Jesus' Birth According to the Bible

Jesus set the standard when it comes to worshiping God. He said, "...they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth." This is the truth about Jesus’ birth according to the Biblical accounts of Matthew and Luke.

The scriptural account in Luke tells us the shepherds were living outdoors watching over their flocks and it was nighttime. This is something they would not be doing in late December. When the winter cold began, it is a fact the shepherds brought their flocks in from the fields and would not be living outdoors, especially at night. So, Jesus' birth took place in a warmer month. More appropriately, a fall month.

While the shepherds were in the fields with their flocks, angels appeared and announced Jesus’ birth to them. There is no mentioning of them seeing a star. The shepherds did not need a star to point the way. The angel told them exactly where they could find Jesus. The shepherds went to Bethlehem to see their Messiah. There was no mention of the Magi being there because they were not in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.

The Magi arrived in Bethlehem when Jesus was a young child living in a house and likely somewhere near the age of one or so. The account does not mention how many Magi there were. Three is an assumption based on how many gifts were presented to Jesus.

As for the star, all implications are it had an evil intent. The Biblical account tells us the star moved ahead of the Magi as they followed. So, it was not a natural star. It did not initially lead the Magi to Jesus’ location. The star first led them to the very place and person who would want to kill Jesus, Jerusalem and King Herod. We would want to ask the obvious question, why would God deliberately endanger his son by leading the Magi to the very person who would want to kill Jesus. That would be something the Devil would do.

When the Magi arrived at Jerusalem and gained audience with King Herod, they told him about the star they were following and the birth of a savior king of the Jews. Neither the priests or King Herod knew anything of a star or Jesus’ birth because the only individuals who saw the star were the Magi. After consulting the scriptures, the priests said the Messiah was foretold to be born in the city of David, Bethlehem. King Herod now instructed the Magi to go to Bethlehem and report back to him Jesus’ location. The Magi, at that point, were unaware of Herod’s true intent. The star once again appears and leads them to Jesus’ exact location. It is at this point that God intervenes to stop what the star was attempting to do, and by way of a dream warns the Magi not to return to King Herod. Putting all the facts together, the star was a manifestation of the Devil who wanted to kill Jesus.

The accounts of Matthew 2 and Luke 2 are to be viewed as separate accounts with events that take place at different times. Luke’s account deals with the actual birth of Jesus, and Matthew’s account deals with events 1 to two years later. The two should not be mixed together.

There is a very important reason you will not find the date of Jesus' birth in the Bible. When the gospels were written, the Jewish people did not celebrate birthdays. Pagans celebrated birthdays as a part of their superstitious beliefs. As for December 25, it is a pagan Roman date. The day Romans celebrated the birth of the Invincible Sun, which was the conclusion of their winter solstice celebration of Saturnalia.

When we consider Bible accounts, the truth should always matter to us.

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