TOP 10 Questions About Christmas

What was the Star of Bethlehem? 

The Star of Bethlehem was a conjunction of the planets, Jupiter and Venus. It reached its zenith on June 17, 2 BC. It created the brightest object ever seen in the Judean night sky. This is the date Jesus was born and helps explain why there were shepherds out in the fields at night. We can easily know this exact date for certain using modern astronomy software. The same software used by NASA.

Why was Mary chosen to be the mother of Jesus? 

One of God's many attributes is that He is omniscience. Therefore, He was not only able to review the health and mental acuity of all the virgins of Nazareth, but He could also clearly see how strong their faith was and how it would change over the course of their lifetimes. Mary was chosen from “among the women” of Nazareth for five reasons. She was from the direct blood line of King David through his son Nathan. She was raised a devout Nazarene Jew. She was extremely mature for her age. She was knowledgeable about Scripture. And, He could see she would remain diligent in the rearing of Jesus, supportive of His ministry and become a missionary on His behalf until her death. 

How could Mary get pregnant with out the help of Joseph? 

Mary asked this same question of the Angel Gabriel. He explained to her that the Holy Spirit would indwell her and cause her to conceive (Luke 1:35). This means that the 23 chromosomes needed from a male to create a viable embryo would be provided by God. This would make Jesus’ body the Only Begotten Human Son of God. However, the spirit that indwelled Jesus was the Word of God who is one part of the eternal Triune Godhead. Therefore, it can truly be said that Jesus was the visible incarnation of the invisible God. Jesus was God incarnate.

Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem if He lived in Nazareth? 

Rome was celebrating the 750th year anniversary of its founding, and the treasury needed to be replenished. So, Rome declared a census and a taxation on certain territories. While Rome typically taxed people where they lived, the Temple requested and received a special dispensation from Rome to require all Jews to register in the capital city of their tribe. This helped the Temple update its tribal population records, and meant that the Temple could then more accurately assess how much tax each tribe owed. While Joseph and Mary were living in Nazareth, both were from the king tribe of Judah and the tribe’s capitol was Bethlehem. So, they were both required by Roman and Jewish law to personally appear and register in Bethlehem. 

 Where was Jesus born in Bethlehem?  

Mary went into active labor just as the couple arrived in Bethlehem having traveled 70 miles from Nazareth. The Inn at Bethlehem may have been conveniently located nearby. However, Joseph may have also been determined to have Jesus born in the Inn. This is because tradition suggests that the Inn, known then as the Ge-ruth Chimham Inn, was once the ancestral home of King David. Therefore, Joseph may have thought it appropriate that his son, the prophesied future King of Judah, be born there (Luke 1: 32-33). At any rate, the Inn was full and Joseph made the decision to take Mary into the adjacent stable located in a cave to give birth. In the first century, caves were routinely used as stables and secure storage areas throughout the Middle East. The Book of Matthew tells us that Joseph then moved the family into “a house” in Bethlehem (Matthew 2: 11). While the prophet Micah wrote that the Messiah would "come forth" from Bethlehem, he did not say the Messiah would be a native of Bethlehem (Micha 5:2). Further, the fact that Jesus was literally rejected from the literal house of David is a prophecy unto itself. 

How did Mary remain a virgin if she gave birth to Jesus? 

The simple answer is, she did not. Scripture tells us that while Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was naturally born the same as all people. Thus, He was both fully Divine and fully human. Scripture is also clear that Mary and Joseph went on to have four named sons and at least two unnamed girls for a total of seven confirmed children. The misconception about Mary as a perpetual virgin originated in the early second century when a cult began to develop in the Church that venerated Mary. Later, in the second century, an unknown author wrote a text titled the Gospel of James. In this fictitious story, he explained how Mary miraculously gave birth to Jesus yet remained a virgin. Later, in the year 325 AD, Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. He requested that the Church develop ways to efficiently convert all pagans. The Church realized that presenting Mary as the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven would be eagerly accepted by a pagan culture with a pantheon of gods and goddesses. It would be these kinds of unscriptural doctrines that would foment a reformation movement within the Church. In October of 1517, the once united Christian Church became divided. One branch remained known as the Catholic (Universal) Church, and the other became known as the Protestant Church. 

What happened to the Inn at Bethlehem? 

There are no ancient texts that say what happened to the Inn. We know that one thousand years had passed between the birth of David and the birth of Jesus. Therefore, even if the Inn had been built of expensive mortared stacked stone, it would have been in disrepair. The fact that it was now used as a common Inn along a road suggests that it was no longer the grand estate once owned by Boaz, who inherited it from his great grandfather Salmon, one of two spies Moses sent into the promise land. Salmon became Chief of the tribe of Judah, founded the village of Bethlehem and appointed it capitol of his tribe. The only reason that the site where Jesus was born was preserved is because the Inn’s stable was a natural cave located adjacent to the Inn. The Inn could have been destroyed either intentionally of accidentally and here's why.  

In 70 AD, Rome decide to raze the entire nation of Judah. They started in Jerusalem by pulling down the Temple then breaking up the stones. They crucified one million Jews and sold the remaining population into slavery. Then they began a systemic destruction of all buildings and homes that belonged to Jews. So, Rome may have torn down the Inn at that time along with the Temple and all other historical Jewish structures. Also, in 325 AD, Helena the mother of Emperor Constantine, made a pilgrimage to Judah to locate and enshrine many of the sites that were involved in the birth, childhood and ministry of Jesus. Unfortunately, it was considered fashionable to publicly display these religious sites with a focus on splendor and ease of access. Therefore, while the actual specific site was preserved, all surrounding impediments were removed.  

