Who were those Wise Guys?

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8 and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9 When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11 and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Matthew 2: 1-12

From the very beginning the primary factor in the God/Man relationship has been "faith". There is perhaps no more powerful proof upon which to ground our faith than in the Christmas story. It defies human reason and grips society with a power that is unexplainable at this season of the year.

Trying to explain this phenomenon by human reason leaves philosopher, historian and psychologist at a loss. No other being in the history of the world has ever had the impact upon the history of the world. We even divide time by his birth. Born as a poor Jewish peasant in manger in Bethlehem of Judea, his coming was announced by angels and attested to by wise men from the East. Who were those "wise men"? They certainly were not Jewish. Even in this story of Messiah, God is revealing his divine plan to those outside of Israel to fulfill His promise to Abraham that through him all the families of the earth shall bless themselves. Divine revelation is part of the story. To both the poor shepherds and to the wise and powerful from afar, God was revealing and affirming the birth of his son. All come to fall down and worship the entry of God into human form. It is a story so improbable that it has to be true!

So when was Jesus born?

Most serious Bible students realize that Jesus was probably not born on December 25th. The shepherds had their flocks in open fields, which implies a date prior to October. Furthermore, no competent Roman administrator would require registration involving travel during the season when Judea was generally impassable. If Jesus wasn't born on December 25, just when was he born? Although the Bible doesn't explicitly identify the birthday of our Lord, many scholars have developed diverse opinions as to the likely birthday of Jesus. The early Christian church did not celebrate Jesus' birth, and therefore the exact date was not preserved in festivals. The first recorded mention of December 25th is in the Calendar of Philocalus (AD 354), which assumed Jesus' birth to be Friday, December 25th, AD 1. This was subsequent to Constantine's Edict of Toleration in AD 313, which officially ended the government-sanctioned persecution of the Christians. The date of December 25th, which was officially proclaimed by the church fathers in AD 440, was actually a vestige of the Roman holiday of Saturnalia, observed near the winter solstice, which itself was among the many pagan traditions inherited from the earlier Babylonian priesthood.

The year of Jesus’ birth is broadly accepted as 4 BC, primarily from erroneous conclusions derived from Josephus’ recording of an eclipse, assumed to be on March 13, 4 BC, “shortly before Herod died.” There are a number of problems with this in addition to the fact that it was more likely the eclipse occurred on December 29, 1 B.C. Considerable time elapsed between Jesus’ birth and Herod’s death since the family fled to Egypt to escape Herod’s edict and they didn’t return until after Herod’s death. Furthermore, Herod died on January 14, 1 BC. Tertullian (born about 160 AD) stated that Augustus began to rule 41 years before the birth of Jesus and died 15 years after that event. Augustus died on August 19, 14 AD, placing Jesus’ birth at 2 BC. Tertullian also notes that Jesus was born 28 years after the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC, which is consistent with a date of 2 BC. Irenaeus, born about a century after Jesus, also notes that the Lord was born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus. Since Augustus began his reign in the autumn of 43 BC, this also appears to substantiate the birth in 2 BC. Eusebius (264-340 AD), the “Father of Church History,” ascribes it to the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus and the 28th from the subjection of Egypt on the death of Anthony and Cleopatra. The 42nd year of Augustus ran from the autumn of 2 BC to the autumn of 1 BC. The subjugation of Egypt into the Roman Empire occurred in the autumn of 30 BC. The 28th year extended from the autumn of 3 BC to the autumn of 2 BC. The only date that would meet both of these constraints would be the autumn of 2 BC.

Another approach in determining the date of Jesus’ birth is from information about John the Baptist. Elisabeth, John’s mother, was a cousin of Mary and the wife of a priest named Zacharias who was of the “course” of Abijah (Priests were divided into 24 courses and each course officiated in the Temple for one week, from Sabbath to Sabbath). When the Temple was destroyed by Titus on August 5, 70 AD, the first course of priests had just taken office. Since the course of Abijah was the eighth course, we can track backwards and determine that Zacharias would have ended his duties on July 13, 3 BC. If the birth of John took place 280 days later, it would have been on April 19-20, 2 BC (precisely on Passover of that year). John began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. The minimum age for the ministry was 30. As Augustus died on August 19, 14 AD, that was the accession year for Tiberius. If John was born on April 19-20, 2 BC, his 30th birthday would have been April 19-20, 29 AD, or the 15th year of Tiberius. This seems to confirm the 2 BC date and, since John was five months older, this also confirms the autumn birth date for Jesus.

