Born in a Stable?

The Bible tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It also tells us that he was born in a manger—a food trough for animals—because there was no room in the inn. But it may not have taken place in a barn-like structure with wooden walls as many paintings and manger scenes portray.

The hills of Judea were covered with caves, and it was common to use those caves to stable animals. The traditional site of Jesus’ birth is a cave below what is now the Church of the Nativity, shown in the first picture. The cave is still there (now called the Grotto of the Nativity), and a star marks the spot where the manger supposedly stood. That’s the second picture, with the multi-rayed star in the center of the fire-place-like opening.

Roland took both pictures during our family trip to the Middle East in 1998.

So is this location just another tradition? Technically, yes. And I’m not betting on the star marking the actual spot where the manger stood. But surprisingly enough, historians think it may really have been the stable in which Jesus was born. That’s because evidence of this traditional site goes all the way back to the second century.

Think about the stories passed down by your parents and grandparents. They may even have pointed out the house where a grandparent or great-grandparent was born. When this happens, three or four generations may pass before the information gets lost. And sometimes it lasts far beyond that.

If Mary pointed the stable out to some of the first Christians and they passed their knowledge down to their children and grandchildren, the information may still have been alive and correct in the second century. After that, the site was preserved by various other means, making it a serious contender.  

Have I stood in the stable where Jesus was born? Maybe. But no matter where the exact location is, I’m thankful for His birth.

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For more information on the historical circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth, see In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter, and the Early Church, by Paul L. Maier.

Was Jesus Really Born on December 25?

There is a 1 in 365 chance that Jesus was born on December 25.

No one knows the day or even the season when Jesus was born. The Bible doesn’t tell us, and the clues are inconclusive.

What the Bible does tell us is this: Jesus came to earth as an infant, born of a virgin, to save us from our sins. These facts are important, and they are recorded. The exact day of this birth is not. Obviously, God didn’t think we needed to know it.

But that doesn’t stop us from wondering.

I used to think that Jesus must have been born in the spring because the shepherds were in the fields watching their sheep, and sources I read equated that to lambing time. But modern-day visitors to Bethlehem can see shepherds in the fields all year round.

So why do we celebrate on December 25? To draw Christians away from the competition. Not from stores and shopping, but from pagan celebrations.

The early Church was surrounded by a Roman culture that celebrated the winter solstice on December 25, followed closely by the Saturnalia festival. These pagan festivities must have attracted and created a stumbling block for early Christians, so the Church sought to replace them with a celebration of its own. They did it by choosing December 25 to remember Christ’s birth.

And they had a 1 in 365 chance of being right.

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The picture at the top of this post is titled “Angels Announcing the Birth of Christ to the Shepherds” and was painted around 1639 by the Dutch artist Govert Flinck. The original painting is in the Louvre Museum’s collection.

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For more information on the historical circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth, see In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter, and the Early Church, by Paul L. Maier.

What Year Was Jesus Born?

The picture isn’t Jesus. It’s Herod the Great (also known as Herod I). And it’s because of him that we know Jesus wasn’t born in 1 A.D.

Matthew and Luke both tell us that Jesus was born during the reign of “Herod.” (See Matthew 2:1 and Luke 1:5.) Furthermore, this Herod died while Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus were in Egypt, and then Herod’s son Archelaus took over. (See Matthew 2:19-22.) Putting this together with other historical information, Biblical scholars agree that Jesus must have been born during the reign of Herod the Great.

(Historical evidence also tells us that Archelaus was soon replaced by his brother, Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas is the one who had John the Baptist beheaded and reviled Jesus before his crucifixion.)

Most historians place Herod the Great’s death in 4 B.C., although some date it as early as 5 B.C. or as late as 1 B.C. Unfortunately for our B.C./A.D. distinction, Herod the Great died too early. The sixth century monk Dionysius developed this dating system to revolve around the birth of Christ. (A.D. stands for anno Domini, which means “in the year of our Lord.") But given the probable date of Herod’s death, it’s likely that Jesus was born around 5 B.C. This means that Dionysius must have been at least one year but probably four to five years off.

So if you want to confuse your friends, tell them it’s 2018 A.D.

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For more information on the historical circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth, see In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter, and the Early Church, by Paul L. Maier.