By Barry Bowen and Pete Evans
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” – Proverbs 25:2
Prophecies in the Bible have provided important clues for understanding the purposes of God. However, some of these clues are easily overlooked.
Trinity Foundation’s late founder Ole Anthony was fascinated by the question, “When (what time of year) was Jesus born?”
After studying the Bible and major events in Jesus’ life occurring on Jewish feast days, as well as the writings of biblical scholars and first century AD Jewish historian Josephus, Ole concluded that Jesus was born on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
Ole believed that God created the biblical holidays as a liturgical calendar to reveal God’s redemption plan for humanity.
The Bible provides a clue in the Book of Luke regarding when Jesus was born. An angel appeared to Mary, informing her that she was pregnant with Jesus and that her relative Elizabeth was six months pregnant. Therefore, Jesus would have been born about six months after his cousin John the Baptist.
The time of John’s conception can be estimated because his birth was prophesied during the time his father Zechariah the priest was serving in the Temple.
“Assuming John was conceived within the week after Zechariah returned from his temple service, that would yield a date for the conception of Jesus six months later in mid-December (on or close to Hannukah), with his birth in the fall, around mid-September (Rosh Hashanah).” – Community on Columbia Bible study
Christian researchers have also searched for the Star of Bethlehem believing it could provide a clue for the birth of Jesus.
The Book of Matthew in the Bible tells of a group of astronomers searching for the baby Jesus after seeing a star that announced Jesus’ birth.
Scholars and researchers have reached conflicting conclusions about the Star of Bethlehem with some believing it was a star that went supernova in the constellation Coma representing a woman with a baby in her lap, others that it a was a shooting star (comet), and still others believing the Magi observed an alignment of planets.
While the accounts of Jesus birth in Matthew and Luke focus on creating a historical record, the Book of John provides a theological foundation for understanding this key event:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14