In this episode, we unravel the profound narrative surrounding John the Baptist, the significance of the Annunciation, and the nativity of Jesus. Through an exploration of biblical texts, we question long-held traditions and focus on the extraordinary story of God coming in the flesh to dwell among humans. This is an essential listen for anyone interested in understanding the roots and evolution of Christmas observance.
The CEM Network is pleased to present Ronald L. Dart and Born to Win.
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If you’re planning on celebrating the birth of Christ this week, well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re about three months late. Yeah, really. And what’s funny about it is the whole story is right there in the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, right in your Bible, but nobody pays much mind to it. You can read it, for example, in Luke 1, verse 26. And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And what follows is the annunciation of the birth of Jesus, and you probably heard it in a hundred little Christmas plays. That is, if you’ve lived long enough. Real familiar. But did you notice the expression in there? The sixth month? Did you ever wonder about that? It was in the sixth month that the angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced the birth of Jesus. Well, sixth month of what? Well, if it’s the sixth month on your calendar, well, that would put the conception of Jesus in June and his birth in, well, nine months later, March. On the other hand, if it’s the Hebrew calendar, well, the sixth month in the Hebrew calendar would be September, and that would place Jesus being born in June. So what’s with this December 25th business? How on earth did we get the birth of Jesus in December? Well, as it happens, it isn’t the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar, and it isn’t the sixth month of our calendar. It’s the sixth month of something entirely different. For example, let’s start reading in Luke 1, verse 5. There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea a certain priest named Zacharias of the course of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Now, the Old Testament name for Abijah is Abijah, and he’s talking about the course of Abijah. But most people who read the Bible, unless they’ve been pretty serious in reading the Old Testament, won’t have a clue what that’s all about. The priesthood was divided into courses, or, well, divisions, shall we say, to parcel out the duties in the temple throughout the year. And some priests had the duty this week, and some priests had the duty another week. They were divided into courses. All the courses served in the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, because they needed, with all the work going on, they needed everybody. But beginning the week after the Feast of Tabernacles, the first course of the priesthood went to work and worked for seven days. Each of them worked for one week, beginning on the Sabbath day. Now the course of Abijah was the eighth course and would have been on duty only twice a year. The times are inviolable. They are specified by law. So Zacharias and the rest of the course of Abijah would have been serving only during two weeks of the year, one in early December and the other in mid-June. So Luke starts this whole story with a firm calendar reference. The only possible divergence in it would be between one of two fairly closely defined times during the year. One in mid-June, the other in early December. The account continues saying they were both righteous before God, Zacharias and Elizabeth. They walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, and they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. They’re really old people, and they’re not thinking about babies at this time. Now it came to pass that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, Luke is nailing down the fact that this is a certain time of year. early December or mid-June. According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense. And there appeared to him, when he was in there all by himself, an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zacharias, because he was supposed to be the only person in that place, when he laid eyes on the angel, he was frightened to death. And the angel said, Don’t be afraid. Your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. That’s interesting. Is this an old man still praying for a child? You know, what I suspect has happened here is that the prayer that Zacharias and Elizabeth had made years ago had been heard. But that wasn’t the time. This is the time. He says, you’ll call his name John. Now, this child is going to be the precursor of the Messiah, the one that you and I come to know as the famous John the Baptist. Now, you’ll have joy and gladness, the angel said. Many shall rejoice at his birth. He’s going to be great in the sight of the Lord, and he’ll neither drink wine nor strong drink. He shall be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And then he makes this enigmatic statement. He said, “…he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Now, Zacharias seems to have understood this reference, even though it’s pretty obscure to us. It’s a reference to Malachi, where God said he would send Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. His job would be to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. Now, there’s no indication that John had any idea that there would be two comings of the Messiah. Most people were expecting the Messiah about this time due to Daniel’s prophecy. And, of course, due to the fact that they were under oppression and wanted relief from Rome and only a Messiah, the Deliverer from God, could get them out of their situation. So there was a lot of Messianic fever at the time. And now comes a prophecy to this man that says, Here comes your son who is going to prepare the way before the Messiah. And Zechariah said to the angel, Well, how am I going to know this? I’m an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years. And it’s almost as though the angel says, What do you mean how you’re going to know this? I’m Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I’m sent to