The First Christmas

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14, NASB)

…And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. (Revelation 12:4-5, NASB)

               A sign indeed! A virgin having a child. Such a thing has never happened. If such a thing were to happen, it would certainly be worthy of attention.

Merry Christmas! This blog is a special blog. I didn’t plan on writing it, but the desire to do so hit me out of nowhere within the past couple of days, and kept getting stronger. So here I am, and I am going to tell you a story; the story of the first Christmas. I hope you enjoy!

               Matthew tells the story of the birth of Jesus by starting with a genealogy that traces Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham. (Matthew 1:1-16) This makes sense, because Matthew’s Gospel presents Jesus the Messiah as the King of Israel. So Matthew traces His lineage back to the very first Hebrew. Matthew also traces the lineage through Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, since kingship was inherited through the father’s line. In Matthew’s genealogy, we see a link to King David through David’s son and heir, Solomon. As a legally adopted child, Jesus would have had full claim to inheritance through Joseph, and as the eldest son, He would be the heir. Luke also gives a genealogy of Jesus, but he traces the lineage back to Adam. (Luke 3:23-38) This also makes sense, because Luke’s Gospel presents Jesus the Messiah as the Son of Man. So Luke traces His lineage back to the very first human. Luke also traces the genealogy through Mary, the birth mother of Jesus, showing the actual, biological bloodline. In Luke’s genealogy, we see a link to King David through David’s son, Nathan. As a biological child, Jesus was of the bloodline of the House of David. Why is this important? For at least two reasons. First, Old Testament prophecy predicted that the Messiah would come through Abraham’s and then through David’s descendants. Second, the Messiah is to eventually be the King of Israel, and God promised that the royal line would never pass away from the House of David. Another interesting point is that in Matthew’s genealogy, we see the royal line pass through Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11). But Jeremiah 22:30 has a blood curse from God placed on Jeconiah stating that none of his biological children would sit on the throne. How could God keep His promise to David that the throne of Israel would never pass from his lineage, yet at the same time honor the curse on the line of Jeconiah? The promise was kept because, although legally Jesus could claim the throne of David through the inherited lineage of Jeconiah through His adoptive father, Joseph, since He wasn’t a biological child of Joseph, the blood curse didn’t fall upon Him. But as a biological descendent of David through His birth mother, Mary, Jesus was still able to fulfill the promise of God that David’s line would remain on the throne of Israel. Therefore, Jesus fulfills the promise, avoids the curse, and inherits the throne!

               John’s Gospel also has a genealogy of Jesus, although it is harder to recognize, that traces Jesus’ lineage back to God. (John 1:1-3) This makes sense, because John’s Gospel presents Jesus the Messiah as the Son of God. Mark’s Gospel does not have a genealogy of Jesus. This also makes sense, because Mark’s Gospel presents Jesus as the Suffering Servant, and in ancient times, there was little to no need for a servant to trace his lineage.

               The story of the first Christmas actually starts in Luke chapter 1 with the announcement of the birth of Jesus’ cousin. Mary had an older relative (or cousin, according to the King James Version) named Elizabeth, who was married to a priest named Zacharias. Up to this point, Elizabeth and Zacharias had been unable to have children on account of Elizabeth being barren. But the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias and told him that he and his wife would have a son and that their son would be a forerunner of the Messiah, announcing His coming to Israel, as prophesied of by Malachi. (Malachi 4:6)

               In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel appeared to a virgin girl named Mary, who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. And Gabriel said to her:

“Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:28-33)

Mary was understandably perplexed, and inquired:

               “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)

Gabriel answered:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:35-37)

After this, Mary travelled to visit Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s baby, still in her womb, leaped for joy upon Mary’s arrival. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for the next three months, and departed around the time that Elizabeth gave birth. So Elizabeth gave birth to a son, and she and Zacharias named him John. He grew up to be John the Baptist.

Mary became pregnant, and upon learning of her pregnancy, Joseph, knowing that the child wasn’t his, decided to end their engagement quietly. But before doing so, he had a dream, and in his dream an angel appeared to him and said:

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)

So Joseph and Mary were married, and the Bible says that Joseph kept her as a virgin until Jesus was born. (Matthew 1:25) The Bible also says:

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” (Matthew 1:22-23)

Not only was this a fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah 7:14, but it was also a partial fulfillment of the prophecy from Genesis 3:15, which would be completely fulfilled with Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection. Jesus was the prophesied “seed” of the woman, Eve. (See my previous blog titled “The Fallen Ones, Part 3.”) God had declared to the serpent:

“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heal.” (Genesis 3:15)

               The story resumes while Mary is still pregnant. The Nation of Israel at the time was under the rule of the Roman Empire. Caesar Augustus sent out a decree for a census to be taken throughout the Empire. As a result, Joseph and Mary were compelled to leave their home in Nazareth, in the region of Galilee, and travel to Bethlehem, in the region of Judea, to register for the census, as Bethlehem was the ancestral home of Joseph’s family. While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to give birth.

