Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Here's a warning, up front.  These next few posts are going to be provocative.

I don't seek controversy or "vain arguments", which the Bible tells us to avoid (Titus 3:9).  Because the Bible is an extremely complex, supernatural book, there is ample room for differences of opinion about interpretations.
Generally, I was "raised" with a very Western frame of reference for interpreting biblical events, a framework also influenced by church decisions made in the 4th century.  These factors can lead to erroneous assumptions, such as the date on which Jesus was born.  Most of us were taught in church that December 25th is Jesus' birthday.  We never had cause to question this date. 
This post, and those following, are written to cause you to consider whether or not that date is correct.  I present this information merely as a topic of interest, not to "convert" you to this position.  We, after all, live in a very different culture than that of 4 B.C.  It is a wonderful thing to celebrate Jesus' birth, any and every day of the year.

In reality, the actual calendar date of Jesus' birth is not overly important in the overall scheme of things.  It is not a major theological issue.  However, in my study of how culture operated in the first century A.D., and just prior, I've encountered some fascinating theories about this topic. 

In order to establish the date of Jesus' birth, we must look at what the Bible says.  It gives clear clues as to when Jesus was born.  The problem becomes our lack of understanding of Levitical practice and of Judaism in general.  These impede our understanding.  No detail given in the Bible is insignificant, though we may "read past" some phrases that seem so.

One such detail is found in Luke 1:5 - -

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron.

(Berean Study Bible version)

Of the many times I've read this verse, I've skipped right over the underlined portion.  "What does it even mean anyway?  What difference does it make anyhow?"
In 1 Chronicles 24, we see that King David divided the priestly, Levitical families up into 24 "courses" or "service divisions".  Each family was assigned two weeks each calendar year to serve in the Temple - - one week in the first half, and one week in the second half.  These two weeks of service were in addition to those of the three "mandatory" festivals - - the ones where all the Jewish males had to come to Jerusalem for the religious events. Those three were Unleavened Bread (which includes Passover), Shavuot (the Christian term is Pentecost) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).  During those three festivals, all of the priests served in the Temple, due to the many festival-related tasks needing doing.

In 1 Chronicles 24:10, the course of Abijah (each course or division was named for its ancestral family head) was listed as the eighth course.  Every year, the first division/course served the first week of Abib (Aviv) and so on, allowing for the "exception" weeks mentioned above.  That being the case, the Abijah group served the 10th week the first half of the year, which is when Zechariah would have been in the Holy of Holies encountering the angel.  (How do we know this event did not occur in the second half of the year, during Zechariah's week of service?  That will be explained in a later post about the "wise men"; hang on.)

In Leviticus 12:5 and 15:19 and 15:25, we learn that there were certain times priests were prohibited from having sexual relations with their wives.  Therefore, if two additional weeks are factored in, and allowing for a normal 40-week pregnancy, the birth of John the Baptist would have occurred at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (and Passover).1 
Traditionally, the Jewish people have looked for the appearance of Elijah at the Passover feast.  This expectation is so strong and widely held, the fifth cup of wine poured at the Passover feast is called "Elijah's cup", and is left untouched.  At one point in the meal the door to the home is held open, so that Elijah can enter and join the feast. This belief, that Elijah will return to herald the advent of the Messiah, is established from Malachi 3:1. 

1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.

You may recall the words of John the Baptist, recorded in John 1:23.  His words echoed these words of Malachi, who had been hearkening back to Isaiah 40:3.  John the Baptist apparently saw himself as the Elijah who was to come, who would prepare the way for the advent of Messiah.
Twice in the gospels, Jesus referred to John the Baptist as having fulfilled that role, as being the "Elijah" of their day.  (See Mark 9:11-12 and Matthew 17:10-11.)

I'm getting rather far afield here, but the most cogent point is that John the Baptist was born at Passover.
Then.....
Luke 1:26-33 tells us that Gabriel visited Mary in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, which on the Jewish calendar would have been toward the end of the month of Kislev or the beginning of Tevet (December, on the Roman calendar).  This is the time of the more recent feast of Chanukah (Hanukkah), which runs Chislev 25 through Tevet 3.  If you count from there through the nine months of a normal pregnancy you arrive at . . . Sukkot, Feast of Tabernacles.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (King James 2000)

The Greek word translated "dwelt" here is eskēnōsen .  I have heard my pastor translate that word as "pitched His tent".  Biblehub.com3 translates it as: "to dwell as in a tent, encamp; have my tabernacle".  The Apostle John used a Sukkot reference (building a sukkah, or tabernacle) here because Jesus was born during Sukkot, perhaps?

Sources:

1    Good, J. (1998). Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to come: an interpretation of the Feast of Trumpets based upon ancient sources. Nederland, TX: Hatikva

2    https://reformjudaism.org/passover-mystery-fifth-cup

3    https://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/1-14.htm

Shabbat Shalom

It's no secret to those who know me that I love Israel - - the country and its people, its history and cultures.  I marvel at the promises God made to the Hebrew people and long to see them all ultimately fulfilled.  When I arrived in Israel last January, it was at the beginning of the Sabbath.  Greetings of "Shabbat Shalom" were heard, from one person to another.  This phrase means "sabbath peace be upon you".

