Jewish Heritage Revival

One Heritage United by Messiah

When Was Jesus Born?

We recently discussed the true origin of christmas, which included some of the customs...none of which included the birth of our Messiah.  In this article we will investigate when our Messiah's was born.  Even though there is no specific date provided in God's Word, there is sufficient evidence to show when He was born...and it wasn't on December 25th, the day the church recognizes as His birth, His entry into the world.

In order to do so, we must look at our Messiah's fore runner, John the Baptist and his story found in Luke's gospel.  In order to keep the article a reasonable length, we will be taking exerts, and thus putting the pieces together.  The complete account can be found at the following link - Luke 1:1 - 80 

We first read of Zacharias, the husband of Elizabeth (John's parents), who is a priest in the Temple.  We learn of what is called his division or turn of the priests, when he is executing his duties at the Temple.  He is of the order of Abia (Abijah).  The significance of this seemingly irrelevant information actually establishes a reference of time.  

The order of the priests can be found in 1 Chronicles  24:1 - 19.  The divisions of the priests are divided into 24 courses to be repeated twice during the year. During the Feasts of Passover/Unleavened Bread,  Shavuot (Pentecost) and Tabernacles all priests serve at the temple, therefore a division is not counted during these Feasts.  For the purpose of this article, we are interested in Zacharias' course of Abijah:

"The first lot came forth to Jehoiarib...the eighth lot to Abijah (1 Chronicles 24:10)

What does this mean?

The Jewish "religious" year begins at Passover, and thus the first week is counted at the first Sabbath after the Passover.  The duration of service for a priest in the Temple was one week.   The Passover typically falls in the March / April time period of the Gregorian calendar (Nisan / The first month of the Jewish Calendar).  

Therefore counting nine Sabbaths forward, after the Passover Sabbath (eight for the order of Abijah plus one additional Sabbath for Pentecost / Shavuot), for Zacharias' time of service, puts us in the May / June (Sivan) time period.

Note:  The Jewish calendar is lunar based and does not always correspond with the Gregorian calendar, thus the date for Passover can fall in either March or April.    

It is during Zacharias' time of service that he learns of Elizabeth's impending pregnancy.

"And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.  But the angel said unto him, fear not, Zacharias: for your prayer is heard and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son and you shall call him John." Luke 1:11 - 13

And that conception probably occurred very soon after his service was completed.

"And it came to pass, that as soon as the days of his ministry were accomplished, he departed to his own house.  And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, thus has the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men".  Luke 1:23 - 25 

Therefore, the forerunner of our Messiah was conceived in the May / June time period.

We now move forward six months, (November / December)...to the conception of our Messiah, with reference made of Mary's (Miriam's) cousin Elizabeth:

And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she has conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren."  Luke 1:36

After her encounter with the angel, Mary didn't wait around, but rather left immediately for her cousin Elizabeth:

"And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city in Juda; and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth."  Luke 1:39 - 40

Both women were with child as their greetings to each other excited the babies they were carrying.

"And it came to pass that, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit:  And she spoke out with a loud voice and said "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  Luke 1:41 - 43 

Relative to the Jewish calendar, we would be in the Month of Chislev (Kislev).  Thus the conception of our Messiah coincides with a festival in that month called Hanukkah (beginning on Kislev 25)...also known as the Festival of Lights or Feast of the Dedication.  The origins of this celebration occurred during the intertestamental period (165 BCE), when Israel defeated the Syrians and thus reclaimed the Temple.  The miracle of Hanukkah and hence its description as Festival of Lights is a result of the miracle that God performed in keeping a small vile of undefiled oil burning for eight days...the period of time it took to produce new oil for the Temple menorah. 

Our Messiah is described as the light of the world:  "He (John the Baptist) was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which lights every man that comes into the world."  John 1:8 - 9

"He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil."  John 3:18 - 19

Other references to our Messiah being the light can be found in Matthew 5:15, John 9:5 and John 12:35 - 36.

If you truly believe that our God is not a God of chance, but rather a God of order and design, then you will believe that our Messiah's conception was during the Festival of Lights, known as Hanukkah.

Full gestation of a pregnancy is between 40 and 41 weeks.  In counting forward from where we are now in the November / December (Kislev) time, brings us to the September / October (Tishri) time period, specifically the Feast of Tabernacles (Tishri 15).    As we have discovered in previous articles, the Feasts of God were not only created by God, as memorials of past events or celebrations of the harvests, but also as prophetic signs, looking forward to our Messiah's life...both then and now, with His impending return.  As with Passover, we witnessed how God majestically foretold of our Messiah's Death, Burial and Resurrection, not to mention the coming of His forerunner John the Baptist, whom was born on the Passover.  (Counting 40 weeks from his conception to birth brings us to the week of Passover)

The Feast of Tabernacles, as created by God, displays an incredible portrait of our Messiah's birth.  The giving of the Feast is found in Leviticus 23:33 - 36:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:  Speak to the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of the seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.  On the first day shall be an holy convocation:  You shall do no servile work therein.  Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord:  on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you: and you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord:  it is a solemn assembly; and you shall do no servile work therein.  