               Now, the Bible doesn’t specify exactly what time of year this was. Some scholars speculate that it probably wasn’t in December, citing the unlikeliness of the Roman government to order a census requiring travel in the winter. Other scholars note that even in the winter, the climate is relatively mild throughout the land of Israel, and traveling would probably not have been too difficult at that time of year; other than the normal difficulties of a woman being almost full-term in her pregnancy traveling by foot and on the back of a donkey, or pulled in a cart, for the 70-mile trip. While it isn’t impossible that Jesus was born on December 25, it is probably unlikely. What is most likely is that His birth wasn’t in winter, and that December 25 was selected as the date to celebrate Jesus birth, or “Christ’s Mass” by the Roman (Catholic) Church in order to harmonize Christian belief with other pre-existing celebrations and traditions already present in the Empire when Christianity was adopted as the state religion in the fourth century (380 AD/CE). We also don’t know the exact year He was born. Most Bible scholars think it was sometime between 6 BC/BCE to 1 AD/CE. Based upon prophecy from the Book of Daniel that places the triumphal entry into Jerusalem likely in 32 AD/CE (see my previous blog titled “Caught Up, Part 3”), and the likelihood that He was crucified between the ages of 33 to 36, I suspect that Jesus was born in the year 3 or 4 BC/BCE. Either way, He was born and lived during the first part of the first century, and we know this from even secular historical sources outside of the Bible. (See the writings of the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, as an example.)

               When Jesus was born to Mary in the town of Bethlehem, we are told that she wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger “because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7) There are a lot of assumptions about what this means, but here’s what we know. There was no room for them at the inn. Perhaps the places that would normally be available for temporary rent were full because of the census. Perhaps Mary and Joseph were refused a room because of the scandal of her having become pregnant before marriage. Perhaps they were given shelter at the inn’s stable or some other stable. Perhaps it was a stable or even guest quarters at a relative’s dwelling. Perhaps it was a cave where animals were kept. All we know is that they weren’t in a guest room at an inn. We also know that they weren’t in a home of their own, or else Jesus would not have been laid in a manger. A manger is a trough, or feeder, for animals, typically made from stone, wood, or metal. No matter the location of such a manger, this is certainly a humble place for the Savior of the world and the future King of Kings, let alone God in human flesh, to be laid after having been born.

               As the story continues, on the night that Jesus was born, an angel appeared to some shepherds who were tending their flocks outside of Bethlehem in the fields. Understand that being a shepherd was not a prestigious occupation at that time. The shepherds were understandably frightened at the sudden appearance of an angel (hyper-dimensional being), but the angel declared to them:

“Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)

Then, an assembly of angels appeared praising God. After the angels departed, the shepherds went into the town and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, Jesus. The shepherds told the family what the angels had told them and then they departed praising and glorifying God.

And that is the story of the first Christmas. But what about the wise men (you ask)? And what about King Herod (you ask)? Well, I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you that story.

               As we shall see, it was probably between 1 to 2 years after the birth of Jesus that He was visited by the wise men. And the Bible doesn’t specify how many there were, nor does it give their names. Tradition and Nativity displays show three wise men because there were three gifts. But here’s what we know from the Bible.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:” (Matthew 2:1-5)

Now who were these magi from the east? The magi were an ancient sect of religious astronomers from the ancient Persian Empire. During the time when Jesus was born, the Persian Empire no longer existed, but in its place existed the Parthian Empire, which was a rival empire to the east of the Romans. These magi were wealthy and scholarly dignitaries from a rival empire, who had travelled to Jerusalem, in the outer-rim Roman province of Judea, far from the central seat of Roman imperial power, probably with a large caravan of servants and armed guards (as they brought treasure with them to give to Jesus). We know that the Hebrew prophet Daniel was a chief wise man in the court of Babylon during the time of both the Babylonian and Persian Empires. We know from the Book of Daniel, that he was given a prophecy that predicted the time of the coming of the Messiah to Jerusalem. (See my previous blog titled “Caught Up, Part 3.”) It is possible, even probable, that these magi were part of a sect that was familiar with, and possibly even founded by, Daniel, and were aware of his writings and predictions. Being astronomers, they would have been familiar with the stars and would recognize anything new or different that appeared in the night sky. Having seen the star in the east, and possibly, or probably, being familiar with Daniel’s prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, knowing that the time was getting close, they travelled to Jerusalem to see if they could locate Him.

               Now who was Herod? We know a lot about him from secular history. He was actually not Jewish by birth, but was a Roman appointee governing the province of Judea. So when a group of foreign dignitaries from a rival empire arrive in his capital with their caravan and their servants and their soldiers and ask him, a Roman appointee, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” it is understandable why he and all Jerusalem might be troubled. Certainly, his position could be threatened by a legitimate heir to the Jewish throne, but also the Roman control of the far-flung province could be threatened if the Parthian Empire decided to support an insurrection among the Jews.

               After telling the magi where to go (Bethlehem), Herod instructs them to go and find the child and report his location back to Herod so that he might go and “worship” him as well. Here is the continuation of the story:

After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. (Matthew 2:9-12)

Why did I say earlier that this event took place 1 to 2 years after Jesus was born? Because of a couple of reasons. The magi find Jesus and Mary in a house. So they had obviously moved by this point from wherever he had been born. But the primary reason is because after learning that the magi had left, Herod was enraged and sent his soldiers to kill all the male children in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years of age and under, based upon the time of the star’s appearance that he had previously obtained from the magi. (Matthew 2:7 and 16) But Herod failed in his attempt to kill Jesus, the Messiah and prophesied future King of Israel, because after the magi had left, an angel appeared again to Joseph in a dream and said:

“Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” (Matthew 2:13)

So Joseph and Mary and Jesus stayed in Egypt until an angel told them to return to Israel after the death of Herod, which secular history asserts was sometime between 4 BC/BCE to 1 AD/CE. Upon returning to Israel, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus settled in Nazareth in the region of Galilee. (Matthew 2:19-23)

               And that, my friends, is the story of the first Christmas! Grace and peace to you.

*Note: all passages from Scripture in this post were quoted from the New American Standard Bible.