angel is saying in this proclamation. Prop down to verse 15. And so it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen him, they made a widely known the saying, which was told them concerning this child. And all who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things that they had heard and seen, and it was fun that was told them.

So, let's look at a...ask a few questions and look at some possible answers. What time of the year? If it wasn't December 25th, and again, if you Google, if you go to virtually any resource to discover the approximate time of the birth of Christ, most people, I would say 99% are pretty clear in one thing. It absolutely, positively was not December 25th.

It is the least likely date that could have possibly been chosen. So, what time of year would Jesus have been born? Well, we can ascertain from Scriptures the approximate time, and the Scriptures, personally, are nebulous. It doesn't state the day Jesus Christ was born, because it was never intended to be an annual celebration of His birth. You find no record of the disciples celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. No record that Jesus Christ celebrated His own birth. So, it purposely is rather vague and rather nebulous, so that human beings would not go and try to make a holy day out of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, which fulfilled so many prophecies.

So, let's take a look at something called the course of Abijah. Luke chapter 1 and verse 5, There were in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

And this is the same Elizabeth that Mary, the Virgin Mary, would visit six months after Elizabeth was pregnant. They were actually related. So, Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were cousins. Dropping down here now to verse 8. So, it was that while he was serving his priests before God, in order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

So, we see here that he's of the division of Abijah, and while he's serving in that division, something miraculous happens. There's a lottery for the different duties that you have that week that you serve, and of all things, he gets the lottery to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord, and that was considered a very wonderful and choice responsibility. Now, verse... let's see what happens. Chapter 1, verse 11.

Now, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense, and when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. He didn't have an angel carrying on a conversation with him every day, and I would suggest that if an angel suddenly started a discussion with us, we probably would be rather troubled, wondering what we did wrong.

Most likely, we probably would be troubled as well. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John, and you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, because he was the Elijah of that time. He was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, and prepared a way for the message of Jesus Christ, the preaching of the gospel. So let's now go back to Adam Clark's commentary and learn more about this course of Abijah, and how it can help us to determine the approximate time of the year when Jesus Christ was born.

Quote, When the sacerdotal families grew very numerous so that they could not officiate together at the temple, David divided them into 24 classes that they might minister in turns. Abijah was the eighth in the order in which they had been originally established.

Now, I'm just turning to this scripture, and I just want to focus on verse 10, because we don't need to know all the preceding seven orders and what family was part of those orders. Focus down on verse 10 to 7th to Hechos and the 8th to Abijah. So I'm just trying to confirm what Adam Clark told us. Now, what does all of this mean, and how can we use it to determine the approximate birth date, or the date of birth, of Jesus Christ?

There were 24 one-week priestly cycles. It began in the spring at the start of each new year. So when a new year started, it was course number one that began. Each course served eight days. They served from a Sabbath through the next Sabbath. And the reason they did that is the Sabbath was always a busy time in the temple, and there would actually be two courses serving on the Sabbath day before one ended their course on Sunday and went home, and the others would continue alone that next course for the rest of the week until the next Sabbath.

So Abijah was the eighth in the order, beginning eight to nine weeks after the new year in March, by our Roman calendar usually, sometimes maybe as late as April, after the new year began. Zacharias returned home around Pentecost, which again, this would have been eight weeks after the start of the year, after the spring holy days had long concluded, and he would return home about Pentecost, and believing that faith without works is dead, he did his part, and Elizabeth became pregnant as prophesied through the angel.

And obviously, if this occurred around the time of Pentecost, John was born about nine months later, approximately April, of the following year. So let's go back to the Scriptures, take a look at a few Scriptures here. Luke chapter 1 and verse 26. During Elizabeth's six months of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David.

Her name was Mary. Of course, we won't read about it, but Joseph heard that she was with child and was gracefully going to call off the engagement, because he didn't want to humiliate her, but he was told in a dream that, no, this is all right, this is of God. Now dropping down to verse 36. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age and is now in the sixth month for her who was called barren.

