Why doesn't the Bible say when Jesus was born?
Dec. 25 is not the date mentioned in the Bible as the day of Jesus's birth; the Bible is actually silent on the day or the time of year when Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem. The earliest Christians did not celebrate his birth.
The date of birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources, but most biblical scholars generally accept a date of birth between 6 BC and 4 BC, the year in which King Herod died.
In the first chapter of Matthew, verse 18 tells us how the virgin birth prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled: “Now the origin of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary, after she had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.”
The stable reminds us that Jesus came into the world with nothing. The shepherds represent us – the people that Jesus came to serve. Sheep play an important role in the stories in the Bible. Jesus is referred to as the lamb of God.
Christians have generally taken the statement in Mark 6:3 referring to Jesus as "Is not this the carpenter...?" (Greek: οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τέκτων, romanized: ouch outos estin ho tektōn) as an indication that before the age of 30 Jesus had been working as a carpenter.
Since at least the 2nd century AD people have believed that the place where the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, now stands is where Jesus was born. One particular cave, over which the first Church was built, is traditionally believed to be the Birthplace itself.
Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born.
The origins of Christmas stem from both the pagan and Roman cultures. The Romans actually celebrated two holidays in the month of December. The first was Saturnalia, which was a two-week festival honoring their god of agriculture Saturn. On December 25th, they celebrated the birth of Mithra, their sun god.
He looked down one earth and saw that people were not happy. Many were sick, and they just couldn't always be nice to each other. They were suffering because of sin. So, leaving everything in heaven, Jesus came to earth to help us.
The story of the birth of Jesus tells us that he came to reconcile his people back to him. The Christmas story is the opening scene of a God willing to leave heaven in pursuit of His people. As his followers we are called to do the same. Leave what's comfortable to pursue those far from God.
What was God's purpose for sending Jesus?
By sending his son Jesus to die for our sins, God is working to restore the radiance of his own glory shining in and through us. The apostle John captures this reality well when he writes: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
If Jesus had never been born, there would be no salvation from sin. If Christ had not come, His substitutionary atonement on the cross would never have taken place and thus there would be no forgiveness, no redemption, no justification, and no salvation.
Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children. Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?" says the LORD.
Luke 1:14-16. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
Luke 3:23 states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry.
Of course, Jesus was a Jew. He was born of a Jewish mother, in Galilee, a Jewish part of the world. All of his friends, associates, colleagues, disciples, all of them were Jews. He regularly worshipped in Jewish communal worship, what we call synagogues.
Jesus died at the age of 33. For us that seems rather early and at the prime of life for many.
We often refer to Jesus as Jesus Christ, and some people assume that Christ is Jesus's last name. But Christ is actually a title, not a last name. So if Christ isn't a last name, what was Jesus's last name? The answer is Jesus didn't have a formal last name or surname like we do today.
Most religious scholars and historians agree with Pope Francis that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C., and would become the lingua franca in much of the Middle East.
The magi knelt down for the baby Jesus and “offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Their gifts are possibly an allusion to Isaiah's vision of nations rendering tribute to Jerusalem: “A multitude of camels shall cover you.
Who decided Christmas would be December 25?
Under Emperor Constantine, the Church in Rome began celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 in 336. Some say the date was chosen to outshine the Sol Invictus and pagan celebrations.
Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.
In fact, when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elflike figure who supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he's known for today.
Exactly how old is Santa? According to the blog Email Santa, Santa Claus is 1,751 years old as of 2022. In fact, the origins of Santa Claus can be traced all the way back to a monk named Saint Nicholas, who was born between 260 and 280 A.D. in a village called Patara, which is part of modern-day Turkey.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society's annual meeting.
Jesus came to earth to preach the Good News – to give people an understanding of the Kingdom of God and the eternal hope that they had through Him. And Jesus particularly delighted in doing this among the impoverished, the weak, the hurting and the rejected in society.
The birth of Christ is an event of utmost importance to the Christian believers. It is believed that God had sent his Son on earth as a sacrifice to redeem the people of the world from their sins.
By depicting Jesus as a child, the tradition of the Infant of Prague also emphasizes His humanity, and how we are children of God because of the salvation that He brings us.
Jesus was not born on December 25. Or in winter, for that matter. Jesus was likely born in the spring when shepherds were watching over flocks by night because little lambs were being born19. The exact day of Jesus' birth is unknown.
No one created God. God got created as the universe grew and changes. God is the cumulative energy of the universe. So, infact universe created God.
Why did God create us?
He created people out of love for the purpose of sharing love. People were created to love God and each other. Additionally, when God created people, he gave them good work to do so that they might experience God's goodness and reflect his image in the way they care for the world and for each other.
Mark's and John's Gospels
What makes it more difficult is that neither the other Gospels, that of Mark and John, mentions Jesus' birth or his connection to Bethlehem. The Gospel of Mark is the earliest account of Jesus' life, written around A.D. 60.
Six times in scripture the Lord Jesus is declared to be the first-born of God (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15, 18; Hebrews 1:6; 12:23; Revelation 1:5). These passages declare the preexistence, the sovereignty, and the redemption that Christ offers.
The Lodging Space of Jesus's Birth
When Jesus was born, Luke reports that Mary “wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the kataluma” (Luke 2:7).
Only the Gospels of Matthew and Luke offer narratives regarding the birth of Jesus.
Paul says that what is extraordinary about the birth of Jesus is that it shows God shifting from the divine to the human. If that happened in a crowded family home, the message is preserved.
The firstborn or firstborn son (Hebrew בְּכוֹר bəḵōr) is an important concept in Judaism. The role of firstborn son carries significance in the redemption of the first-born son, in the allocation of a double portion of the inheritance, and in the prophetic application of "firstborn" to the nation of Israel.
The reason firstborns are under attack is because they are pacesetters. They are the family's glory and honour. If the devil can attack them, he can get the rest of the children in the family. Again, the firstborn has influence over the other children in the family; hence he is meant to be the mentor to them.