Gtcotr/ss122009
Matthew 17 NKJV
10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.
12 "But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."
13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
We do not know for sure the exact day Jesus was born, at least I do not and I question all who do. However there exist some strong indications from the scriptures which grant us the reason and the right to imagine. If you do not already have a strong position on these things, allow yourself to imagine with me the circumstances surrounding the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah.
By no means will we exhaust all of the possibilities. However, as we study the scriptures together allow the Holy Spirit to stir your imagination and perhaps inspire you to further personal study.
Matthew 17:10 “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
Malachi 4:5 prophesies that Elijah will come before the Messiah. Jewish tradition and practice has long held that Elijah will truly come at Passover to announce the coming of the Messiah. In fact each year a place is set at the Passover table for the expected guest of honor, a glass of wine is poured for him, and children attending the Passover are sent to open the door of the house so that Elijah may enter if he has come this year. What is not realized is that Elijah has already come and did come at Passover and did announce the coming of the Messiah. However, Elijah was like the voice of one crying in the wilderness … prepare ye the way of the Lord. Jesus said it, John the Baptist was Elijah if you can hear it.
How does this figure into Christmas? Follow me closely …
Passover is a set date, the 14th of Nissan each year according to the Jewish calendar which is based on lunar cycles. This correlates to late March to mid-April each year. For example: The date for next Passover is March 30, 2010. If we use this as a normative reference date for the birth of John the Baptist, then we would consider his mother Elizabeth to have conceived him in late June or early July of the previous year.
Keep on following as we investigate the scriptures and imagine together:
The scriptures tell us that Elizabeth hid the fact that she was pregnant for five months. In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,
Luke 1
26 ¶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
Mary received a visit from the Angel Gabriel. If we assume that John the Baptist was born according to prophecy, as confirmed by Jesus, …
Matthew 11:14 "And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
… then we can reasonably imagine that Gabriel visited Mary sometime in the month of December of that year.
After Mary accepted the call of God upon her life and became pregnant with the Son of God, either immediately or within a few short days. Because the scriptures say that she immediately went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, whom she was told was already six months pregnant.
Luke 1
39 ¶ Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Mary traveled about 75 to 100 miles southwards from Nazareth to see Elizabeth who probably lived in the Levitical city of Hebron, 17 miles south of Jerusalem, and 20 if you walk it. We don’t know exactly when she arrived but the trip would have taken at least a week, maybe longer depending on the route she chose. It is also reasonable to accept that she stayed until after John was born and after the Passover was completed. At any rate we know that Mary was at least in her 4th, maybe her 5th month of pregnancy by the time she got back home to Nazareth.
Matthew 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
When Mary returned home, it was evident she was pregnant. Her fiancé, whom the Bible and Jewish custom of that day called her husband, Joseph, was a good, honorable, and kind man, who heard about her pregnancy and was of the mind to divorce Mary privately.
However, God had a plan … He had chosen Joseph no doubt for several reasons among which was that Joseph was a descendant of David and thereby of the tribe of Judah.
Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
Prophecy declared that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the city of David, in the land belonging to the tribe of Judah. As a result of God’s plan, an angel was sent to Joseph to comfort him, inform him, and direct him to marry Mary.
Matthew 1
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.
So Joseph took Mary to be his wife and did as the angel commanded him.
Very soon afterwards, fitting all into God’s plan, a decree was made by the Roman government that every Jew had to be counted and added to the tax rolls. In order to accomplish this, the decree demanded that each family return to their ancestral home.
Luke 2
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
This meant that Joseph and his new wife, who was pregnant, were forced to travel back to Judah, to the city of Bethlehem.
Luke 2
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
While they were there the time came for Mary to deliver her child. In fact the scriptures say that the days were completed for her to be delivered. This simply indicates that she had now carried this child full term and her time to deliver was at hand. In other words – she had been pregnant for her 9 months and now it was time to deliver her son.
Now imagine with me that we have the story all put together like a puzzle … the pieces are in order and we are correct thus far. This means that Jesus, who was conceived six months after John the Baptist, has been carried full term and should be born six months after John the Baptist was born.
If John the Baptist, Elijah, if you will, was born as expected on Passover, around March, then Jesus was born in September of that same year. This scenario fits much more closely to what was expected of Messiah’s birth date. In fact, during that autumn season of the year there are a couple of Jewish feasts.
Of course there is the feast of Tabernacles, booths, which every Hebrew male was commanded to observe. This is a picture of the stable into which Christ was born. Perhaps this festival is one reason why there was no room in the inn. Every hotel would be full with the pilgrims who came to observe the feast in and around Jerusalem, to which Bethlehem is only 4 to 5 miles away.
Another important date during that autumn season is the first day of the seventh month, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, but also a very important day. This is the day believed to be the first day of the creation of the universe, the day on which Adam was created, the first of the high holy days each year. This coming year it will be observed on September 8th, 2010. It is believed to be the day of the year when Messiah will come or, in our faith, will come again.
We cannot know for sure the date when Jesus was born, but we can know sure that He was. Jesus, Messiah of the Jews and Savior of the world, born of a virgin in the town of Bethlehem, wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a manger in a lowly stable tabernacle, worshipped by angels and wise men from the east, is alive today and wants to be your Lord and Friend.
For those who believe in Jesus as Messiah, every day is the day of Christ … Every day is Christmas. The question for you today is not “when was Jesus born?” But the question today is, “Are you born again?” Did His birth 2000 years ago mean anything to you?
Won’t you accept Jesus into your heart … Wise men still worship Him today!
