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The birth of Christ is described in only two of the four gospels: Matthew and Luke, which were written independently not long
after the year 60 A.D. Both Matthew and Luke evidently borrowed from the writings of Mark, but had no knowledge of each
other. The common features of the two accounts of the birth of Jesus are the location in Bethlehem, the father named Joseph
and the virginity of Mary. Both of the evangelists probably wrote in Greek. The birth of a Godly Father who would be the
Prince of Peace was prophesized by the Old Testament (Isaiah 9:6). The birth of Christ in Bethlehem was said to fulfill an
Old Testament prophecy (Micah 5:2), but the "Bethlehem Ephratah" referred to in Micah was a person (1 Chronicles 4:4), not a
town. Luke and Matthew agree that "Jesus of Nazareth" grew up in Nazareth, but give different explanations for the Bethlehem
birth.
According to Matthew, after Joseph discovered his betrothed was pregnant he was visited in his sleep by an angel who informed
him that his wife would give birth to a son named Jesus (Matthew 1:21-23). The angel told Joseph that his wife had been
impregnated by the Holy Ghost and that he should go ahead with the marriage. Joseph and Mary may have been living in
Bethlehem as their city of residence. Only Matthew mentions wise men and the Star of Bethlehem. Matthew 2:11 describes the
wise men as entering a house rather than a stable, and finding a child rather than an infant. The wise men were apparently
not present at the time of birth. King Herod ordered the execution of all children under the age of two (not just newborns),
so Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt with Jesus. After Herod died, the couple relocated to Nazareth because they did not think it
was safe to return to the Bethlehem area again. There is no mention of a census.
According to Luke Mary was visited in her sleep by the angel Gabriel, who informed Mary that she would give birth to an
infant named Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). Joseph may have also been visited by an angel, as reported by Matthew. Joseph and Mary
were living in their home in Nazareth at the time, but were required to go to Bethlehem because of a census for taxes. They
could find no inn in Bethlehem, so Jesus was born in a stable and visited by shepherds, not wise men. Then they returned to
their home in Nazareth. There is no mention of a flight to Egypt, of wise men or of a massacre of babies.
Matthew does not mention the number of wise men or their means of transport (by camel, by foot, etc.) to Bethlehem. The idea
that there were three Magi evidently came from the third century theologian Origen, possibly associated with the three gifts.
The Syrian church claimed there were twelve Magi. Sometimes the Magi are described as "kings". Not only may have there been
more or less than three Magi, but some or all of them could have been women. The reference to three kings could be a
fulfillment of Psalms 72:10, but this would not be consistent with the ancient Persian words, Majusian = Magi (priest of
Zarathustra).
Magi were a class of Zoroastrian priests in ancient Persia who practiced astrology, medicine and magic — and were renowned in
the ancient world for their wisdom. A legend of wise men honoring the baby Jesus was the equivalent of academic
certification, despite the fact that astrology was forbidden among the Jews. The wise men gave to the Christ child gold,
frankincense (a tree resin producing fragrant smoke when burned) and myrrh (a tree resin perfume with antiseptic &
pain-killing properties) — the first Christmas presents. All were luxury items that only the rich could afford. This was a
partial fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 60:6 of the Gentiles coming with camels to bring "gold and incense in praise of
the Lord." The revelation of the Divinity of Christ to the Gentiles (the Wise Men) was an Epiphany (a word now associated
with a sudden realization of a fundamental truth). Epiphany is now widely celebrated in many Western countries as "Three
Kings Day" or "The Twelfth Day" based on the tradition that the Magi found Jesus twelve days after his birth. (Joseph and
Mary might not be expected to remain in a stable for 12 days.)
Early in Medieval times legends arose of the Three Wise Men in art & literature which described them in detail. These legends
are the product of artistic imagination without grounding in historical documentation, but are treated as seriously as other
Christmas traditions. Melchior was an elderly Arabian king with a long white beard who brought gold. Balthasar was a young
Moor (North African from the Algeria/Morocco area) who brought myrrh. Caspar (or Gaspar) was a man from the Far East bringing
frankincense. Sometimes Caspar represents Europe, Balthasar represents Africa and Melchior represents Asia. There is a huge
variation in the identities of these three, as to which one symbolizes a particular race, age or culture. This romantic image
could symbolize that Christ was a gift to all Gentiles of the known world. But according to Matthew 2:1, they all came to
Jerusalem from the East.
In the 4th century AD the mother of Constantine brought bones purportedly belonging to the three wise men to Constantinople.
In 1158 A.D. three bodies were found in an ancient chapel in Milan, Italy, which were believe to have been come from
Constantinople and assumed to have been the remains of the Magi. Because Milan was part of the Holy Roman Empire, the
archbishop of Cologne, Germany took possession. The bones currently reside in a Cathedral in Cologne. Some relics were
returned to Milan in 1903.
The Star of Bethlehem has been presumed to be a fulfillment of the prophecy in Numbers 24:17 of a "Star out of Jacob". Stars
had also signalled the birth of Krishna, Lao-Tze, Moses and Abraham. Several attempts have been made to give explanations for
the Star of Bethlehem. In the 14th century Albert Magnus (teacher of Thomas Aquinas) noted that the constellation Virgo rose
above the horizon at midnight on December 24th at the reputed time of Christ's birth. In 1606 the German astronomer Johann
Kepler suggested that the "star" was the conjunction of Jupiter & Saturn on May 22nd, October 6th and December 1st, 7 B.C.
But Jupiter & Saturn would have been separated by a relative distance greater than two diameters of the moon — so they could
not have appeared as a single star. Jupiter & Venus actually overlapped on June 17th, 2 B.C., but this would have been after
the estimated 4 B.C. death of King Herod. A supernova explosion occurred in the constellation Capricorn in 5 B.C. and
Halley's comet was visible in 11-12 B.C. Chinese astronomers of the Han Dynasty recorded a comet visible for seventy days in
5 B.C.
Natural explanations cannot account for a star being directly above a 20-meter radius on the surface of the earth such that
it could be followed to such a specific location, unless the star was not high above the earth: "... and, lo, the star, which
they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." (Matthew 2:9). A natural
explanation for a supernatural event may undermine the claim that there was anything supernatural about the event at all.
If shepherds near Bethlehem were watching their flocks at night during the birth of Jesus, then the birth would not have been
in a winter month like December. If John the Baptist (cousin of Jesus) was really born in late March and Christ was six
months younger, then Jesus would have been born in September.
It was the 6th century monk Dionysius Exiguus who created the B.C./A.D. system of dating based on the birthdate of Christ.
His calculations were not very good. Dionysius had Christ born on December 25, 1 B.C., seven days before January 1, 1 A.D.
(no year zero). Luke 3:23 says that Christ was age 30 in the 15th year (about 27 A.D.) of the reign of the Roman emperor
Tiberius (Luke 3:1). Modern scholars now date Christ's birth between 7 BC and 4 BC. Few historians believe that the census
for taxation described in Luke 2:1-5 is a reliable guide to the date of Christ's birth. Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar had a
census in 28 B.C., 8 B.C. and 14 A.D. — but these were only for Roman citizens. There is a record of a census in Judea in 6
A.D. If the Bible is taken as written by fallible human journalists (who misremember & embellish) rather than the literal
Word of God, then such information can only be regarded as possible clues.
Some historians doubt that the story of Christ in the New Testament is really a description of the activities of a single
man. There were likely many, perhaps even hundreds, of individuals claiming to be saviors and prophets during that period.
Thus, the Gospels could have been a compilation of stories and folklore that arose around the activities of many such
persons.