Ironically, though, the Sabbath concept can be very contentious among Christian groups and between Christians and observant Jews (Jews who practice Judaism).  There are several reasons for this.
We are looking at this topic because we are studying here in the blog the book of Genesis.  Throughout this post, I will give scripture verses for you to explore, as you study this topic with me; and, I strongly encourage you to look all of those scriptures up, to read them all.
It is not my aim to be offensive to anyone, but, rather, to study this topic.  I invite you to comment as you feel led, in the comments section.

1.   As far back as Genesis 2, God established the Sabbath - - a day of both rest and observance.  The word "sabbath" comes from the Hebrew root, Shin-Beit-Tav, which means "to cease, to end, to rest".1
(For a quick overview of how observant Jews and many Messianic Jews "keep the Sabbath" see item #1 under Sources.)  Messianic Jews are people (with or without actual Jewish heritage/parentage) who worship Jesus Christ but who also, according to their consciences - - Romans 14:5 - - observe the Sabbath as well as the other holy convocations (Jewish religious holidays).
Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8, 23:12, 31:12-18; Leviticus 16:30-31, 26:2; Deuteronomy 5:12-15.
The Sabbath was SO important in the Law God gave to Moses for His chosen people that the death penalty was imposed on those who did not observe it properly.
In Exodus 31:17, mentioned above, we find that God "refreshed" Himself on the Sabbath.  The Hebrew word there is "naphash" ( וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ׃ ), a word that only appears three times in Scripture, here, and also in Exodus 23:12 and in 2 Samuel 16:14.  Psalm 104:31 says that God rejoices in His works.  Sabbath has an element of not only rest, but also of a joyful contentment in reflecting on the work of our hands in service to our God, and worshipping Him for all His wondrous works.2
Interestingly, in Genesis 2 the Sabbath was not designated as an "evening and morning" format (as were the previous six days), which some believers take to signify that the Sabbath has no end, making it a foretaste of the believer's eternal rest, eternity.

2.   What has happened, then?  Why do so many Christians worship on Sunday, making that "the Christian Sabbath"?  In fact, when I was growing up in the Baptist church, I frequently heard Sunday referred to as "the Sabbath".  Back then, general society also practiced a Sunday sabbath, because most places of business were closed on Sunday.
Let's look explicitly at what the New Testament says, as opposed to what we think it says on the matter.
A.  Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on the first day of the week, not on a Sabbath.  This is incontrovertible.  If Christ was not raised, His entire work would have been rendered useless and we would still be spiritually dead, enslaved in our sins (John 20:1; 1 Corinthians 15:17).2
This first day of the week is henceforth referred to in the New Testament as "the Lord's day" (Revelation 1:10)
B.  The Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost, which was on the first day of the week (Acts 2:1-36).
C.  Acts 20:7 records that early believers practiced coming together on the first day of the week to "break bread", although Acts 2:46 states that early believers met every day, in homes and sometimes in the Temple courts.
D.  1 Corinthians 16:2 establishes the first day of the week as the day each Christ follower should consecrate his or her tithe.  This is why "collecting the offering" is a key part of Christian worship services.3
E.  The writer of Hebrews 8 (specifically 8:3-7 and 8:13) explains that the old covenant of the Law was made obsolete by the new covenant that Jesus established.
F.  Romans 14 likewise makes it clear that choosing to honor God by esteeming certain days as holy is a matter of personal conscience and conviction.

1Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

10You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister^a ?

Romans 14:1-10 NIV

The scriptural principle of a day of rest, observance, rejoicing and worship is clear.  As followers of Jesus Christ we are to have a sabbath rest one day each week, in addition to honoring God every moment of every day, in all we do.  Beyond that, we are not to judge our brothers or sisters in Christ for which day they choose to worship Him, or other Old Testament practices they choose to reverence (such as the Jewish feast days).

You will notice in the New Testament that Paul as well as other Christians ministered in Jewish synagogues on the Saturday Sabbath.  They did this to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with their fellow Jews, as this was the day the Jewish people gathered in worship.  This past Saturday evening I worshipped with a group of Messianic believers and Native American believers.  What a joyous time!  The preachers told of how they have been able to reach some very religiously orthodox Jews in Israel.  In order to do so, they honored the kosher rules and some of the other requirements of orthodox Judaism.  Even the apostle Paul said this on the matter:

19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV)

Let's be clear on this point:  this type of reconciliatory and unifying talk does not extend to the approval of clear sin.  Paul was not suggesting that Christians approve sin in order to reach people with the gospel or to help believers grow deeper into Christ.  At present there is a move afoot in the Southern Baptist Convention, a movement which advocates approval of homosexual behavior in order to be more "loving" toward the LGBTQ community, for example. This type of compromise and capitulation to the culture is not what is meant by making ourselves "slaves to everyone".  Even the apostle Paul spent much of his writing to the young churches correcting their leaps off into theological error, usually into relational, sexual sin.  The most loving way we can reach out to those who do not know Christ is by standing strong on the truth which is the revealed, written Word of God.

So....."Brethren, let us love one another." (1 John 4:7) and avoid controversies that threaten to tear Jesus Christ's church apart (Titus 3:9).  As you worship the Lord Jesus Christ, seek His face in all matters of practice and follow His Holy Spirit in "keeping the sabbath".

Shabbat Shalom!


Sources:

1    https://www.gotquestions.org/shabbat.html

2    https://www.ligonier.org/blog/why-christians-worship-sunday/

3    https://www.gotquestions.org/worship-on-Sunday.html