The Life of Christ

Lk. 2:10-11 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Much speculation exists as to when Jesus was born.

• There are no less than 136 formal theories that address this question.

• For all practical purposes, Jesus was most likely born in the fall, based upon when the temple sheep traditionally grazed in the fields.

• It would not have been in December, knowing that the flocks were not allowed to graze in open fields because of the cold weather, and this would have been a very inconvenient time for people to travel.

• What is clear is that God did not think it necessary that we know the precise day of Jesus’ birth; it could have easily become idolized.

• The only birthdays recorded in the Bible are of secular kings: (1) Herod (Mt. 14:6) and (2) Pharaoh (Gen. 40:20).

Why do we celebrate December 25th as Jesus' birthday?

• For the first 300 years Christians observed Christ's birthday on various dates.

• Then in A.D. 354, Constantine, Bishop of Rome, ordered the church to celebrate it on Dec. 25.

• He chose this date because it was already an official Roman holiday designated to honor the birthday of the sun. The day was formally called the Feast of Saturn.

• Similarities were already evident between the birthday of the sun and the birthday of Jesus: sun vs. Son; light vs. Light of the world.

Christmas means the “Mass of Christ.”

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Lk. 2:12-13 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Heb. 1:6 says, "And when He again brings the first born into the world, He says, "AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM."

• The night of Jesus’ birth brought only a multitude of angels to worship Him.

• When He returns, every angel in heaven will be present to glorify Christ as He reveals Himself to the earth before destroying it.

Lk. 2:14-15 “ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

The angels never told the shepherds to go find Jesus; the shepherds decided this on their own.

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