Transcript - Westside church of Christ

Welcome to the
Westside Church of Christ
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the
house of God, and this is the gate of heaven”
(Genesis 28:17)
Join us every Sunday at 9:30 AM for Bible class, 10:30 AM
for worship, and 6:00 PM for worship. We also meet
every Wednesday at 7:00 PM for Bible class.
www.warnerrobinschurch.org
Please silence cell phones
Fact and Fiction Examined
The birth of Jesus: fact and fiction
 Christmas: slogans and traditions
 Jesus “the reason for the season”
 “keep Christ in Christmas”
 Singing carols
 Stories about Jesus’ birth
 But there are a lot of false ideas about it!
 Nativity scenes
 School plays
 Let’s see what the Bible says...
 Two-part series: Luke’s account and Matthew’s account
Issues surrounding Jesus’ birth
 The year
 The time of year
 The inn
 The animals
 The shepherds
 The wise men & their gifts
Luke 2:1-16 – First read the text!
 Let’s consider the year of Jesus’ birth
 Modern Gregorian Calendar begins 1 week after date that
Dionysius Exiguus believed Jesus was born: January 1, 1 AD
 But Dionysius (525 AD) was mistaken in his calculation of
both the day and the year! Here’s why:
 Augustus Caesar’s census (Lk. 2:1) ended 3 BC
 Herod the Great was still king (Mt. 2:1), and he died in 4 BC
 Quirinius (Cyrenius) was ruler of Syria (included Judea)
 6 BC to 3 BC – special appointee by Caesar as census official
 Conclusion: the modern calendar is wrong
 Jesus was probably born 4 to 6 BC
What about the month?
 Conducting a census…
 Even the Roman Army did not march to war in winter
months…so why would Rome have a census in winter?
 Joseph & Mary traveled from Nazareth ~90 miles to
Bethlehem (near Jerusalem)
 One day’s journey is about 24 miles on an animal
 Mary was pregnant…would Joseph have made her
travel in winter when she was close to giving birth?
 Much more likely that census travel began in Spring
and concluded in Autumn while weather was fair
Quotes on the birth month
 “December 25 does not therefore come any where near
being the date of His birth” (R. L. Whiteside).
 “It is probable from this that our Savior was born before the
25th of December, or before what we call ‘Christmas’”
(Albert Barnes).
 “This rules out the birth of Christ as a winter event” (Bro.
David Padfield)
 More evidence to come…but first, the “inn”
Location: No room in the inn?
 But no room in the “inn” (Greek word “kataluma”)
 Thayer’s Lexicon: “an eating room, dining room, guest chamber”
 Not necessarily an ancient hotel
 Same word in Mark 14:13-15 and Luke 22:11-13
 Different Greek word for hotel: “pandocheion” (Luke 10:34)
 Thayer’s Lexicon: “a public house for the reception of strangers”
 Joseph probably sought shelter with close relative, but the
guest chamber was already taken
 Staying in a hotel expensive, and an insult to family
members
 “Mary and Joseph weren't trying to check into a hotel—
they were staying with relatives….Jesus was born in his
relative's home” (Bill Witherington, in Christianity Today)
A stable or a cave?
 “Archaeology shows that houses in Bethlehem and its
vicinity often had caves as the back of the house where they
kept their prized ox or beast of burden, lest it be stolen. The
guest room was in the front of the house, the animal shelter
in the back, and Joseph and Mary had come too late to get
the guest room, so the relatives did the best they could by
putting them in the back of the house” (Witherington, in
Christianity Today)
 The “sheepfold”
 Enclosed stable area attached to the house to secure animals at night
 Illustrations on next slide…
1st century
Jewish houses
Is the manger part right?
 There was no space in the guest room which would
have had a bed
 Used a wooden feeding trough called a manger
 No animals mentioned in the scene
 Animals probably were outside since it was not winter
 Nativity scenes are right about the manger, probably
wrong about the animals being present
 Would you permit animals near a newborn?
What about shepherds?
The climate was mild, and, to keep their flocks from straying, they
spent the night with them. It is also a fact that the Jews sent out
their flocks into the mountainous and desert regions during the
summer months, and took them up in the latter part of October or
the first of November, when the cold weather commenced. While
away in these deserts and mountainous regions, it was proper that
there should be someone to attend them to keep them from
straying, and from the ravages of wolves and other wild beasts. It is
probable from this that our Savior was born before the 25th of
December, or before what we call "Christmas." At that time it is
cold, and especially in the high and mountainous regions about
Bethlehem. But the exact time of his birth is unknown.
-Albert Barnes Comments on Luke 2:8
What about shepherds?
 Shepherds were outside watching sheep
 Would they have been outside with sheep in winter?
 Bethlehem is in the mountains…snow probably present if winter
 Flocks brought in to shelter in November, out to pasture in March
(Meyer)
 Angels appeared & told shepherds about Jesus’ birth
 Shepherds entered Bethlehem to see
 No star to follow
 No mention of taking animals around manger
 Wise men not present, no gifts
What happened next?
 Jesus named & circumcised on the 8th day (Luke 2:21)
 They stayed in Bethlehem for her purification (Lev. 12)
 Presented Jesus in the temple after 40 days (Luke 2:22)
 Redeemed the Child (Luke 2:23; Numbers 18:15-16)
 Sacrificed 2 birds for Mary’s purification (Luke 2:24)
 Some time later: Wise men arrived (Matt. 2:11)
Conclusion
 Joseph & Mary went to register well before 3 BC
 Probably not in winter time
 They probably stayed with relatives, not a hotel barn
 Laid newborn baby Jesus in an animal trough
 Angels sang, shepherds came
 What’s missing in the real Bible nativity scene?
 Animals
 Winter weather
 Wise men (they came later)
 So when you tell it, tell it by the Bible!
The rest of the story…
 Come back this evening to hear part 2 from Matthew 2
 Wise men
 Their gifts
 The star
 The massacre & flight to Egypt
 Ancient pagan significance of December 25
 Real meaning of Jesus’ birth