The Birth Date of the Lord Jesus – Preaching from the Bible

The Birth Date of the Lord Jesus

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All the Bible verses quoted in this article are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

The Bible does not record the exact birth date of the Lord Jesus. The early Church, for over 300 years, did not celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus.

According to historical records, in the year 274, the winter solstice (the midpoint of winter, the only time when the day is the shortest and the night is the longest of the year) fell on December 25th, and the Roman emperor at that time declared it the birth date of the Invincible Sun God. From then on, the Romans celebrated the birthday of the Sun God on December 25th. Also, according to historical records, the celebration of the Lord Jesus’ birthday was first held on December 25th, 336, under Emperor Constantine, the first Roman emperor to declare himself a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 350, Pope Julius I directed the Catholic Church to celebrate “Christ’s Birthday” on December 25th each year. Since then, December 25th officially became the birth date of the Lord Jesus in the Catholic Church, was passed on to Protestant Churches, and is now accepted worldwide. However, it is certain that the Lord Jesus was not born on December 25th [1], [2].

The custom of celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus on December 25th has brought about many lies, superstitions, and blasphemies, as presented in the two articles “The Truth about Christmas” [3] and “The Obvious Truth about Christmas” [4].

Although the Bible does not record the birth date of the Lord Jesus, we can still rely on some details in the Bible, cross-referenced with historical documents, to make a fairly accurate estimate of when the Lord Jesus was born. First, let us reread the Bible verses listed below, paying attention to the words in bold:

Luke 1:5-13

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,

9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

Luke 1:23-25

23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Luke 1:32-36

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

1 Chronicles 24:1-19

1 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest’s office.

3 And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.

4 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.

5 Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.

6 And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.

7 Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

8 The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

9 The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

11 The ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,

12 The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,

13 The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

14 The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

15 The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses,

16 The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel,

17 The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul,

18 The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah.

19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

From the time of King David, the descendants of Aaron who held the position of priest were divided into 24 divisions. Each division of the priests served in the temple for one week (1 Chronicles 9:25). Their duty shift began on the Sabbath (2 Chronicles 23:8) and ended after the handover on the next Sabbath. During the three major festivals: Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16), all 24 divisions served during the festival week.

The Jewish historian Josephus noted that in the year 70, when Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans, the division of Jehoiarib was responsible for serving in the temple during the first week of the month of Nisan (from Saturday, the 1st of Nisan, year 3830, according to the Jewish Calendar) [5]. Counting backward to the year 3755 according to the Jewish Calendar, in 7 BC, we find that the division of Abijah served in the temple from the Sabbath of the 26th of Sivan to the Sabbath of the 3rd of Tammuz [6].

Next, let us look at the table below:

Event	Division of the Priests	Month	Week of the Year
	(20) Jehezekel	1 Nisan (30 days)	1
	(21) Jachin		2
Passover, 14th of Nisan.	(22) Gamul		3
	(23) Delaiah		4
	(24) Maaziah	2 Iyyar (29 days)	5
	(1) Jehoiarib		6
	(2) Jedaiah		7
	(3) Harim		8
	(4) Seorim	3 Sivan (30 days)	9
Pentecost, 6th of Sivan.	(5) Malchijah		10
	(6) Mijamin		11
	(7) Hakkoz		12
After the Sabbath of the 3rd of Tammuz, Zechariah returned home. Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist at the beginning of the month of Sivan.	(8) Abijah: 26th of Sivan to 3rd of Tammuz	4 Tammuz (29 days)	13
		5 Av (30 days)
		6 Elul (29 days)
Feast of Tabernacles, starting on the 15th of Tishrei.		7 Tishrei (30 days)
		8 Heshvan (29 days)
At the end of the month of Kislev, Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant.		9 Kislev (30 days)	Number of days since Mary conceived:
Mary conceived the Lord Jesus at the beginning of the month of Tevet.		10 Tevet (29 days)	29 days
		11 Shevat (30 days)	59 days
		12 Adar (29 days)	88 days
Passover, 14th of Nisan.		1 Nisan (30 days)	118 days
		2 Iyyar (29 days)	147 days
Pentecost, 6th of Sivan.		3 Sivan (30 days)	177 days
		4 Tammuz (29 days)	206 days
		5 Av (30 days)	236 days
		6 Elul (29 days)	265 days
Feast of Tabernacles, starting on the 15th of Tishrei. It is very likely that the Lord Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles.		7 Tishrei (30 days)	280 days

The Bible excerpts and the table above are referenced from Luzius Schneider’s article “Jesus’ Day of Birth” [7] and calculated according to the Jewish Calendar [8].

The average human pregnancy duration is 40 weeks = 280 days [9]. According to the table above, Mary conceived the Lord Jesus after Elizabeth had been pregnant with John the Baptist for six months. After 40 weeks, Mary gave birth to the Lord Jesus on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. We also know that the Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the incarnation of the Word of God, which the Apostle John refers to as “dwelling among us”:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt 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).

