In What Year Was Jesus Born?

 Most people would assume that Jesus was born in the year 1 A.D., but that is probably not correct.  Most scholars and historians (including conservative ones) place the year of the birth of Jesus around 5 B.C.  Of course B.C. stands for before Christ, so how could Christ be born before Christ?  

It seems that when the calendar was set up it was miscalculated by about five years.  Herod the Great reigned from 37 B.C.-4 B.C. and Jesus was born during his reign.  Since Herod died in 4 B.C., Jesus had to be born in 4 B.C. or earlier.  So Jesus was probably born around 5 B.C. 

The Christ Of Christmas

(Matthew 1:21) "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (ESV)

The name Jesus means the LORD saves and Christ or Messiah means anointed one.  He is Immanuel which means God with us (Matthew 1:23).  It is important to understand that Jesus is not celebrating another birthday.  Jesus did not come into existence when he was born to the Virgin Mary.  He has always existed, he is eternal (John 1:1).  All three persons of the Godhead have always existed (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  In Jesus, God became man and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  The focus then should be on the incarnation and not on a birthday (Philippians 2:1-11).  

Christ came to save his people from their sins.  We are all sinners who have broken God's law (Romans 3:10,23).  Because of our sin we face the wrath of a Holy God (Ephesians 2:3).  But Jesus lived a perfect life without sin providing perfect righteousness on our behalf.  He died on the cross paying the penalty for the sins of his people.  It was a propitiation which means he turned away the wrath of God from us and took it on himself (Romans 3:25, 1 Thessalonians 1:10).  Jesus was raised from the dead victorious over sin, death, and the devil (1 Corinthians 15).  The resurrection proves that he is God (Romans 1:4).  

God commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).  We must repent which means to have a change of mind and place our faith in Christ alone for salvation.  Salvation is by grace and not by works, you cannot earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9).  God makes those who were dead in their trespasses and sins alive (Ephesians 2:1-5).  Salvation is totally the work of God.  We receive the righteousness of Christ while he takes our sins on himself (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Jesus is the only way to heaven (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).  We must receive Jesus as Savior and submit to him as Lord.  We must believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31).  Those who reject Jesus go to hell for eternity, while those who believe in him spend eternity in heaven (Matthew 25:46).   

War On Christmas?

We hear a lot about the war on Christmas from traditionalists and the religious right.  It is definitely true that secularists want to rid the public square of Christianity.  In fact the culture in which we now live in the United States is already secular.  There is reason to be concerned about this because a culture based on secularism will not survive. 

But is a war on Christmas where our concerns should be?  What is usually celebrated on Christmas anyway?  In reality it is mostly characterized by Santa Claus, reindeer, lights, and receiving gifts.  Usually secular things are focused on even by professing Christians.  Maybe professing Christians are conducting their own war on Christmas. 

Is it really that meaningful if a retail store clerk tells us Merry Christmas?  Again what is probably being thought of is a secular version of Christmas.   If we get unbelievers to wish us a Merry Christmas but they stay on the road to hell, what kind of victory is really accomplished?  The ultimate need of people in our society is salvation.  They need to hear the Gospel message. 

Biblical illiteracy is a major problem in our culture and in the church.  We must truly teach the Bible in the churches and we must teach it to our culture.  That is the real hope for change in our society.  If people come to Christ and understand and believe the Bible they will celebrate Christ year round.  The culture would then develop a Biblical worldview which is the best for human flourishing. 

We must be concerned more about the eternal than the temporal.  After all this present world is passing away.  This world does matter and we should try to make it better but we have to realize the limitations of this world.  People need to be saved from God's wrath which comes about because of our sins.  Our priorities need to be sharing the Gospel and teaching the Bible.  We must deal with the heart of the problem and not just go around the edges. 

Questions About The Birth Of Jesus

What year was Jesus born?  It was actually about 5 B.C.  When the calendar was calculated a few centuries later it was miscalculated by a few years. 

Which Herod ruled at this time?  It was Herod the Great who ruled the region under Roman authority from 37-4 B.C.  Herod the Great was ruthless, he not only had all the male children 2 years and under killed in Bethlehem and the surrounding region but also had members of his own family killed. 

Was the birth of Jesus on December 25?  It is actually unknown the Bible does not say when it was.  Some scholars have speculated it was actually in April but it could have been any time of the year. 

