By: S. Raymond Rajabalan
We are now in the midst of Christmas, a festive period concerning the birth of a child that altered the course of history of mankind. We rejoice, the birth of infant Jesus, the saviour of mankind and remember a heavenly host joining the angel of the Lord singing “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace among those whom he favours” However to this day, it has not been possible to determine the exact year and date of birth of Jesus born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. Many historians and Christian scholars have by their diligent effort and meticulous research has been able to compile some useful information relating to the time of birth of Jesus. Some of these information comes from the cherished stories of the birth and early life of Jesus described in the Gospels of Mathew and Luke.
Today in the city of David (Bethlehem),
there has been born for you a saviour,
who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11)
1. Gospels of Mathew & Luke
According to Mathew’s Gospel it is stated that “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King”Herod the Great who became King in 37 B.C. (Before Christ) died in the year 4 B.C. Mathew therefore places Nativity prior to the year 4 B.C. In the 6th century Pope John 1 assigned a Roman monk named Dionysius Exiguous to prepare a standardized calendar for the Western church .Dionysius made the birth date of Jesus the basis for his chart of Easter dates. Dionysius labeled the years after Jesus’ birth “AD” (which stands for Anno Domini, meaning “in the year of the Lord” in Latin), a system later supplemented by the term “BC” (which stands for Before Christ)In his calculations, Dionysius miscalculated the death of Herod by four years, resulting in the awkward situation that Jesus’ birth is usually dated into the years “BC” (Before Christ).
2. Census in Syria
Meanwhile Luke tells us that the birth of Jesus occurred at the time when Emperor Augustus Caesar ordered a census. That census took place when Quirinius was the Governor of Syria (Luke 2:2)
According to historical records, Augustus Caesar dispatched Governor Quirinius to Syria in AD.6.During the same period Coponius was the first Governor of Judea. Quirinius and Coponius jointly conducted a census at that time.
However if Jesus was born prior to 4 BC , at this time of the A.D 6 census Jesus would have had to be at least 10 years old by that date.
Therefore, the birth of Jesus could not have occurred prior to 4 B.C.
Some scholars have pointed out that Quirinius served an earlier term in Syria (from 10 B.C. to 7 B.C). This probably could be the period to which Luke refers in his gospel
3. Star of Bethlehem.
A third Clue to the date of Nativity is the Star of Bethlehem
In 12 B.C. Chinese astronomers recorded a comet named Hailleys. They also mentioned about a stellar explosion (or Nova) in 5 B.C.
Either of the above two events could have been the celestial guide to Three wise Men seeking the place of birth of Jesus.
Meanwhile in early 17th Century, German Astronomer and Mathemetician Johannes Kepler proposed another explanation. Kepler observed conjunction of the two planets Saturn and Jupiter within the constellation Pisces, in 7 B.C.
He remembered an ancient Hebrew tradition that the Messiah would appear when the two planets moved so close to one another, that they appeared to be a single large star. On checking the ancient astronomical charts, Kepler found that in year 7 B.C. The planets Saturn and Jupiter had three such Rendezvous – on May 29, Sept. 29 and Dec.4.
Out of these three dates, it is possible that the “Three wise men from the East” – possibly astrologers in Babylonia chose the September date to start out along the caravan route to Judea. Based on the geography of the travel, such a Journey would have brought them to Bethlehem area towards the time when there still could have been, as Luke writes “Shepherds out in the Field, keeping watch over their flock by Night”.
4. Month of Birth - November/ January
Mediterranean climates such as Judea’s have mild winters reaching their coolest in late February. Thus December nights can be quite balmy and warm enough to graze sheep. Moreover, December/January would have been an ideal time to graze sheep to take advantage of the winter rains.
During the hot months, conditions can be quite barren and the grasses dry. But the end of December was the time when the perennial grasses began to turn green again and the annual grasses had sprouted anew. Thus, climatically the ecclesiastical practice of placing Christ’s birth between December 25 and January 6 is possible.
Controversy over whether Christmas ought to be celebrated on December 25 or January 6 underscores the perceived importance of the day of Christ’s birth and the determination of church fathers to be accurate.
Based on the above evidences and reasoning from Keplers Hypothesis, it is at least a possibility that Jesus was born in Late Autumn in the year 7 B.C. though we may never know for certain.
However in order to bring an end to the dispute among the Historians and Scholars regarding the year and date of the Birth of Jesus, Pope John.1 in AD.525 declared that December 25th should be celebrated as the date of Birth of Jesus.
Irrespective of the exact dates and year on which Jesus was born, what is more important is that his Birth as well as His Teachings about the kingdom of God continues to be a spiritual guiding factor and of immense benefit to mankind.