Take for example the tomb of Jesus. It was originally carved out of soft limestone with a pedestal just inside the doorway. Jesus’ body was laid on this pedestal. In order to make the pedestal accessible to the large crowds, the entire cave was carved away leaving only the pedestal standing on a flat surface that became the marble floor of a giant rotunda. Therefore, one may rightly assume that because the cave was the focus of the birth site of Jesus, the Inn may very well have been torn down as it was in the way of the main attraction. Then, the adjacent simple limestone cave was enhanced with marble and tapestry covered walls and a 14 pointed silver star imbedded into the cave floor to mark the spot where Jesus was born. Unbelievably, the original rock manger was removed and replaced with a silver one, only to eventually have the original one returned. Brutal 4th century design concepts!  

If Jesus was born in June, why celebrate Christmas on Dec 25th? 

Scripture tells us that the Wise Men (or Magi) were living to the east of Bethlehem. This would strongly suggest that they were located in Babylon, noted for its large and renowned Magi sect. The Magi would have seen the Star over Judah in June as a sign from a God. They would have referred to the writings and prophecies of their greatest Magi Daniel. He had originally been force marched to Babylon, but ultimately decided to continue to serve in the King’s court and be buried there. The Magi would have read of his prophecy that a great King would come out of Judah 490 years after the defensive walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. They would have done the math and concluded that the Star was a signal to the world that Daniel's prophesied King had been born. They would have begun to organize the 900 mile, 3 month long trip during the sweltering months of June, July and August. Then, they would have started their journey west in October.  

At that time, the traveling star Venus had moved away from Jupiter so the Star was ostensibly gone. However, Jupiter was now performing a very rare triple retrograde in the sky over Judah. The planet came to a full stop on October 30th then reversed its course. It made a second full stop over Judah on November 25th and reversed course. It made its third and final stop on December 25th directly over the city of Jerusalem (Matthew 2:9). By this time, the Magi had arrived in Jerusalem and made this final observation while meeting with King Herod. The Chief Priests and scribes told the Magi that the prophet Mica wrote the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:2-6; Micha 5:2). They immediately traveled four miles south, arrived in Bethlehem on December 25^th, and presented gifts to Jesus’ parents (Matthew 2:11).  

Thus, the first celebration of the birth of Jesus occurred on December 25, 2 BC even though He was quietly born in a stable 6 months earlier on June 7th. Please see related: “Daniel’s Magi Follow a Star"

Did King Herod really kill the children of Bethlehem? 

Herod was known as a pathological homicidal maniac. He used a vast spy network to identify those who may have plotted to have him killed. He then had these people assassinated without a trial. Therefore, the exact number of these deaths is unknown. However, it is suspected to be many hundreds if not thousands. As for his immediate family, he had his favorite wife executed for infidelity only to find out she was innocent. He had his mother in law executed because he feared she was plotting to have him assassinated. He had his two sons executed because he feared they were plotting to have him murdered. And, he also had his sister’s husband and mother in law killed. So yes, Herod was more than capable of killing all the Jewish children two years old and under if it meant these killing would secure his planned family dynasty. The exact number of children involved in the Bethlehem killings is unknown. But today it is believed to have been as many as several dozen. And just to prove Herod was an equal opportunity maniacal manic, he had not only the children of Bethlehem killed, but also his own infant son executed.   

If Joseph took his family to Egypt, when, why and where did he return? 

The Magi all had the exact same dream on the same night. They dreamed that they were not to report back to Herod of the child’s whereabouts. So they decided to pack up and immediately leave Judah using the back roads (Matthew 2:12). It is not clear if they notified Joseph of their dream. However, Scripture tells us that when they had left, Joseph was told in a dream by the Angel of the Lord to immediately take his family 63 miles south into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14). Herod had the children of Bethlehem killed two or three days after Joseph’s dream. This date was most probably December 29^th and here’s why. 

The famous Jewish historian, Flavius Joseph, wrote that Herod died in excruciating pain during an eclipse of the moon. The oldest manuscripts all state that Herod's death occurred in 1 BC. But for unknown reasons, in the 1500’s, this date was changed to 4 BC. Astronomical mathematics show that there was an eclipse of the moon on December 29, 1 BC. So the timeline is as follows.  

The Magi arrived on December 25, 2 BC. They had their dream the night of the 26th. They and Joseph left Bethlehem on the 27^th. Herod found out on the 28th that the Magi had left without reporting back to him on the newborn King's whereabouts (Matthew 2:11). In a rage, Herod issued his infamous order for the mass killing of children on December 29^th, 2 BC (Matthew 2:16). Then, after living the following year in unbelievable agony, Herod died exactly one year later on December 29, 1 BC during an eclipse of the moon (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 17.6.4). This was the 1 year anniversary of his order to kill the Jewish children of Bethlehem. Justice served! 

Joseph was then told in a dream that Herod was dead and it was safe to return to Judah (Matthew 2:19-21). However, he soon learned that Herod’s murderous son, Archelaus, had inherited rule over Bethlehem. So, he decided instead to move the family back to Nazareth where he and Mary had originally resided (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:22-23). Today, their childhood homes have been found and authenticated. They survived the Roman destruction as they were both carved out of limestone. Was it a coincident that their homes survived because they were built in solid stone caves? The rabbis say that coincidence is God winking at you.

These are the correct answers to basic questions. They are supported by Scripture, first century historical accounts and archeology. These questions continued to be asked by believers and nonbelievers. That is why it is vitally important that a Christian be prepared to confidently and intelligently respond to these questions and help dispel the misinformation disseminated through schoolyard babble and modern media hype.