So what this tells us in verse 36 is that John is six months older than Jesus. So John was born around March or April of that following year that we talked about nine months later after Pentecost. Then Jesus is born six months later, which would be sometime around September, October-ish. So that gives us a timeframe of when it would have occurred. As far as the time of year, we don't know the exact day, even though there are some speculations. So what year was Jesus Christ born?

Do the Scriptures help us to understand that? Well, indeed, they do. Daniel 9 and verse 25, in what is known as the 69-week prophecy, we'll take a look at that and do a little bit of easy math, and it will tell us the year we could have expected the Messiah to be born. Daniel 9 and verse 25, Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, or a total of sixty-nine weeks.

It says, the street shall be built again. This is the result of the command. And we read about this in Israel and Nehemiah. The street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublesome times. The workers even had to have swords. At the same time, they were working in order to protect themselves. So all of that prophecy was fulfilled. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to find out that the proclamation or the command that the Jews could go back and restore and build Jerusalem was in 457 B.C.

Let me quote from the Believer's Study Bible, From the time of the decree to restore and build Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah would be seven weeks, forty-nine years, plus sixty-two weeks, four hundred and thirty-four years, yielding sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years. There's a little thing known in prophecy as a day for a year understanding, in which you take a day and each day becomes equal to a year and you add up the number of years and that becomes a very significant event for the fulfillment of prophecy.

So forty-nine days, which are the seven weeks, equals forty-nine years. Four hundred and thirty-four days, which are sixty-two weeks, added together, is four hundred and eighty-three total years. So let's do just a little bit of math here. In 457, Artaxerxes issued a decree and said that Jews could go back and they could rebuild Jerusalem. Well, sixty-nine weeks times seven days per week equals, again, four hundred and eighty-three years. We just discussed that. That's using a prophetic day for a year principle.

From 457 BC, when that proclamation, that command was made, if you add four hundred and eighty years on it, you're going forward and you're actually going to go from BC to AD, you're going to come to 26 AD. And that's adding a year for the transition between BC and AD. So you come to the year adding 483 years on 457 BC, you cross the threshold in what's known as AD, and you come to 27 AD, the year that Jesus began his ministry.

And Luke said, in Luke chapter 3 and verse 23, Jesus himself began his ministry about thirty years of age. So this means that he was born around 4 BC. Now, could he have been born by BC or 3 BC? Very well could have. And I don't want to be too dogmatic about this because these are one of those things in which people, normally, who can't balance a checkbook, are extremely dogmatic on a particular day or a date and want to argue about it.

So the point is that the Scripture gives us a very good zone, a very good timeframe of when the birth and the ministry of Jesus Christ would have been, and let's not get all bent out of shape over a year one way or a year another way, or someone's personal calculation of when these things could have occurred, because they're really not important. What is really important is that Jesus Christ was born to be a Savior and that he is our Savior. Those are the kinds of things that we should be focusing on. So that being said, who were the wise men and where did they come from?

You may have heard the old joke, why wasn't Jesus born in Cleveland? The answer is because they couldn't find any wise men who heard that one before. Alright, Matthew 2, verse 1.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

For we have seen his star in the east, and we have come to worship him. You see, they acknowledge, they understand that he is God in the flesh. He is Emmanuel, God with us. These Gentiles understand that. They believe it. Let's take a look at a statement from Holman's Bible dictionary. Herod, of course, was king of Judea under the Roman authority when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He received the wise men and sent them onto the Christ child with orders to return to him and let him know where he could find the newly born king of the Jews.

He gave the orders to kill the babies of Bethlehem, two years old and under, in hopes of getting this one whom he saw as a successor to his throne. Herod was a madman. To put it mildly, he needed anger management therapy. He was a cruel, barbaric individual as a ruler. He was threatened when someone came and said, oh yes, the new king of the Jews, meaning to replace you, has been born. He obviously went into a rage and he tried to get the wise men on their return trip to come and tell him where they would find this king of the Jews.

So when, as we'll see in a minute, they didn't return to him, they went another route in order to hedge his bets, because Christ probably, at this time, might have been a year old or less. And you know, some babies are large, some babies are small. They hedged his bets. He chose any male child, two years old and under, to make sure that he would get the Christ child.

