Christmas
The annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church.
What is the biblical significance of December 25th? We all know December 25th is celebrated as Christmas, but how many of us really know what the real biblical significance is to that date? For one thing in December there is no food for grazing and all animals are back in the barn around the middle of October, so you won't find shepherds in the fields as the story goes…
Historically December 25th was celebrated as the day of Angels (Gabriel), which is a little different than Christ's birth…
In short December 25th is the day God began to dwell with man.
Where's The Answer?
The grist for what you are about to learn comes from the great book of Luke.
Open your Bible to Luke Chapter 1. One of the reasons why we are going to Luke is because he was a medical doctor. Of the writings concerning this issue Luke is the most qualified, because it is a medical issue we are about to uncover. Let's start with a little desert so you have an idea where this is heading from the get go. I don't want any misconceptions about this. Luke 1:41 is where we will end documenting the facts required for this case, and it reads:
Luke 1:41
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit:
In other words when Mary went to visit Elisabeth and saw her she called out her name "Elisabeth!" and upon hearing Mary's voice the baby that was in Elisabeth's womb jumped, kicked, squirmed, etc. The important thing to lock in is that at this time the soul in one womb recognized the soul in the other womb. John and Jesus were cousins and John was six months older. We just need to coordinate their pregnancies and the dates should fall into place.
With that in mind let's do a little math to determine if there is any significant differences between what your church teaches of December 25th and the reality of what is presented to us in the Word.
To piece this puzzle together without confusion let's start by identifying John's parents. Luke 1:5 tells us that his dad was a priest performing official duties. It also tells us his mom was from the daughters of Aaron. That means we are talking about a family of the Levitical Priesthood.
Luke 1:5
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
There is a wonderful story about how Gabriel visited Zacharias to tell him of Elisabeth's pregnancy. Just keep reading down to about verse 23. As for this Christmas topic the point I want to address is in verse 23.
Luke 1:23
And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house:
This is very simple. It means he finished his priest duties and then left for home, but by knowing the timing of these priestly duties we can determine the dates of these events. The Course of Abia was June 13 - 19, so the announcement to Zacharias in the Temple as to the conception of Elisabeth took place between June 13-19.
With the day following the "Course of Abia" being a Sabbath he would not be able to leave Jerusalem before the 20th.
His home was in a city in "the hill country" of Juda (see verse 39), so the thirty mile journey would probably occupy a couple of days at least. He would therefore arrive at his house on the 21st or 22nd. This leaves ample time for the miraculous "conception" of Elizabeth to take place on or about June 23rd-24th of that year.
For the deeper student… June 23rd of that year corresponds with the 23rd of Sivan. The fact of the conception and its date would be known at the time and afterwards, and the 23rd Sivan would henceforth be associated with the conception of John Baptist as the 1st Tebeth would be with that of our Lord.
Anyway, the point to get here is that Elisabeth's conception took place around the 23rd or 24th of June then she hid for 5 months.
Luke 1:24
And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
She made a statement about how her pregnancy came beyond her time. She hid because being barren at that time was a pretty big deal and she wanted to be absolutely sure before she made any noise… so to speak. Her five months would take us up to November 24th. We're almost there now… Verse 1:26 talks about the sixth month. That would be December 24th, or one month later.
Luke 1:26
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
From there are the verses where Mary becomes pregnant with Jesus. Let's drop in on verse 31 and see what Gabriel locked in for us:
Luke 1:31
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in they womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus.
Very interesting… He said she would conceive, then carry to term, then name Him correctly. The conception is enforced in verse 35 where it is described.
Luke 1:35
And the angel answered and said unto her, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy Thing Which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Another witness to this being about conception and not birth is the very next verse which states Elisabeth "also" conceived.
Luke 1:36
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
How long ago did it say she conceived? Six months. That is six months from June and Zacharia's duties in the Course of Abia. Finally, as you can see revealed from verses 1:40 and 41, that John leaped in the womb because of the presence of the Lord. Here's Mary's visit:
Luke 1:40
And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
Luke 1:41
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit:
If you consider John's conception in June and the written word of a visit six months later, you will get a Christmas day conception. Here's a recap of your events:
The conception of John Baptist. 23rd Sivan = 6/23-24
The Gennesis (Begetting) of our Lord. 1st Tibeth = 12/25
The birth of John Baptist. 4th-7th Nissan = 3/24
The birth of our Lord. 15th Tisri = 9/29
Another way to view this is by grouping them:
The conception of John Baptist. 23rd Sivan = 6/23-24
The birth of John Baptist. 4th-7th Nissan = 3/24
The Gennesis (Begetting) of our Lord. 1st Tibeth = 12/25
The birth of our Lord. 15th Tisri = 9/29
What This Means
There are several lessons that we can take from this. Here's something I find interesting.
Gabriel said Elisabeth was Mary's cousin. That would mean the mothers of Mary and Elisabeth are sisters. Since Elisabeth and Zacharias were in the Levitical Priesthood we know that Mary was ˝ Levite.
Mary's father is from the tribe of Judah making her ˝ Judah.
This would make Christ ˝ Levite and ˝ Judah. That qualifies Him as both King and High Priest.
Here's the significance; Paul taught about the order of Melchizedek, Jesus was both:
He is the Levitical High Priest.
He is Judah's King.
If you add nine months to the conception you get the Feast of Tabernacles (the true birth).
What about Joseph? Joseph was of the House of David, but he basically adopted Jesus because he was not a paternal parent. Further support for this issue is the pedigree that Luke describes in 3:23. You won't find "begats" because the relationships were recorded "as was supposed" which translates to as by law, in other words, in-laws.
For the deeper student, when the soul of Christ entered into Mary's womb it was more than just conception. This single act immediately sealed the fate of the fallen angels, just as His physical death ensured the availability of our salvation. The conception and death equally demonstrate that our Father wouldn't ask us to do anything that He wouldn't do Himself.
Further Resources
If you would like to consume more meat concerning this subject, I can point you to two credible resources:
The Companion Bible, which has an appendix (179), cuts to the chase and provides all required documentation.
The Shepherds Chapel of Gravette, AR has a tape available. It's number 517. You can get it by calling 1-800-643-4645.