speak to you and to show you these things. And behold, because you’re not willing to believe my words, you’re going to be dumb and not able to speak until the day they’ve been performed. So they will be fulfilled, he said, in their season. Well, people waited for Zacharias, and they really marveled that he waited such a long time in the temple. And when he came out, he couldn’t speak to people, and they realized that he’d seen a vision in there, for he gestured to them and remained speechless. Well, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed and went to his own house. And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived. and hid herself five months, saying, Thus has the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men. In those days for a woman not to have children was considered by other people a reproach from God. You know, to be blessed is to have lots of children, and if you didn’t have the children, you weren’t blessed. And Elizabeth was so full of this thing, so excited by the whole thing, so uplifted by it, she hid herself away and went into seclusion for five months. And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. Now, you see, we’ve caught up with where we were before. The sixth month when that angel came to Mary to announce that she was to become pregnant with the Son of God was the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Now, when we realize that Elizabeth’s pregnancy started either in December or June, well, then by going six months ahead in both cases, you kind of run a full circle on that. In that case, there are only two months in which Jesus might have been conceived. late December or late June. Now, if you’ll do your math on that, running nine months ahead from both of them, then you realize that there are only two possible months in which Jesus might have been born, September or March. And, of course, that leaves us a long way from December. The odds are, and all the indications in the Bible are, that September would be the month in which Jesus was born, which means that if you’re celebrating the birth of Jesus this week, You’re three months too late. So here we sit in December with a whole Christian world celebrating the birth of Jesus three months late or three months early. How in the world did this happen?
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We’ll talk about that when I come back.
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1-888-BIBLE-44 You know, there’s no good reason why Luke included those references, the course of Abijah and the sixth month and the fifth month and all those things, unless it was to give a seasonal reference to the things that were happening. When we consider that there is no date specified in the Bible for the birth of Jesus, nor are there any instructions to observe His birth, nor any example in the Bible that it was observed, But, you know, if the early church had been following the customs we observe today, you would surely find some reference to Christmas somewhere in the Bible. But you don’t. You do find Paul mentioning that he is in a hurry to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost. You do find Luke making reference to the fact that we had to get away from here early sailing because the fast, that is the Day of Atonement, was already passed. There are repeated references in the book of Acts to these holy days, but nothing for either Christmas or Easter. Of course, everyone should know by now that Christmas is a 4th century invention and doesn’t have any basis in the Bible at all. But the nativity of Jesus… is really, it could be the most important event in the entire Bible. I know we Christians think the death of Christ and his resurrection is critical, but if he isn’t born, if he doesn’t come, then none of that ever takes place. And you know, what’s funny about this is that in spite of Christmas, the nativity of Jesus is just not very well understood. Let me see if I can explain to you what I mean by that. In Luke’s first chapter, in verse 26, we read this. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin, espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. And when she saw this angel, she was very troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what kind of a salutation this was. What do you mean the Lord is with me? What do you mean I’m blessed among women? And the angel said, Don’t be afraid. You have found favor with God. And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus, which basically means Savior. He shall be great. He shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Now, it’s hard to imagine what all this meant to Mary. I gather, though, that two or three things come to mind here. She seems to be a courageous woman because while she is troubled by what the angel has said, she isn’t at all as frightened, it seems to me, as Zacharias was. And plainly, she understood the significance of what this angel said. He was to be the son of the highest. He was to have the throne of his father David. He would reign over the house of Jacob forever. All this spelled one word for Mary, Messiah. Because in truth, these are the things that the Messiah was expected to do. And as I said earlier, everyone at this time, the Messianic fever was rampant throughout Judea at this time. People were expecting the Messiah. And Mary suddenly finds herself honored with it. There’s one thing in this statement that… Most people at that time, I don’t think, really understood what the Messiah was to do. Because it says, of his kingdom, there shall be no end. Well, Mary said to the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? She did not anticipate the Messiah being literally the Son of God. All the expectations were he would be a descendant of David in the normal manner of course. And she did know that her husband Joseph was in David’s lineage as she was. And the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you. The power of the highest shall overshadow you. And therefore that holy thing that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. And behold, your cousin Elizabeth, she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. And with God nothing shall be called impossible. And Mary, apparently without much