So that's why he chose two years and under. He wanted to make sure that he had enough leeway on the upper part of that age in order to make sure that he got the right one. So let's take a look at a statement from the Believer's Study Bible, Matthew, as it explains, Matthew 2 and verse 1. The Greek term magoi, meaning wise men, is plural, but nothing is said of the exact number of men traditionally considered to be three because of the three gifts. So we don't know how many wise men there were.

There might have been two. There might have been ten. That's just pure conjecture because there were three types of gifts that there were three wise men. And I think Roman Catholic tradition has even created names for the three wise men, if I recall correctly, from my theology studies.

And of course, that is all conjecture and pure myth. Continuing, a magos or a magian was a wise man or seer from the Median tribe in Persia who interpreted dreams and acted as a priest. But after an unsuccessful rebellion against the Persians, the magoi became a priestly tribe, much like the Levites of Israel. Although they were not kings, often magoi were elevated to positions of rule. They possibly became familiar with the Jewish hope of a Messiah when Israel was under Persian rule in 539 to 332 B.C. So these, indeed, are Gentiles that are coming from the east. Astrologers are looking up into the sky and they see a star.

And we'll talk about what that star may have been in just a few minutes. Another quote from the Believer's Study Bible. The historians Josephus, Tacitus, and Setonius and the poet Virgil attest to a universal expectation of a Redeemer about this time. Matthew shows that Jesus fulfilled Messianic expectations concerning both the place of his birth, Bethlehem, and those bearing gifts, Gentiles, and it mentions a number of scriptures. We don't have time to read today, but explain Gentiles giving gifts to the king, who would respond to him, whom the chief priests and scribes would reject, the Magi discovered by faith that which is missed by Herod and the religious leaders of Judaism who possessed the scriptures.

So that's an interesting thing. The Magi, who do not have the scriptures, they're eager to come and worship the king. Whereas the Jews and those who have the scriptures, those who have the prophetic knowledge, are out to kill the newborn king. What a contrast between the two. Matthew 2 and 3, when Herod heard this, he was troubled in all Jerusalem with him.

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah. For out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. So that was from Micah, chapter 5, verse 2, a fulfillment of prophecy. That's what the birth of Christ is all about, fulfilling God's promise of providing a savior, a ruler, a messiah, a Christ to his people and ultimately to the earth.

Matthew 2 and 3, then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared, And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search carefully for the young child, And when you have found him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship him also.

And of course, this is deceitful. He doesn't want to worship Jesus Christ. He wants to kill him, wants to snuff him out as a small infant child. So again, the unbelievable contrast, the ruler of Judah secretly wants to kill the child, While on the other hand, the Gentiles want to openly come and worship the child.

What a stark, dramatic contrast. Matthew 2 and 9, when they heard the king, they departed, and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them. So this star moves. It's not fixed in the sky. It obviously moves and leads them, helps them to progress towards where the child is at. Till it came and stood over where the young child was, and when they saw this star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy, And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary as mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Again, three types of gifts. Now, proving or indicating there were only three wise men. I want you to also notice that by the time they come, the Greek word changes. Jesus Christ is not an infant. He's not in a manger. By the time they get there and they have followed the star, he is a young child.

And I want you to also notice that they were in the house, most like the home owned by Joseph and Mary. So, some time has passed. The three wise men did not appear to the infant when he was first born. That night of his birth, this is some time has elapsed since that occurred. He's gone from being an infant to a young child. So, verses 9 through 11, and when they heard the king, they departed, and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. Scholars and astronomers and people have made great efforts to try to explain the star. And some believe it may have been a comet or a supernova.

Some believe it was a unique conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which was ultra-bright in the dark sky or some other astronomical event. You don't have to find an astronomical event. It could very well have been an angel. And up there, guiding the wise men on their journey, defined the one who had been born, king of the Jews. Verse 12, then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

When they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the young child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt, and he was there until the death of Herod, which occurred in a short period of time within a year after Jesus Christ was born, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt I called my son. Again, a fulfillment of Hosea, chapter 11 and verse 1.

