WIGACN - DATE - Reflect His Glory

The story of Jonah is known to almost all of us. Jonah, who was chosen by God to preach to Nineveh about God's judgment, instead went on a cruise in a different direction. While sailing away from Nineveh, a storm came up that resulted with Jonah being thrown overboard. God sent a big fish to swallow him. Three days and three nights later, the fish vomited up Jonah. After receiving this additional motivational training from the Lord, Bleach Boy, Jonah, proceeded post haste to Nineveh.

The birth date of Christ Jesus is not pinpointed by the mention of any specific day or month. However, there are some facts that we can glean from the Bible which enable us to establish an approximate time of the year in which this miracle occurred.

1. Luke Chapter 2 tells us that Jesus was born when His parents were obligated to go to their home town in order to register for taxation purposes. It is very unlikely that the emperor, Augustus, would have called for a registration in the very cold of winter. I can tell you from our recent trip to Israel, that it does snow in certain parts of Israel during the winter season. Given the primitive travel conditions of those times, everyone's journey would have been slow, and some might not have made it to their destinations at all.

2. On the night of Jesus' birth, the shepherds were watching their flocks in the fields. Because of the climatic conditions of Israel in the month of December, there would not likely be shepherds or sheep in open fields at that time of the year, at night. From mid-October to mid-April is the rainy season. During that time, the shepherds take their flocks into the shelter of the sheepfolds at night. So, since the shepherds were not in the field on the night Christ Jesus was born, it is almost certain that it was not in December.

3. Most helpful in answering this question is a comparison of the time of the birth of John the Baptist with that of Jesus. Luke Chapter 1 records that while Zacharias, a priest from the family of Abia, was ministering, and angel appeared and assured him that his barren wife was going to bear a son. Each family line of priests was assigned a specific month to minister. According to 1 Chronicles 24:10, the family line of Abia, or Abijah, was the eighth in order. This means that Zacharias was ministering in the ninth week from the beginning of God's first month of Israel's religious calendar, as defined by God Himself in Exodus Chapter 12:1-2, was in the month of Nisan, which is usually April. Transposing from the Roman calendar would make the date somewhere between June 1^th to June 8^th. It is likely that Zacharias's wife conceived shortly after he went home from his ministering service. Moving forward nine months in the calendar from June, would set the date for the birth of of John the Baptist in the early spring, in the month of March.

The Bible in Luke 1:36, says that Christ Jesus was six months younger than John the Baptist. By adding six months to the birth of John the Baptist, we arrive at the month of September, which is the approximate time of Christ Jesus' birth. The Bible, in John 13:1, also tells us that Jesus' ministry ceased at Passover time, which was in the spring of the year. From the available Bible information, we know that His ministry began 3� years prior to that spring. Working backward from that period would mean that His ministry began in the early autumn of the year. Luke 3:23 indicates that Christ Jesus began His ministry as He nearing the age of 30. This was the proper age to begin priestly (rabbinical) service, according to Numbers 4:23.