Do all four of the Gospels mention the birth of Jesus?  No, only two of them do (Matthew & Luke). 

What does the name Jesus mean?  It means "the LORD saves". 

What does Christ mean?  It is the same thing as Messiah.  Both of these mean "anointed one". 

Who is Jesus?  Immanuel which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). 

What did Jesus come to do?  He came to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). 

Has Jesus always existed?  Yes, he has always existed (John 1:1).  At the birth Jesus became man in order to save people from their sins.  This is called the Incarnation by theologians.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have always existed. 

Was Jesus born in a stable?  The Bible never says Jesus was born in a stable.  It has been thought to be a stable because of the manger.  Justin Martyr (around 150 A.D.) said it was actually a cave. 

Were there three Wise Men?  The Bible does not say how many Wise Men there were.  It mentions three gifts which gave rise to the belief that there were three Wise Men. 

Were the Wise Men there at the birth?  No, they actually came later, up to two years later. 

Does the Bible tell us to celebrate Christmas?  No, it actually does not.  It was not celebrated until a few centuries later.  The early church did not celebrate Christmas. 

Christmas In America

There seems to be some confusion with the celebration of Christmas in America.  It seems almost like there are two different things being celebrated.  We might classify these into two categories, religious Christmas and secular Christmas.  Some people celebrate secular Christmas while many others try to combine the two of them. 

Religious Christmas focuses on Jesus the Christ or Messiah, the Son of God.  While secular Christmas focuses on Santa Claus, gifts, and shopping.  The problem is that the two of these are in conflict in many ways. 

Children are told to be good because Santa Claus is watching them.  But they should desire to be good because they want to obey and please God.  When the focus goes from the Lord to Santa, then Santa Claus actually becomes a false idol.  It also seems that children are mainly taught to just think about what they are going to get.  This teaches self centeredness instead of teaching them to be selfless and care about others.  It also tends to lead to coveting, and there is a commandment that says "You shall not covet" (Exodus 20). 

Obligatory gift giving that has become part of the tradition is also not the type of giving taught by Jesus. He taught giving to those truly in need and sacrificing for others.  Also giving should not be seen only in terms of material things.  We should not give gifts just to be giving gifts because this is what we have been trained to do.  Some have tried to make the case that the tradition of gift giving came from the Wise Men.  But these people might want to notice that the Wise Men did not exchange gifts with one another. 

Unfortunately the modern Christmas celebration often encourages materialism and consumerism.  It seems to be all about things and shopping for more things.  But this whole mentality is in conflict with the teaching of Jesus.  He taught self denial not self indulgence.  We should love God instead of material things.  We should also figure out that true happiness is found in God and not in the accumulation of material things. 

Also the Bible does not tell us to celebrate Christmas, so it is not binding on us.  But at the same time it is not wrong to celebrate it if our focus is right.  We should all take a step back and ask ourselves what we are celebrating and who we are celebrating.   

A Biblical View Of Christmas

(Matthew 1:21) "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (ESV)

(Matthew 1:23) "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)."  (ESV)


The name Jesus tells us what he does, he saves and the name Immanuel tells us who he is, God with us.  Jesus is the promised Messiah who  saves his people from their sins.  The miraculous conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit was evidence of his divinity.  It also meant that Jesus was not in the line of sinful humanity, but was without sin.  Some deny the miraculous conception of Jesus but the main reason they do is because they rule out the supernatural and miracles from the start. 

The focus in our time is sometimes on the birthday of Jesus.  This is misguided because it is not really the birthday of Jesus(though I do think the Lord is pleased when little children sing happy birthday to him).  Jesus has actually always existed (John 1:1).  The focus should instead be on the incarnation of Christ.  Incarnation means to take human form, so in Jesus, God became man(John 1:14).  The birth needs to be connected to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  We need to see the whole picture and not just focus on the birth.  The heart of Christianity is Christ and the cross.  He came to accomplish salvation for his people through his life, death, and resurrection. 

The Bible does not actually tell us to celebrate Christmas so we are not bound to even celebrate it.  There have been Christians through the ages who did not celebrate it because there was no Biblical mandate.  In fact Christmas was not celebrated for the first few centuries.  The birth of Jesus is only mentioned in two of the four Gospels (Matthew & Luke).  But it is not wrong to celebrate it as long as we keep a balanced perspective and keep in mind the complete picture of the true Biblical message.