Lesson for December 16, 2018
The Story of the Birth of Christ
Two of the four Gospels give us an account of the birth of Christ, Matthew and Luke. They tell the story from their own perspectives without contradiction. By the examination of each account we have a more complete story of Christ’s birth.
Matthew was a Jew and tells his story from the Jewish point of view. For example, Matthew, a Jew, traces the lineage of Jesus back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish race. Luke, a Gentile, on the other hand, traces the lineage of Jesus back to Adam, the father of the human race. Matthew breaks the lineage down into periods of fourteen hundred years, citing significant events in Jewish history, which would be of importance to the Jewish mind. Luke makes no mention of these time periods, as they would have been of no significance to the Gentiles. Matthew traces the legal line of Jesus from Joseph and Luke traces the birth line of Jesus from Mary. Both lines give Jesus the legal right and the birthright to the throne of David, which Christ will assume during His millennial reign.
By examining the two accounts, we can get the chronology of the birth of Christ. In Luke we are given the story of the announcement of the coming birth from the angel Gabriel. Mary, of course, was amazed at what Gabriel told her. (Luke 1:26-35) Matthew does not record this information but begins with the conception. Luke 2:1-7 gives us the reason that Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem. The reason was the census and determination of taxes to be paid to Rome. Roman law required everyone to return to the place of his birth for this census. Because of the great influx of people into Bethlehem, there were no rooms left in the inns. Thus, Jesus was born in the humble surroundings of a stable and placed in a feeding trough (manger). The clothes that He was wrapped in were the same type as people were wrapped in after death (swaddling clothes). All this was done in fulfillment of prophecies and a foreshadowing of events to come.
There were shepherds at the manger (Luke 2:8-10), but not the wise men. We also have no idea as to how many wise men there were. It could be 2 or 20. (Matthew 2:1-12) The Bible says that the wise men brought three gifts, gold frankincense and myrrh. It is more likely that since these were common currency items of value that each wise man, regardless of the actual number, brought a little of all three. We are not saying that there weren’t three, just that to say so is going beyond what is written.
The Magi were astrologers from somewhere in the east, most likely Persia. Most likely, the Magi knew of the writings of the prophet Daniel, who in time past had been in Persia. Daniel 9:24-27includes a prophecy which gives a timeline for the birth of the Messiah. There is no evidence that the Magi were led to Jesus by a bright low hovering star. Such a star would have been quite noticeable by many people. The fact that Herod had to ask the Magi when the star first appeared proves that the star was extraordinary only to the trained eye. Only the Magi, who studied the stars, would have noticed it. Therefore, the idea of a very bright low hovering star shining over the stable where Jesus was born is wrong. On the other hand, the star the Magi were attracted by has no acceptable natural celestial explanation and it was clearly a special miracle to attract the Magi.
The wise men were not at the manger the night Jesus was born. The Bible says that the wise men came to Jesus’ house. It seems clear that the wise men came just prior to the time Herod issued his decree to kill all the children under two years of age. The star first appeared to the wise men when Jesus was born, but it led the wise men to Jesus’ house. (Matthew 2:11 “And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother“)
The Bible doesn’t say the star shone over the manger. This was a sign only the wise men were able to discern. The star appeared for the purpose of leading the wise men to Jesus’ home. The wise men started their journey when the star first appeared (at Christ’s birth). Being from the “east,” most likely Persia or Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq), they completed a journey of at least 500 miles. They first arrived in Jerusalem to meet with Herod and it was Herod that sent them to Bethlehem to find Jesus. When they finally arrived, they found Jesus in a home and Matthew calls Jesus “the young child,” not a baby. Matthew 2:16 confirms that Jesus was not yet two and that He was no longer a baby in a manger.
In Luke 2:21 and following, we have the account of Joseph and Mary presenting the infant to God as prescribed in the Law. Jesus was circumcised when He was eight days old (Luke 2:21). Jesus was then presented in the temple 33 days later after the “days of purification” were completed, which is the 40th day after Jesus was born. (Leviticus 12:2-6 & Luke 2:22-38) A man named Simeon who was “looking for the consolation (comfort) of Israel” saw Jesus and recognized Him as the Christ. He held the baby in his arms and praised God for keeping His promise to send a deliverer. He then foretold that Jesus would cause the “rise and fall of many in Israel.” Similarly, in the same chapter, an old prophetess named Anna also recognized Jesus as the “redemption of Jerusalem.”
Matthew gives us the account of Joseph, Mary and Jesus being told to flee to Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod. When they were told that it was safe to return (because Herod had died), they were sent back to Nazareth, not Bethlehem. It was in Nazareth that Jesus grew into manhood and worked as a carpenter with Joseph.
The exact date of Jesus’ birth is a mystery. About the best we can do is to narrow it down to seasons. The Bible does give us one clue. The shepherds were in the fields with their flocks at night when Jesus was born. This clearly indicates that Jesus was born during the warmer seasons. During the coldest months like December or January, the shepherds didn’t sleep in the fields but would bring their flocks into corrals.
Jewish tradition may prove helpful. That the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, was a settled belief, even among religious non-believers. Equally so, was the belief that He was to be revealed from Migdal Eder (the watchtower of the flock). This Migdal Eder was not the watchtower for the ordinary flocks, which pastured on the barren ground beyond Bethlehem. This tower was close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage in the Mishnah (Jewish writings) leads to the conclusion that the flocks, which pastured there, were destined for temple sacrifices. The deep symbolic significance is obvious.
The “lambing season” for sheep is in February in Palestine. It is an interesting suggestion that Jesus, being the “Lamb of the World,” was born at exactly the same time the lambs were born. If so, then Jesus was born when the lambs were born, and He died when the Passover lamb was sacrificed (Nissan or April 14th). Of course, this is purely speculative. Another speculative argument is that the census that Caesar Augustus took in Luke 2:1 would not have been done during the coldest, harshest season. Such a census would require mass migration of large numbers of the population. Unless Augustus deliberately wanted to make life difficult, he would take such a census during the warmer months and certainly not in December.
The Bible is absolutely silent about the celebration of Christ’s birthday. The Scriptures do not tell us to celebrate the birth of Christ, but to celebrate His death. Any encyclopedia will give you the basic details of where and how the celebration of Christmas developed. What is important is that Christ’s birth did fulfill many important prophecies. The event brought about great joy to many when Jesus, “God with us,” was born into the world.
After the birth of Christ, we have only one appearance of Jesus before He begins His earthly ministry, which is recorded by Luke in chapter 2:41-52. This appearance was at the age of twelve when the family traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Traveling in large groups (family and friends) or caravans was common practice in Biblical times and we see the family of Jesus traveling in such a way. For this reason, Jesus was accidentally left behind because his parents thought he was with relatives in the caravan.
After Joseph and Mary realized that Jesus was not in the group, they returned to find Jesus in the temple conferring with Jewish religious leaders, who were astonished at His knowledge of the Scriptures. Jesus, being a human being and having restricted His deity, had to learn God’s Word in the same way that you and I do. It is obvious from this passage that Jesus was a brilliant student of the Word and, being filled with the Holy Spirit, He was able to astonish even the wisest. (Luke 2:40; John 1:14; Isaiah 53:2-3; Philippians 2:8)
The baby in the manger grew up into a man in order to fulfill the plan of God for our salvation. He grew up to be our Advocate and our Intercessor. He grew up so that He could go to the Cross, offer a perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sins and be raised from the dead. He grew up so that He could conquer death and provide eternal life for all who would believe in Him. He grew up so that He could become the Savior of the world.