Matthew 2 and verse 16, then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem in all its districts from two years old and under according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. And again, that does not mean that Jesus was as much as two years old. Herod would have wanted to hedge his bet. Jesus was probably about a year old at this time, and he wanted to make sure by stretching out the date that he got, the infant that he was looking for, to try to kill him. Verse 17 then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, great morning Rachel, weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more. Another fulfillment of prophecy, Jeremiah, chapter 31 and verse 15.

Now I'm going to step out on the plank just a few steps and talk about a couple.

Could someone be kind enough to bring me a glass of water up here, please? I'll give you a couple of possible scenarios. Again, this is just speculation. The Bible purposely masks the actual day that Jesus Christ was born, but this is just food for thought. Call it mental candy. A few possible scenarios. Corinthians wisely chose one of the festival seasons to have the census when people were traveling anyway. The Romans were not stupid people. If you're going to have a census and you want to make sure that you get any cash that's in their pocket, you're going to tax them and you're going to have a census, doesn't it make sense that they're traveling to Jerusalem during the one of the three major pilgrimages during the year, the spring holy days, Pentecost and the fall holy days? Thank you, Frank, so much. Doesn't it only make sense that they would have timed having this census during one of the pilgrimages to Jerusalem? Doesn't that connect together that in Bethlehem there's no room at the end and perhaps there was no room at the end in this little village simply because pilgrims were flooding into Jerusalem for the fall holy days? You see, these are very strong, very possible scenarios. And here are a couple of things that might have occurred, and again, this is pure speculation. A lot of papers have been written on these things, a lot of interesting information if you're interested in it. Jesus may have been born on the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets represent His coming to earth, and it could not only represent His second coming to earth, it may also represent His first coming to earth. So this would tie in with the time of the census, the fact that there was no room at the end, that obviously Jerusalem was flooded with people and it backed up all the way to the small villages. Or it's also very possible that Jesus may have been born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and circumcised on the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Think about it. He was born in a temporary dwelling, wasn't he? Whether it was a stable or a cave, he was born in a temporary dwelling. And again, it's a possible scenario that he may have also been born during the Feast of Tabernacles. Again, that's just food for thought. We're not saying anything dogmatic here. We're not trying to create new doctrine. We're just trying to stretch you a little bit and give you the ability to think about some possibilities. So how did a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ become part of our Western culture? Well, I'm going to leave religious theologians like from the Believers Study Bible and Adam Clark's commentary. I'm going to leave scriptures for a minute and we're going to go into people who would know, people who should have credibility. These are the people who write encyclopedias. They have no bones to pick. They don't keep the Sabbath. Most of them probably don't keep any day. Most of them probably are not religious. They're just interested in history. That's what they do. So without having an agenda, let's see what they tell us. This is from the Encyclopedia Britannica, the CD version, 1997 under the article Christmas. And I quote, So again, these historians, these scholars who write encyclopedias, they're not religious people, openly admit that it was regarded, December 25, was regarded as the birth date of the god Mithra, who by the way, with Roman soldiers was the birth date of the god Mithra. And in the end, the Bible says, Let's take a look at another resource. This is Microsoft and Carta Reference Library, 2003. Let's see what it tells us.

Quote, The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 is a day for the feast of the Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals. For example, the Church replaced festivities honoring the birth of Mithra, the god of light, with festivities to commemorate the birth of Jesus, whom the Bible calls the light of the world. The Catholic Church hoped to draw pagans into its religion while allowing them to continue their revelry while simultaneously honoring the birthday of Jesus. It's quite clear here, isn't it? They don't leave too many questions in anyone's head who's honest enough to read what they're telling us. Let's take a look at something else it said. As Christmas evolved in the United States, new customs were adopted and many old ones were reworked. The legend of Santa Claus, for example, had origins in Europe and was brought by Dutch settlers to New York in the early 18th century. Traditionally, Santa Claus from the Dutch Sinteclas, sorry, Taya, I put your debt so bad, was depicted as a tall, dignified religious figure riding on a white horse through the air. Known as Saint Nicholas in Germany, he was usually accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who punished disobedient children. In North America, he eventually developed into a fat, jolly old gentleman who had neither the religious attributes of Saint Nicholas nor the strict, disciplinarian character of Black Peter.