thought, said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. Nine months passed, and it takes us to Luke, the second chapter. It came to pass in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And I’ll bet you’ve heard that several times read in the Christmas season. Actually, apparently this was some kind of census that Caesar Augustus was taking. The taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to be taxed, everyone to his own city. We don’t know very much about this taxing. Apparently, there was some widespread period of time in which one could actually get this done. Otherwise, there would have been enormous disruption of the whole economy of the whole region if everyone had to quit work at once and charge back to his own town. Rather, I gather that they went back at a time when it was convenient. Well, for Joseph, the most convenient time possible would be the Feast of Tabernacles or possibly Passover if he went down to observe those festivals. Well, everyone went to be taxed to his own city, and Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, into the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. He went there to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, who was great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And this, of course, forms the basis for all the crash scenes you’ll see around different places through this season of the year, with Mary and Joseph and a little baby in a manger, and sheep around and cattle around, and maybe shepherds standing there with their shepherd’s crooks in their hands, worshiping the little baby Jesus. Now, Bethlehem is six or seven miles from Jerusalem. And since this was almost certainly at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, this would account for the incredibly crowded conditions in Jerusalem, because Jerusalem at this time was invaded by a million campers, probably a million and a half, maybe two million by some estimates. So finding accommodation would be very difficult. And who wants to be under a tent when a child is being born? The census alone would really not account for the kind of crowd that would crowd out Bethlehem as well as Jerusalem. Well, the baby is born. It is laid in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, on straw. It’s a beautiful thought and a beautiful scene. Now, I’ve thought about that a little bit, and I realize that at this time, if you read in different places that there is rejoicing in heaven, for example, over one sinner that repents. But can you imagine the kind of rejoicing that was going on in heaven among the angels at the time when the Son of God was born? I mean, this is the pivotal event in all of creation. This is what the whole thing is all about. This is what we’re driving at. This is the Savior of all things. Well, I can imagine there was a lot of back-slapping and rejoicing and happiness among the angels. And I can see some of them getting together and saying, look, we’re going to burst if we don’t tell somebody about this. So they get permission to go announce the birth on earth to somebody. But to whom? Well, God didn’t allow them to go to the king. He didn’t bother telling them at all. They found out about a second hand from the wise men that came from the east asking, where’s this event? And he said, what? It wasn’t to the high priest. In fact, they didn’t announce it to anyone in the religious or political establishment in Jerusalem at all. You know what they did? They actually looked to the bottom rung of the social order of the time, sheep herders. They said, let’s go tell these sheepherders who are camped out in the field tonight. And there were, in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Now, everybody knows they wouldn’t have been overnighting in the field in December. It’s too cold. This was September, and their houses were probably full of pilgrims anyhow, and they were just as happy to be in the field. You know, of all the people in this story, these are the guys I envy. Oh, yeah. They were out there sitting around a campfire telling stories, talking about God, maybe looking forward to the Messiah, because these were religious men. I know they were religious men because they understood the message of the angel. If they had not been religious, if they had not been people who went to synagogue and heard the Scriptures read, the things that the angels told them wouldn’t have meant much of anything. They might that evening have been talking about the expected Messiah. Do you think he will come or do you think he won’t? And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, one minute it’s dark, nothing’s happening. All of a sudden there is this man standing in front of them and a brilliance, a light shining around about them out of the heavens that made them all squint and cover their eyes. The experience happening as it did just in an instant must have scared them slap to death. And the angel said, hey, don’t be afraid. I’m bringing you the best news possible. I’m bringing good tidings of great joy, and it’s to all people. No, no, it’s not just to the Jews, not just to the Hebrews. It’s to everybody. For unto you, you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Now, I’ve got to assume this message meant something to these shepherds. A Savior? What’s that? Well, they were under Roman domination. And they would have understood immediately that a Savior of the house of David, born in the city of David, well, this is Messianic. And he is Christ, or he is the Messiah, the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you. You shall find the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Not in a palace, not with a crown, not in velvet, not in silks. In a manger. And all of a sudden, there was with the angel a huge multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. And that’s why I envy the shepherds. I have heard some great choirs in my time, but I would surely love to have heard this one sing that song on that night. It came to pass that that when the angels left them, the shepherds said to one another, let’s go to Bethlehem, let’s go right now, and let’s see what’s happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste, and they found something. What did they find? I want to talk about that when I come back.