Elisabeth hid herself for five months and then the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary both Elisabeth’s condition and that Mary also would bear a son who would be called Jesus. Mary went “with haste” to visit Elisabeth, who was then in the first week of her sixth month, or the fourth week of December, 3 BC. If Jesus was born 280 days later it would place the date of his birth on September 29, 2 BC. If Jesus was born on September 29, 2 BC, it is interesting to note that it was also the First of Tishri, the day of the Feast of Trumpets. Somehow it would just seem fitting for the angels to be blowing shofars on the day of his birth?

While all of this is interesting speculation, what we can know is that Jesus of Nazareth was born during the reign of Herod. That historical fact is verified in multiple accounts of the gospel. The fact that the Christmas story still dominates this season from the firesides of the faithful to the powerful and competitive halls of commerce attests to the power of the facts which it portrays.

Christmas

1 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

Romans 14:1-8

I love this passage from the Book of Romans. It sets out for me a paradigm that I would hope that all Christians would embrace. Sadly, too many people acting out of their ignorance, seem to enjoy passing judgment upon their fellow servants. This happens in every faith. We are not alone. In fact, it is a frailty of humanity to want to draw lines and to decide who is "in" or who is "out" of our box. Paul's teaching above suggests that there is room for differences in opinion. Faith is not defined by "uniformity". Different people can do things differently in how they honor God. In the end, it is not up to us. It is God who decides. We are simply called to love one another as ourselves.

When I was growing up at McKnight Road, we used to hear sermons on Christmas about why one should not celebrate Christmas. Yet, my family would go home and open presents around a tree and celebrate the holiday. It is of interest, historically, that the celebration of Christmas was a late attempt to "Christianize" the pagan holiday of the winter solstice. An interesting article by Tom Breen of the AP appeared in The Tennessean religion section. Headlined "Christmas wasn't always Christian," its subheading stated, "Most U. S. churches rejected holiday on biblical grounds." Breen stated: "Through much of the 19th century, schools and businesses remained open, Congress met, and some churches closed their doors, lest errant worshippers tried to commemorate the day." Citing Bruce Forbes, a religious studies professor at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa and author of the book, Christmas: A Candid History, Breen quoted: "The whole culture didn't stop for Christmas. Government went on as usual, business went on as usual, school went on as usual." Forbes discovered "that major American denominations -- Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists -- either ignored the holiday or discouraged it until the late 19th century. This rejection was rooted in the lack of biblical sanction for Dec. 25 as the date of Jesus' birth, and suspicion toward traditions that developed after the earliest days of Christianity." Samuel Sewall, a Boston Puritan was quoted as having written on Christmas day of 1685: "Some somehow observe the day, but are vexed that the body of people profane it, and blessed be God no authority yet compels them to keep it." The article pointed out that the United Church of God does not celebrate Christmas, refusing to do so on "religious grounds," and affirming that "divine instruction, rather than culture and society, should determine whether the holiday is appropriate."

This type of thinking influenced the the early Stone-Campbell Movement, i.e. (i) there was a lack of Biblical sanction of December 25 as the date of Christ's birth; (ii) there was a suspicion towards practices that developed later in the history of the church; (iii) there was no authority to compel the keeping of this day; and (iv) divine instruction, rather than culture and society, should determine if the holiday should be celebrated.

As a young man, I used to sit and listen to those types of sermons condemning those who celebrated the day religiously. I sat there and wondered if Jesus had walked in, would he have felt welcomed? Would he have stayed to listen to such teaching? Somehow, I feel he would have suggested that those who condemn others for celebrating a day unto the Lord missed the point of Paul's teaching in Romans 14.

I am thrilled to be part of a fellowship that offers believers a choice. For those who wish to come and worship and celebrate Christmas this year, we are offering a candlelight service on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2007 at 6:00 pm at the McKnight Road Church of Christ, 2515 McKnight Road, St. Louis MO 63124. For further information one can call 314-962-7026 or see link.

The Scandal of the Birth of Jesus

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.

Matt. 1: 18-25

Isn't it interesting that when God chose to enter the world through his son, that he came amidst a scandal? The fulfillment of prophecy required a special entrance into the world; but, why in a way that must have induced rumors, whispers and shame? It took angelic intervention to save this marriage.

Perhaps it is a message from God that things are not as they always appear. Sometimes the work of the Spirit operates at the lowest point of our humanity in ways that we cannot see; except, through the eye of faith. Isaiah 53:2 says:

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

The Messiah came as a suffering servant. He was nothing special to look at. He was not one of the beautiful people who stood out in a crowd. He was like one of us. Sometimes God uses the most common and lowly to teach us his eternal truths. The world was to be saved by a peasant born in a manger in Bethlehem to a virgin Jewish girl betrothed to a descendant of David. What an unbelievable story! And, this is only the beginning.