So in the United States, it's all about the money, right? So they stripped these individuals of any religious connotation and they secularized and made this grandfatherly, jolly old man who's not carbohydrate challenged a new figure within the Christian culture of the United States. He became known as Santa Claus, the giving kind, jolly old man. The only thing I've ever heard him say is, ha ha ha, he laughs at everything.

I just don't get it. But that is what evolved in the United States. So with this background, what is the proper perspective regarding the modern observance called Christmas? I want to emphasize once again, we are not ashamed of the birth of Jesus Christ. We do not ignore or sheepishly try to restrain an understanding of Matthew 1 and 2 and Luke 1 and 2. We have the proper understanding of the reason and the purpose that Jesus Christ was born.

So with that understanding, what is the proper perspective that we should have? Let's go back. We'll begin with the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 12, verse 28. Again, I'm going to read this from the translation, God's Word. And here's what Israel was instructed. Be sure you obey all these instructions I'm giving you. Then things will always go well for you and your descendants because you will be doing what the Lord your God considers good and right. The Lord your God will destroy the nations where you're going and force them out of your way.

You will take possession of their land and live there. After they've been destroyed, be careful. You aren't tempted to follow their customs. Don't even ask about their gods and say, how did these people worship their gods? We want to do what they did. So this is a very ancient warning. Going back to God's first covenant relationship in the Old Testament, do not adapt pagan ways and put lipstick on it and say that somehow I'm going to use this to worship the true God.

Larry spoke about this a little bit in his sermonette and certainly very appropriate. The question that we should always ask in everything that we do is, how does God desire to be worshiped? It's not about me. It's not about my family tradition. It's not about what humankind wants to do. The big question is, God, how do you desire to be honored and worshiped?

Because that should be the way that we desire to worship Him. And he reveals that to us through His holy days. He's very clear about the days and the times that He desires us to celebrate His greatness and His goodness in our lives. Take a look at another scripture, chapter 12 and verse 31. Never worship the Lord your God in a way they worship their gods because everything they do for their gods is disgusting to the Lord.

He hates it! They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. Be sure to do everything I command. You never add anything to it nor take anything away from it. So we do not have the right as a people, as a culture, to say, well, so that we can instantaneously quasi-convert pagans to Christianity. Okay, we'll just take a day that celebrates the birth of the Son of Righteousness, S-U-N, and we'll smear a little makeup and lipstick on it and make it pretty and now call it the massive Christ.

Because that'll make it easy for everybody to keep the same old day they ever did before. We don't have the right to do that. Human cultures don't have the right to do that. That isn't affront to God. Exodus 34, verse 12. Be careful that you don't make an agreement with the people who live in the land where you were going because it will bring you trouble. Verse 13. Destroy their altars, break their stone pillars, and cut down their aspith's idols.

Don't worship any other God because I, the Lord, the jealous one, am a jealous God. Again, I'm going to ask you the same question I asked a year or two ago. Would you give your present spouse a gift of a former boyfriend or girlfriend with their name engraved on it and give it to them in that former person's birthday?

Do you think they would be impressed with you? If you gave a gift to your wife, for example, and it was a negligee of your former girlfriend with her name embroidered on it, and you gave it to your wife on your former girlfriend's birthday, do you think your wife would be honored?

Do you think your wife would be impressed? Well, neither is God. We just can't do that because we have to worship God the way that he desires. He says that I am a jealous God. I don't want to share my honor and glory with relabeled paganism. I don't want to share who and what I am with a practice that basically rebrands something that is disgusting to him and says, okay, God, now we're going to worship you in the way that we want to because it's convenient or because it's fun or because we've done it for a thousand years.

That's not how we can worship the true God. Let's take a look at something Jesus said as he had a discussion with a Samaritan woman, and in context, the discussion, indeed, was about how to worship God. The woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. This is after he had guessed how many husbands she had had, and that the fact that she was shacking up with the guy that she was living with now and had never married him.