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For a free copy of this radio program that you can share with friends and others, write or call this week only. And request the program titled, Too Late for Christmas. Write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. Or call toll free 1-888-BIBLE-44. And tell us the call letters of this radio station. What did they find?
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They found Mary, they found Joseph, and they found a baby. And this is the great marvel of this whole thing. Jesus did not drop down out of the sky full grown. He didn’t suddenly appear from nowhere on one day as a 30-year-old man and begin his ministry. He was not some kind of physical manifestation of a spirit being who materialized. Jesus was flesh. He was helpless. He was totally dependent on his mother and Joseph. If they had gone off and left him, he would have died. He had to be nursed at his mother’s breast, and he had to be changed when he dirtied himself. Now, I hope that doesn’t offend you, because the fact is that is the point of this whole story. What has happened here? Well, John in his gospel doesn’t go through the particular descriptions that Luke does. He doesn’t need to because the book of Luke by that time was out. But John tells us what happened. In his first chapter, in verse 1, he says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. Now, this statement, it was with God and was God, is a little foreign normally to our way of thinking because we tend to think that things are either one thing or the other. But in this case, the Word was God and also with God at the same time. But then in verse 14 of his first chapter, John says this, And the Word was made flesh. and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Well, John says that in the process of the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary and begetting Jesus in her womb, the Word actually became flesh. And what’s interesting is it became flesh at the time of conception. For from that time forward, That was the word of God that Mary carried in her womb. What’s fascinating is that some authorities suggest that that moment, that is the moment of conception, was the moment of incarnation, and that moment of incarnation took place in late December. But the birth of Jesus did not take place for a long time after that. And in fact, it probably took place right about the time of the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles. And that expression of John says, The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us ties it symbolically to the Feast of Tabernacles as well. So you can see what I mean when I say if you’re observing the birth of Christ this week, you’re running about three months late. It’s funny that before the first century was out, there were people who were already saying that, well, no, Jesus had not come in the flesh. No, no, Jesus was a spirit. He was not really flesh. He didn’t really die because since he was God, he couldn’t die. John, in his epistle, chapter 4, verse 1, says this, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God. Hereby you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Every spirit that does not confess this is not of God. So John, right off the bat, slams down his hand and says, No, Jesus came in the flesh. Anyone who denies that is the spirit of Antichrist. Why is this so important? Well, the tragedy of Christmas is that the message of the coming of God in the flesh to tabernacle with men is totally lost in all the pagan trappings and commercialism of the season. What does it mean to have a rescuer who knows exactly what it is like to be human, who knows what it is like to suffer pain and humiliation, to suffer abandonment and even death? Because unless we can understand, I mean really understand, the nativity of Jesus, we cannot grasp the reality of his death or of his resurrection. Maybe we ought to rethink this whole Christmas thing. Maybe we really do need to get the birth of Jesus, the birth of our Savior, away from and out of all of the trappings of Christmas. Maybe we ought to move it back to where it really took place in the autumn. When Jesus became flesh to suffer and to die, without a resurrection, he would have been lost forever. And if he had been lost, so would we. No, we don’t want to lose sight of the birth of Jesus. It is more important to us, I think, than many of us realize. We weren’t born to lose.
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