"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise" (Matt.1:18). This is the beginning of the familiar narrative of the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God (Matt:1:23). The account of how Jesus was born is clearly spelled out in scripture. But when was He born? Does the Bible tell us that also, or is scripture mute on the subject?

Many or most would probably say that the scriptures do not tell us when Jesus was born. Well, they do not tell us what day Jesus was born, but they do indirectly tell us what month of the year Jesus was born. Yes, the close study of Old and New Testament scripture clearly tells us what time of year Jesus was born.

Many today are probably operating under the assumption that December 25th is really Jesus' "birthday" or at least believe that Jesus was actually born near that date. For those who feel that way, I'm sorry, but Jesus was not born on December 25th. He was not even born anywhere near that date.

If Jesus was not actually born on December 25th, why do Christians celebrate that day as Christ's ''birthday"? The answer to that question can be found in most any encyclopedia or other book of knowledge.

December 25th was a very high pagan holiday in ancient Rome in honor of the sun god. The adoption of this day as a Christian holy day was begun by the early Roman Catholic Church as it brought many pagan practices into its "ritualism" around 300 A.D. The rise of a church-state at that time brought much apostasy into the church, hid the true time of Christ’s birth as proclaimed by scripture, and replaced that truth with a pagan ritual.

To this day, there is something very unholy about the worldly debt, greed, drunkenness and gluttony associated with our western "celebration" of Christ's birth. The national news reports of people trampling each other in stores to get "Cabbage Patch Dolls" for their kids to "love" Christmas morning is a prime example of how un-Christ-like most people’s commemoration of the birth of the Savior really is.

Now, don' t get me wrong. Certainly we as Christians need not feel guilty about enjoying God's blessings. There is no law against giving gifts. And to be sure, we need to remember that the One who died on Calvary's hill was born 2000 years ago in Bethlehem Judea.

Every Christian should be thankful that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we should bless God for this expression of His grace and good will toward a race of sin-sick human beings. We should honor the One born, but we err to try and honor the day as so many secular and even some Christian people do today.

We here will have a Christmas Eve communion service. We will spend Christmas day with our families and even exchange a few gifts in expression of our love for each other and also to remember that God is the greatest gift giver of all. He has given the greatest gift of all -- eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ. But as we do this, we will remember that Jesus was not actually born on December 25th but rather some time in October during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. We will honor Christ, not the day of the year. And we will most of all be thankful for the saving mercy and grace of Almighty God, Jesus. So let’s try to keep a balanced view of "Christmas." Let’s continue to honor Christ, but let’s also learn the Biblical and historical truth about when Jesus was actually born.

Scripture tells us that the things in the Old Testament were a shadow of the things to come (Heb. 10:1). That means that the law and the things that the prophets wrote were really only pointing to some future thing which would fulfill these "shadows." Jesus said that He was the fulfillment of these shadows, prophesies, events, feasts, etc. (Matt. 5:17). Jesus is the fulfillment of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, the three highest Jewish holidays along with the day of Atonement (Ex .23:14-17). There is no significance in the month of December for anything in Jesus’ life.

The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated each year from October 15th to 22nd. During this time, the Jews built humble "booths" outside made of tree branches, straw, etc., and sat in these booths during the feast. Some theologians have said that as they were in their booth they would gaze up into the sky looking for the sign in the heavens (star?) heralding the coming of Messiah.

When Jesus was at last born of a virgin under the guiding star which wise men followed, God became "housed" in a human body. God was tabernacled with man. The scriptures call our body a tabernacle that contains our spirit or soul (2 Corinthians 5:1,4; Heb.9:11; 2 Peter 1:13-14). The soul of God became housed in a human body. This is the miracle of the incarnation!

Jesus was born as a fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles which occurred in the Fall at the time of harvest and plenty. It was a time of joy. "They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest" (Is. 9:3). In Isaiah 9:6, it declares, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given" showing that the "joy of the harvest" was to be the birth of the Messiah, Jesus, in the time of ingathering (Ex. 23:16). Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

The time of harvest brought the sale of that harvest. And it was at this time when folks were "better off" materially. The Romans capitalized on this by imposing a tax requiring each Jewish family to return to the city of their tribal origins to pay this tax. It was this fall taxation and census which brought Mary and Joseph to Nazareth (Luke 2:1-6).

This taxation was the first taxing made by the Roman governor Cyrenius (Luke 2:2). History tells us that this taxing was in 6 B.C. The Romans took each census with its subsequent taxing about every 14 years. The next census was about 6 A.D., a date far too late for Christ's birth. Then 20 A.D. and 34 A.D. are the next years which history tells us the Romans took a census.

History is very well documented at the time of Christ’s birth and many events, as the above taxing, are accurately known. Like fitting pieces of a puzzle together there are several people and events mentioned in the scriptures that, when placed together with known history, pinpoint the exact time of the birth of Christ down to within a few days. Let’s continue to look at more of these puzzle pieces.

