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Now, while I have stated that Christ's birth date has been shrouded in total mystery to our present day, at the same time, if we stop to consider how detailed the Jews were with regards to genealogical records and important dates, then it seems likely that at least some of Christ's First Century followers may have known when Jesus was born. Naturally, the Lord's parents obviously knew. Whether or not they shared that information with the Apostles is unknown.

As we saw in part two, Luke appears to have remained in the dark regarding the Lord's date of birth. The fact that he writes "about thirty years of age" when discussing the time of Jesus' baptism by John suggests a few possibilities:

• Luke wasn't really sure of Jesus's exact day of birth.

• Luke wasn't really sure when Jesus was baptized by John.

• Luke possibly knew Jesus' year of birth but chose to not reveal it.

The reason why I emphasize this point is this. Even though Luke wrote about the baptism of Jesus Christ within thirty or forty years after the actual event had occurred, it seems that by that time, the birthdate of Jesus Christ may have already been obscured. Please note that some scholars believe that the Gospels were written considerably later than that. However, personally, I do not accept that view. I believe that they were written during the actual lifetimes of the First Century Apostles and Disciples.

Moving on, if the angels appeared on the very same night of Jesus' birth, then it also seems likely that the shepherds in the field knew the precise date as well. Not only that, but in the verses which follow, we are told that they broadcast the Good News and "made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child." In other words, there were other people who were apparently aware of Jesus' date of birth as well. Allow me to share their complete story with you:

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."


In part two of this series, I also briefly mentioned how in obedience to the Laws of Moses, Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to be circumcised. It was during that trip that they encountered both Simeon and Anna, who recognized Jesus as the promised Savior. So, being as circumcision was performed on the eighth day following a child's birth, we can deduce that Simeon and Anna may have known when Jesus was born as well.

The wise men -- or "magos" -- who traveled from the lands of the east, possibly from the land of the Chaldeans, likewise seem to have possibly known precisely when Jesus was born, even though they appear to have arrived two years after the young child's birth. Consider the following set of verses:

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."


As I mentioned a minute ago, Jesus' mother, Mary, obviously knew when her son was born; but whether or not she told the Apostles is difficult to determine, because there appears to be no Scriptural evidence to support such a hypothesis. But if we consider that they took her in following the Death of her son, as had been commanded by Jesus as He hung dying on the Cross, that possibility does exist. Thus, we find Mary included in the Upper Room, in the opening chapter of the Book of Acts. Consider the following verses:

"When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."


"Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."


So based on the scant Scriptural evidence that we do have, it seems that there were at least some people who definitely knew, or who probably knew, Jesus's date of birth during that time. Yet as I already said, we find no record of them celebrating the Lord's birth anywhere in the New Testament. Not only that, but none of them reveal the precise date of Christ's birth. As I mentioned in part two, in my mind, the previous facts seem to make a statement; and that is that for whatever His reasons, God chose to purposely conceal from us the birth date of Jesus Christ.

Before concluding this series, allow me to speak to you parent-to-parent. First of all, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, I would like to ask you to please consider the potential damage you are doing to your children by convincing them to believe in Santa Claus. While it may seem innocuous enough while they are still young, you need to realize that someday, sooner or later, they are going to be smart enough to figure out that Santa is not real, and that you have been lying to them for years. Then what?

Now, for some of them, making this discovery may be no big deal, and they really won't care one way or the other. But for some other children, who knows? It could be emotionally devastating to learn that their parents have been lying to them for so long. At the very least, they may feel foolish for having believed you for as long as they did. Even worse, they may lose trust in your word altogether. For those kids who do have a negative reaction upon realizing that Santa Claus is not real, how do you think they are going to react when you try to tell them about Jesus Christ? Do you think that they will be so quick to believe you after you've lied to them about Santa for so many years?

In case you are not aware of it, the Bible has a lot to say regarding speaking the truth, and speaking the truth in love. One thing I know for certain is that nowhere in the Bible are we instructed to tell a lie in order to preach the truth. Consider the following sample verses:

"Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge."


"Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity."