But in what year was the Lord Jesus born?

Historical records indicate that King Herod died around mid-March 4 BC, the date of a lunar eclipse visible over Jerusalem, and April 11, 4 BC, which was Passover of that year. The historian Josephus recorded events that occurred during this period and noted that King Herod died after the lunar eclipse but before Passover [10]. Thus, the Lord Jesus must have been born about three years before King Herod’s death, around 7 BC, since when Herod ordered the massacre of the infants in Bethlehem, the Lord Jesus would have been about two years old. Additionally, the Lord Jesus must have been born before October 15 in the Julian calendar, which marks the beginning of the rainy season, as shepherds could not tend their flocks in the fields after that date.

If the Lord was born on the 15th of Tishrei, which would be the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles in the year 3755 in the Jewish calendar, corresponding to October 8, 7 BC in the Julian calendar (or October 6, 7 BC in the Gregorian calendar), then the Lord would have been 30 years old when He was baptized before Passover in the year 3785 according to the Jewish calendar, which corresponds to AD 25 [11]. Thus, the Bible states that He was about 30 years old when He was baptized:

“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,” (Luke 3:21-23)

Historical documents show that Emperor Augustus issued a decree for a census in 8 BC, and Quirinius, representing Emperor Augustus, conducted the census in 7 BC [12].

When comparing the details in the Bible with historical facts, we find a high probability that the Lord Jesus was born on the first night of the Feast of Tabernacles, Thursday, the 15th of Tishrei, year 3755 according to the Jewish calendar, which corresponds to Thursday, October 8, 7 BC in the Julian calendar. This would fulfill the primary significance of the Feast of Tabernacles.

To those who sincerely repent of their sins, fully accept the atoning death of Christ, and wholeheartedly live according to God’s Word:

Although the Bible does not instruct us to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus, if we choose to commemorate His birth, it is preferable to do so during the Feast of Tabernacles, just as we commemorate His death during Passover, rather than on a day celebrating the birthday of a pagan sun god. We should also avoid the superstitions and customs associated with what is called Christmas, as listed in the two articles about Christmas [3], [4]. Let us call the celebration of the Lord Jesus’ birth “Christ’s Birthday Celebration.” Let us greet each other with: “Happy Christ’s Birthday!” instead of the blasphemous greeting: “Merry Christmas!” Its true meaning is “Celebrating the Lord’s death.”

Below is the list of the first days of the Feast of Tabernacles from 2018 to 2026:

2018: After sunset on Sunday, September 23.
2019: After sunset on Sunday, October 13.
2020: After sunset on Friday, October 02.
2021: After sunset on Monday, September 20.
2022: After sunset on Sunday, October 09.
2023: After sunset on Friday, September 29.
2024: After sunset on Wednesday, October 16.
2025: After sunset on Monday, October 06.
2026: After sunset on Friday, September 25.

The reason we only list the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles up to the year 2026 will be explained in the article: “Hosea 6:1-2 and The End of the World – Part 2” [13].

God’s people can celebrate Christ’s Birthday on the evening of the dates listed above. The Church can gather to worship God, giving thanks for His incarnation as a human being to complete the work of our redemption and to bring us into unity with God through Himself. At the same time, we look forward to the Millennial Kingdom, when Christ will dwell with humanity on earth, and the Eternal Kingdom, when God and Christ will dwell with humanity on earth in the new heaven and new earth, forever.

If conditions allow, it would be ideal to organize a camping trip, as we would certainly find it more enjoyable to combine Christ’s Birthday Celebration with the Feast of Tabernacles.

The day when the Lord comes to take the Church out of the world is very near. Let us ready ourselves to uphold holiness, resisting the infiltration of false traditions, superstitions, and pagan and heretical influences from churches. Let us return to the world what belongs to the world. Let us return to the churches what belongs to the churches. Let us worship God with all our heart, soul, and mind in spirit and in truth. Spirit is the awareness of the truth. The truth is the Word of God, the Scriptures, and the Lord Himself.

May: “And the very *God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
11/27/2017

Notes:

[1] http://www.didyouknow.cd/xmas/xmashistory.htm

[2] https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/25th.shtml

[3] https://od.lk/f/MV8zOTYwMDgwN18

[4] https://preachingfromthebible.net/the-truth-about-christmas/

[5] https://pursiful.com/2006/12/18/when-was-jesus-born-zechariahs-priestly-service/

[6] http://www.abdicate.net/print.aspx?sdn=1719133

[7] https://www.luziusschneider.com/Papers/JesusDateOfBirth.htm

[8] http://www.abdicate.net/print.aspx

[9] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/baby-due-date

[10] Flavius Josephus. Jewish Antiquities, 17.6.4.