Herod was king in Israel when Jesus was born. The wise men came to Herod looking for the King of the Jews (Matt. 2:2). The talk of another king disturbed Herod so he inquired of his scribes where Messiah was to be born. Herod was told that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. Herod thus learned where Jesus was born but he also wanted to know when. So he asked the wise men when they first saw the star that was leading them to this "King of the Jews."

Herod's intentions in his investigation were to kill Jesus, not worship Him. He had hoped that the wise men would have led him to the particular child who had been born as King. When the wise men failed to return to Herod with the specific information, Herod determined to kill every male child in the region of Bethlehem two years old and under (Matt. 2:16).

This extermination campaign of every male child two and under demonstrates that he believed, from information given by the wise men, that Jesus was no longer an infant but a young child at that time. Scripture declares this to be the case for Matthew 2:8 and 11 say that the wise men worshiped a ''young child," not an infant.

To escape the murder plot of Herod, Joseph took Jesus and Mary into exile for a period of time. Then after the death of Herod, they returned to Israel (Matt. 2:19-20). This is significant because Herod is known to have died in the Spring of 4 B.C. Therefore we are dealing with two events which occurred only two years apart: the first census and taxing done by Cyrenius in 6 B.C. and the death of Herod in 4 B.C.

Jesus was born in the census year, 6 B.C. The plot to kill him probably occurred when He was less than a year old during the time that Mary was recuperating from her delivery. (It was a long, rough donkey ride back to Nazareth.) The wise men had been following the star for nearly two years. Thus Herod issued the order to kill all males two and under. Jesus, from less than a year old until after he was two, lived in exile in Egypt. Upon Herod’s death in 4 B.C., Jesus returned to Israel as a little boy.

The Bible declares that John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius (Luke 3:1). That year was 26 A.D., and Jesus was baptized that same year.

We know this for two reasons. First, in John 2:20 Jesus was having a dispute with the Jews who mentioned that the current temple had been around for 46 years. Josephus tells us that the construction of the temple in Jesus' day was begun in 19 B.C. Forty-six years from 19 B.C. is the year 27 A.D. Thus Jesus' conversation in John 2:20 took place sometime in 27 A.D. Since Jesus was already ministering to the Jews in 27 A.D., He had to have been baptized before the events of John 2:20 and after John began baptizing in 26 A.D.

Second, Jesus was born in 6 B.C. Thus the following year, 5 B.C., Jesus would have had His first birthday in October. His 31st birthday would then have been in October of 26 A.D. This is important because Luke 3:23 states that at the time of Jesus’ baptism, He was "30 years of age." Jesus was then baptized by John prior to His 31st birthday in 26 A.D.!

All the above information demonstrates that Jesus was born in 6 B.C. That year is known historically to be a year of Roman taxation and census. Herod is known to have died in the early Spring of 4 B.C. Jesus was 30 when He was baptized by John in 26 A.D., which was the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. But the facts of scripture and history not only tell us the year, they also tell us the month of Christ's birth.

I have mentioned that Jesus was born as a fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles in October, but we want ''proof'' that He was actually born at that time of year. There is proof in scripture that Jesus was born in October.

The normal gestation period for a woman with child is 280 days or nine months. It is obvious then that if we can determine in what month Mary conceived, we can also know the month of her delivery. Luke 1:26 and 36 tell us that Mary conceived when her cousin, Elizabeth, was six months pregnant with John the Baptist. This is important because the Bible tells us exactly the month Elizabeth became with child.

We begin in the Old Testament in 1 Chronicles 24:5-19 where we learn that the temple was serviced by 24 different groups of people during a year. There were two lots or "courses" (groups of people) for each month (1Chronicles 27:1-2). The first two courses for the first month (Abib) began in our month of March and ended in April. The third and fourth courses for the second month (Zif ) began in April and ended in May. The fifth and sixth courses for the third month fell in our months of May and June. The seventh and eighth courses for the fourth month fell in our June and July, and so on.

Now, 1 Chronicles 24:10 states that the eighth course was the course of Abijah which was completed in mid July. Luke 1:5 tells us that Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist and Elizabeth's husband, was of that course. This means that Zacharias was serving in the temple during June/July when the angel told him that he would be the father of John.

Luke 1:23-24 tells us that it was right after Zacharias finished his service that Elizabeth conceived. This was in the middle to later part of July. Therefore, Elizabeth was six months pregnant in January, and it was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, January, that the Bible says Mary conceived.

Mary then conceived in January, and nine months later Jesus was born in the month of October! If Mary conceived on January 15th, Jesus would have been born on October 22nd near the end of the Feast of Tabernacles that year. All scriptures and historical dates agree that the Word became flesh during the Feast of Tabernacles, October of 6 B.C.

I’m still looking forward to December 25th however, for the important thing is not which day or month or year Jesus was born but the fact that He WAS BORN. I'm not out to start a campaign to have Christianity move "Christ-mas" to October when the birth actually occurred. I am out to remind us all that the important thing about Christmas is CHRIST, the One who was born to DIE that we might have everlasting life.