She said, hmm, I perceive that you are a prophet. Verse 20, our Father is worshipped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. You see, it's all a matter of opinion, Jesus. We worship on here, and you Jews, you worship over there. My opinion is as good as your opinion. It's just all about what we want to do. Verse 21, Jesus said to her woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship to Father. We worship what you do not know. We know what we worship. For salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Not through relabeled pagan observations, not with incense, not with stained glass windows, not with little ornaments on trees, not with reeds hanging on doorways, not singing carols. But we have to worship God in spirit. That's with sincerity and humility and in truth, not simply a relabeled sham, which are what most of the days this world celebrates are that they call religious days. We just cannot do that if we want to be a follower of Jesus Christ, if we want to please our God. Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 3 and 4, he said, For I delivered to you, first of all, which I also received. He said, So here's the message I gave you, because this is the message that I got. And here it is. That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Paul emphasized the death, which is the Passover, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He did not emphasize or mention His birth.

Paul talked numerous times about the shed blood of Christ dying for our sins. Over ten times Paul talked about the resurrection. Peter talks twice in his short writings about the resurrection. These were major themes of the apostles, that Christ died for our sins and that He rose again. Because if He didn't rise again, if you don't understand the emphasis of the resurrection, then Jesus Christ dying for your sins without a resurrection simply means you are a righteous corpse for all eternity.

Not a good deal, is it?

We need His resurrection, because that's what gives us life. Half of the baptismal ceremony is the beautiful metaphor of coming out of that baptismal tank, which pictures a resurrection to life just like Jesus Christ did. So Paul emphasized the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not His birth.

Well, this is an option. I'm already over time, so I'll quickly go through the seven things we can learn from the birth of Jesus Christ as we conclude today.

Number one, the birth of Jesus was a miraculous fulfillment of many prophecies. We should read the Scriptures regarding the birth of Christ as we read any other Scriptures, not shy away from them and not downplay them.

Isaiah, seven hundred years before His birth, in two particular places that we read today, prophesied His birth. Daniel, the sixty-nine-week prophecy. Micah, we saw today. Hosea, Jeremiah, and many others all spoke about the birth of Jesus Christ as a miraculous fulfillment born of an urgent. Number two, an angel proclaimed three titles for Him when He was born. Savior, that is a deliverer from sin and death. The angel said He was Christ, that is the Messiah, the anointed One, that He was Lord. He is God in the flesh. Emmanuel, God with us. Number three, the exact date of His birth is purposely obscure because it was not intended to be observed. It's a miraculous one-time event. It announced the arrival of the Savior, promised as far back as Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15. When God said to the serpent that there's going to come someone, and yes, you will bruise His heel, but He will crush your head. That's how far back the promise of a Savior goes back to. Number four, Gentiles, the Magi, traveled hundreds of miles by faith to pay homage to the King. This represents that the New Covenant is an international relationship. It's not a relationship focused on the Hebrew language or the Hebrew people. It is a new covenant. It is international, includes people of all languages, all colors, all ethnic backgrounds. As Mark, Jesus said in Mark 16, verse 15, go into all the world. The Gentiles accepted to Christ while His own people were trying and seeking to kill Him.

Verse 5, the Magi arrived when Christ was a toddler and visited Him in the family's house, so they did not come and arrive the night that He was born. Number six, the date of His birth of Christ was most likely in the fall around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Trumpets. We just don't know. And number seven, in contrast to borrowing pagan myths and rituals, we desire to worship God as He instructs in sincerity and truth. So, it's coming upon us fast. The good news is I tell everyone every year is it's a one-day event, and the world just seems to get over pretty quickly the next day. It's back to making money again. It's back to being the way it always was. So, I know that we are pounded a lot of times by family members or music or culture. You try to just do some shopping, and your ears are just inundated by Vincrozbe singing White Christmas the 85th time that day in their musak system. I know we sometimes can feel like we're assaulted this time of the year because of our culture, but hang in there because it'll soon be over, and we can begin talking about and looking forward to God's Spring Holy Days. Have a wonderful Sabbath!