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| Christ at birth |
Objection #1: It is observed that birthday celebrations recorded in the scriptures have negative consequences. When Pharaoh had a birthday celebration his baker was put to death. When Herod celebrated his birthday, John the Baptist was put to death. When the sons of Job were supposedly celebrating their birthdays, they were all killed. It is therefore concluded that that we should avoid birthday celebrations including that of Christ.
This is a Non Sequitur argument. A Non Sequitur is where the conclusion does not follow from the premise. To say that bad things happening at a birthday celebration means that such celebrations are bad in general is a Non Sequitur. Bad things happening at a birthday celebration do not translate into birthday celebrations in general being bad. It does not logically follow.
Objection #2: It is seen that the Christmas celebration was established on a date when the Roman world had a celebration in honor of the sun god. It’s concluded that to celebrate the birth of the Son of God on this date is to really be celebrating the birth of the sun god. This is another Non Sequitur argument. It doesn’t follow that because pagans worshiped the sun god on December 25th that we are doing the same when we celebrate the birth of the Son of God on that date. Christians do not celebrate Saturnalia. They worship and celebrate Jesus Christ coming into the world as the Savior of mankind. Christians do not worship Baal, Sol, Osiris, Horus, or Mithra on December 25.
Objection #3: The celebration of Christ’s birth on December 25th is seen as illogical as it is believed Jesus Christ could not have been born anywhere near that date. Evidence is offered for Christ’s birth taking place during the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall. It is seen from scripture that Christ began His ministry when He was about thirty years old. His ministry lasted three and one-half years and ended when He was crucified at the time of the Passover in the spring three and one-half years later. Backing tracking three and one-half years would take us to His ministry beginning in fall and going back thirty more years would take us to a fall birth.
It is pointed out that John the Baptist was conceived in early summer based on when His Father, Zacharias, was thought to have finished serving in the temple. Since it is believed that John was conceived in early summer, he would have been born nine months later in the early spring. The scriptures show that Christ was born six months after John. Six months after a spring birth for John takes us to a fall birth for Jesus.
The scriptures show Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem to be taxed and finding nowhere to stay. It’s concluded that it must have been the time of the fall Feast of Tabernacles as Jerusalem and all surrounding towns such as Bethlehem would be filled with people looking for a place to stay.
The scriptures show shepherds were out in the fields at night when Christ was born and therefore it is concluded this could not have been in the winter when the shepherds would have had their flocks indoors.
Let us examine these objections to celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25th. It is true the scriptures say Jesus was about thirty when He began His ministry. What the scriptures don’t tell us is how close to thirty He was. Was it within several days, several weeks or several months of being thirty? If it were within several months it would create problems for establishing his birth at the time of the Feast of tabernacles in the fall of the year. The truth is, we just don’t know for sure when Jesus Christ began His ministry.
The argument that Christ was born in the fall because John the Baptist was born six months earlier in the spring is based on certain assumptions made about the time John’s father Zacharias served in the Temple and the time that his wife Elizabeth became pregnant with John. These assumptions have been argued back and forth for centuries with nothing conclusive being determined. Furthermore, if one counts back from the time the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, Zacharias would have been serving at the temple in the first week of October. This would place the birth of Christ at the end of December or in early January. Some Christian groups believe the correct date is January 6th. Therefore, to use the time of Zacharias service in the temple as proof of when Christ was born becomes very problematic.
In regard to there being no room in the inn; we can’t be sure this was because of Bethlehem being overrun with people. It could simple have been that Mary was ready to deliver, needed to find a place quickly and since there was no room in the particular inn that they stopped at, they used the manger. We just don’t know for sure what the dynamics were that led to the manger birth.
Even the matter of the shepherds supposedly not being in the fields in winter is problematical. Some ancient Jewish sources indicate that some shepherds and their sheep stayed in the fields all winter long. In Genesis 31 we see Jacob complaining to Laban about suffering from the cold at night while shepherding his sheep and goats. While it can get chilly at night in mid-winter Judea, it is still a Mediterranean climate and therefore nothing like people experience in the Northern Hemisphere.
It is often pointed out that Christmas is way too commercialized. People eat too much, drink too much and party too much. Many people focus on the secular aspects of Christmas and pay little attention to the birth of Christ. All of this is true. But we have the power of choice. We can choose not to eat too much, drink too much, party too much or get involved in the secular and commercialized aspects of Christmas. There will always be people who abuse celebrations and stray far from their original intended purpose. This does not make such celebrations wrong, in and of themselves. I have personally attended festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles, a scriptural based observance, and observed people eating to much, drinking to much and carrying on in ways that did not reflect the intent of the festival.
Several years ago I attended the Christmas program at a Christian School were my two oldest grandchildren attend. The entire program was focused on the birth of Christ. I also attended the Christmas program at the public school where my youngest grandchildren attend. Here the entire focus was on Santa Claus. The name of Jesus wasn’t even mentioned. This is a prime example of following the intended use of a celebration on the one hand and totally straying from such use on the other hand. Misuse, however, does not make a particular celebration wrong, in and of itself. With Christmas, as with all Christian celebrations, we have to choose whether we use the occasion to worship God or only serve ourselves. We can certainly choose to celebrate the great event of Christ’s birth while avoiding the secular involvements.
Without the birth of Christ there would have been no crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior. We would not have a Savior and therefore we would have nothing to look forward to beyond this physical life. The birth of Christ is central to our Christian belief system. It is the foundation of the gospel. The Kingdom of God exists because of Christ.
When Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would give birth to the Son of God, Gabriel said that the child that would be born would preside over a Kingdom that would never end. The Kingdom is a present reality for us today because of what took place in a small town called Bethlehem in Southern Judea over 2000 years ago.
The Christ event involves many things. It involves the ministry of Christ. It involves His death and resurrection. It involves His ascension to the Father and his return. But it all starts with His birth. To celebrate the birth of Christ is to celebrate the beginning of our salvation. When the angels announced the birth of Christ to the shepherd’s, they announced that a Savior had been born. The angels are seen as rejoicing because of this. It is more than appropriate that we two rejoice because of knowing that a Savior has been born.
Celebrating the birth of Christ is not a commanded observance. Neither is celebrating the crucifixion or resurrection. A decision to join or not join in the commemoration of these events is a matter of choice. Christians observe these events because these events are central to the Christian belief system. I trust that this examination of the issues surrounding the Christmas celebration will provide the information necessary to make an informed choice.
Courtesy of " A PRINCE KELLY UDEBHULU CULTURAL HERITAGE POINT"
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