History of Christmas: The Year – How Could Jesus be born 4 B.C.?

November 29, 2022

HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS: THE YEAR It’s obvious that Jesus was born on December 25, A.D. 1 (Anno Domine, “the year of our Lord”), right? Not so fast. OK, was it in Year Zero? No, there wasn’t a Year 0; the calendar went from 1 B.C. to A.D. 1. We know that Herod the Great (who killed all the babies in Bethlehem younger than two years of age) died in the Spring of 4 B.C., according to the Jewish historian Josephus1. The king was quite alive during the Wise Men‘s visit in the Nativity story told in the Gospel of Matthew. So…

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History of King Herod: Why was he called Great?

December 16, 2009

HISTORY OF HEROD THE KING When the wise men asked Herod the King "Where is he who is born king of the Jews?" their question was not really spoken in a vacuum, for even the Roman author Suetonius wrote, "There had spread all over the East an old and established belief that it was fated for men coming from Judea at that time to rule the world". But as wise as they were, their inquiry before the King showed no great tact. For instead of understanding the question to mean "Where is he who will someday succeed you?" Herod’s suspicious…

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History of the Magi: The Wise Men

December 14, 2009

HISTORY OF THE WISE MEN You’re familiar with the song that begins “We Three Kings of Orient Are…” but it is inaccurate in at least three ways. We don’t know how many there were, but we know they weren’t kings. They did not originate in the Orient, meaning the Far East. How could they have seen the star “in the East” and arrived in Jerusalem unless they began somewhere in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, as it says in the Gospel of Matthew 2:2 “We saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him”. One easy…

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History of Christmas: The Year – How could Jesus be born 4 B.C.?

December 2, 2009

HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS: THE YEAR It’s obvious that Jesus was born on December 25, A.D. 1 , right? Wrong. What we do know is that Herod the Great (who killed all the babies in Bethlehem younger than 2 years of age) died in the Spring of 4 B.C. according to the Jewish historian Josephus, and the king was quite alive during the visit of the Wise Men (Magi) in the Nativity story told in the Gospel of Matthew. So Jesus would have to have been born before this time, anywhere from 7 B.C to 4 B.C. (Before Christ, or before…

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History of Christmas: The Wise Men

December 11, 2008

HISTORY OF THE WISE MEN You’re familiar with the song that begins “We Three Kings of Orient Are…” but it is inaccurate in at least three ways. We don’t know how many there were, but we know they weren’t kings. They did not originate in the Orient, meaning the Far East. How could they have seen the star “in the East” and arrived in Jerusalem unless they began somewhere in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, as it says in the Gospel of Matthew 2:2 “We saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him”. One easy…

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