Further stating in Leviticus 23:39 - 44:

Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days:  on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and the eighth day shall be a Sabbath.  And you shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, seven days.  And you shall keep it as a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. 

It shall be a statute for ever in your generations.  

You shall celebrate it in the seventh month.  You shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:  That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.  I am the Lord your God.  And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.

 Now, let us look at our Messiah's birth.

The theme of the Feast of Tabernacles is "God with us"  As foretold by Isaiah 7:14 - "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel" (Emmanuel meaning - God with us)

As referenced in Leviticus, there are two holy convocations with in the Feast of Tabernacles...two Sabbaths.   The full account of our Messiah's birth can be found in Luke 2:1 - 38

The first holy convocation is our Messiah's birth on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the 15th day of Tishri, the seventh month.  "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth".  John 1:14

The second holy convocation during the Feast of Tabernacles occurred eight days later, as written above.  In relation to the birth of our Messiah, it was at this time that He was presented at the temple, circumcised and named.  

And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, His name was called Yeshua (Jesus), which was so named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb.  Luke 2:21

The translation of our Messiah's name means salvation.

Two holy convocations during the Feast of Tabernacles perfectly aligns with our Messiah's birth. 

Are there any accounts during our Messiah's life regarding the Feast of the Dedication and the Feast of Tabernacles?

We find in John 10:1 - 42 during the Feast of the Dedication our Messiah asserts His deity.

It is poetically fitting to witness during the Feast of Tabernacles (the time of His birth), our Messiah in Jerusalem, accused of being born of an adulteress affair - "...Then said they to him, we be not born of fornication, we have one Father, even God."  John 8:41  and thus defending who He is and where He comes from...the Pharisees would not listen.

The entire account of our Messiah's time in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles can be found in John 7:1 - 9:41

Now, let's bust  some myths related to our Messiah's birth:

1.   It would make more sense that there was no room at the inn during the Feast of Tabernacles than during the winter month when christmas is celebrated.  The reason being, the Feast of Tabernacles is a pilgrimage feast, whereby many would travel to Jerusalem.  Although the census is mentioned as reason for Joseph and Mary traveling to Jerusalem, it was the time of the feast.  The census would have taken several months to perform.  In addition, Bethlehem is a very small town, therefore it is highly unlikely a census, whereby men would travel to the home towns of their fathers. would have packed the town with so many people that all inns would be filled.  The explanation is simple...given Bethlehem's proximity to Jerusalem (approximately four miles), there was a Feast of God taking place.

2.  It would be extremely difficult for shepherds to be in the fields with their sheep in the dead of winter, therefore it is highly unlikely that the time of our Messiah's birth occurred in the winter months, given the account of the witness of the shepherds, found in  Luke 2:15 - 22 

The Feast of Tabernacles is a joyous celebration...a time of harvest and thanksgiving.  What could be more joyous than the birth of our Messiah - the Savior of the world?  A time that God had planned from the beginning.   A Feast given by God to Moses that is to be celebrated forever.  

If you believe God's Word to be true, we as believers (Jew and Gentile) are to remember these Feasts, not as was done in the past, through specific sacrifices and ordinances, which have been fulfilled by our Messiah, but in a spiritual sense whereby we set aside these days that God commanded to honor Him and what He has done for us.   In many instances, the ordinances are still performed in honor of our God.

Please don't misunderstand me,  I in no way mean to imply that these are the only times that we should honor Him.  As believers, our recognition to our Messiah should be daily.  However, when setting aside specific days to  honor His birth, death, burial and resurrection, it should be done when they actually occurred...God's Feasts are the perfect timetable of our Messiah's life.  

Man has tried to fit a square peg in a round hole....meaning - changing pagan feasts to Christian celebrations in order to honor our Messiah.  The reasons behind such changes are questionable, at best.  As with our example, these two things were never meant to fit together.  Even if you can fit a square peg in a round hole, it isn't a perfect fit, in that there are gaps, which is also true about these converted celebrations. 

Our God is Holy and Just.  Seeing as He can not be in the presence of sin, why would He ordain such celebrations of pagan origins?  If He doesn't ordain them, why is the Church celebrating them? Even in spite of ourselves, He still honors His Church.  Take a moment and imagine just how powerful His Church would be if we were all in one accord and worshipped Him in Spirit and Truth?  We would certainly have our enemy the devil on his heels.  Our adversary has planted these stumbling blocks before us, with his goal to create division among God's people...and thus attempt to destroy what God has made.

Will you follow God's way or man's way?

The evidence has been presented to you.  It is overwhelming, as to when these days occurred.  

The choice is yours.

Note - The birth of our Messiah doesn't fulfill the end times prophecy of the Feast of Tabernacles, that being the millennial kingdom...more on that later.  

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