"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ . . . Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another."


"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."


"These ‭are‭ the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:‭ And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these ‭are things‭ that I hate, saith the LORD."


"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."


In light of the previous verses, how do you as a Christian parent reconcile telling your children that Jesus was born on December 25th when you know in your heart that He really wasn't? How do you reconcile convincing them to believe in Santa Claus when you know that he is purely a fantasy? You obviously can't.

Directly related to the above is the following question. How can you honestly expect your children to tell you the truth when you have not always told them the truth? We all know that our children are like little sponges. They absorb just about everything, both the good and the bad. They constantly watch us and learn from us, even from a very young age. The Bible also teaches us that we reap what we sow. So what are you sowing in the lives of your children? Are you really setting a good example when you intentionally deceive them in regard to Christmas and Santa Claus?

You know, if you really stop to think about it, saying that it is okay to worship Jesus during Christmas time while at the same time you promote Santa Claus, is not much different from saying that it is okay to worship God and the Golden Calf, or God and Molech, or God and Ishtar, or God and Baal, or God and Satan. The point is, you just cannot do both. You need to make up your mind. As the Apostle James wrote, you cannot be double minded about it. You cannot mix the Light with darkness. The Scriptures in fact instruct us to resist the Devil, and to flee from the works of darkness, and to have no part in them, and to walk in the light of the truth of Jesus Christ, as we see by the following group of verses:

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."


"Neither give place to the devil."


"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."


"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"


"The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."


"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."


"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"


"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light . . . And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."


"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:"


"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:"


So perhaps it is time for a change. Perhaps you can start by being honest with your children, by telling them that Santa Claus is not real. Explain to them that you are the one who provides the presents for them because you love them. Then, maybe slowly, over time, you can wean them from celebrating Christmas altogether. Even better still, if you truly love your children, then tell them about Jesus Christ and His precious Gift of Eternal Life. Someday they will thank you for telling them the truth.

In conclusion, I realize that despite everything I have shared in this series, some of my Christian friends won't be swayed from their current position. They will continue to celebrate each and every Christmas, and justify it, probably using some of the very excuses we have already covered in this series. They will continue to stress how important it is to celebrate Jesus' birth at this time of year, even while fully knowing that the Lord was not born on December 25th. Some of them will in all likelihood, even continue to promote the false commercial god -- Santa Claus -- with their young children. In short, these Christian parents will continue to perpetuate the very same lies which the Catholic Church has perpetuated for the past sixteen hundred years. They will continue to walk in spiritual darkness by their own choice, and they will lead their children down the same dark path of misguided human traditions which are based on lies. They will remain in bondage to the ways of the world.

While I may not agree with their position, or they with mine -- they will probably view me as being a legalist -- at least I have told them the truth as I understand it; and that is what matters most to me. Of course, I recognize their right to make their own choice, and to believe and practice their faith as they each feel is appropriate. That is something which can't be taken from any of them. As the Apostle Paul so wisely wrote in his Epistle to the Roman brethren regarding the observance and keeping of holy days and Jewish dietary laws:

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind . . . ‭‭Hast thou faith? have ‭it‭ to thyself before God. Happy ‭is‭ he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth."


Of course, I should point out that in those verses, Paul is referring to the holy days which were established by the Lord in the Old Testament for the Jews; my emphasis being on the words "by the Lord". In contrast, as we have already seen, we find no such Divine Mandate to celebrate Christmas in the New Testament. What we are constantly told to do is to remember the Death and Resurrection of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, because that is where our hope lies. In my view, the absence in the Scriptures of any verses telling us clearly to celebrate the Lord's birth makes a very clear statement for those of us who can receive it. Do you?

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Birth of Jesus and the Star of Bethlehem
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas?
Celebrating National Holidays
Dear Teacher: Standing Up for Our Children's Rights
Christmas: Its Pagan Origin
Halloween and Samhain : No Room For Compromise
Our Pagan World: The Easter Myth Exposed!
Are Christians Obligated to Keep the Sabbath?
A Treasure in Earthen Vessels: God's Promise of the Spirit

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