The Nativity of Jesus the Christ, Part I

> In preparation for Christmas, I would like to post a few devotionals studying the birth of Jesus, our Lord.

In this post, we will discuss the sources of the Nativity story and the probable timing of the Nativity. In the following posts, we will go through the sources to gain more information. Thus, this post is sort of an introduction, setting the stage.

Sources
The majority of what people think they know about the birth of Jesus is probably from non-Biblical sources. A good portion of traditional "nativity" knowledge is based upon tradition and legend, rather than verifiable sources.

From a Biblical standpoint, the sources we have recounting the birth of Jesus are the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. Let us discuss each to determine where they found their information.



The Gospel According to Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew was written sometime between 40 and 70 AD, and almost certainly before the death of James in 62 AD. It was written by the apostle Matthew, a tax collector and follower of Jesus in life.

The question is - where did Matthew get his information about Jesus' birth? The fact that the birth of Jesus is not discussed by Mark or John may indicate that it was not widely known among His disciples (though this is, admittedly, speculation on my part).

What is interesting to note is the sequence of events recorded by Matthew:

1. An extremely brief discussion of anything prior to the birth of Jesus (182 words). Present: numerous witnesses.

2. A very detailed explanation of the journey of the wise men and the actions of Herod (468 words). Present: the wise men.

3. A very brief summary of how Jesus got back to Nazareth (120 words). Present: Joseph, Mary.

In other words, Matthew gives a very high level summary of the birth and return of Jesus--but a tremendous amount of detail of the stories of the wise men prior to Herod, their interactions with Herod, their visit to the Child, and the actions of the wise men and Herod after the visit to the Child.

Over 60% of the Nativity story known by Matthew gives details which can only be known by the wise men or their traveling companions.

Therefore, I conclude that it is highly likely that Matthew's source for the story were in fact the magi who went to visit Jesus.


The Gospel According to Luke
The Gospel According to Luke was clearly written prior to Luke's Acts of the Apostles, and the Acts had to have been concluded prior to Paul's death in 60-65 AD. Most scholars are fairly confident that the Gospel of Luke was written in the late 50s or early 60s AD.

As with Matthew, Luke was not present at the Nativity. So who are his sources? Again, let us look at the breakdown of the text:

1. Mary's encounter with the angel (271 words). Present: Mary.

2. Mary's visit to Elizabeth (295 words). Present: Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah.

3. John the Baptist's birth (412 words). Present: Elizabeth, Zechariah.

4. Birth of Jesus, Purification at Temple, Return to Nazareth (835 words). Present: Mary, Joseph.

So as you can see, very little overlap occurs in these events. Only Mary was present at the majority; Mary was present for nearly 80% of the events of Luke's gospel; no one else was present even half as much. And also keep in mind that Mary would likely have been thoroughly familiar with the events of John the Baptist's birth, as she was John's relative and very close with Elizabeth.

Therefore, I conclude that Luke's source was actually Mary herself.

Timing

So, when did the event happen?

Month

First, we can calculate the actual time of the year. Spoiler...it is not December 25! As Roman Catholicism became intertwined in the Roman Empire, the winter festival of Rome was converted to celebrate Jesus' birth. And why not? At the time, it was not well known when Jesus was born, but the point is that He WAS born.

However, I believe that a careful reading of the text can give us a clue. We know from the text that John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus (Luke 1:26). Many people have calculated the date of Zechariah's time of service based upon the combination of numerous Old Testament passages (Luke 1:5, 1 Chr 28:11-13, 1 Chr 24:1-4, 1 Chr 24: 7-19, 2 Chr 23:8, 1 Chr 9:25, Deut 16:16). From this information, we can conclude when John was conceived and (therefore) the conception of Jesus. The birth of Jesus, therefore, should happen around the 15th day of the Jewish month of Tishri--placing Jesus' birth in late September or early October.

Does the late September/early October timeframe make sense? Yes, it does--it "sanity-checks" with the passage quite well. Shepherds had their flocks out in the fields, which would happen in September/October but not December. Even more intriguingly, this would mean that Jesus was born during the Jewish festival of Tabernacles...the day that the Jews celebrated God coming down to dwell among them.

Therefore, it makes sense that Jesus was born in late September or early October.


Year

So, what year?

Well, we know that Herod died in 4 BC, and that he was still alive during the birth of Jesus. Therefore, the tradition of Jesus being born in 1 AD is not correct. He cannot possibly have been born before 4 BC.

More specifically, when Herod talked to the wise men in Matthew, he calculated the likely time of Jesus' birth based upon what the wise men had told him (Matt 2:16). From this time, he calculated that Jesus should be about two years old, and thus had all male children two and under in Bethlehem slaughtered.

Even if the Slaughter of the Innocents occurred in the year of Herod's death (4 BC), that still dates Jesus' birth back to 6 BC at the latest.

CONCLUSIONS

Therefore, we conclude that the birth of Jesus happened in late September of 6-7 BC. The wise men arrived sometime in the next two years to visit the family. The wise men's travels were recounted later to Matthew, who included them in his Gospel. Mary later recounted her story to Luke.

By combining these two sources do we receive our history of the Nativity.

In the next section, we will explore what Matthew has to say about the Nativity events.

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The Path to Salvation

> Some great information on the excellent blog by Ray Ortlund today. I won't go through the entire thing, but during the Great Awakening, George Whitfield preached about five layers or steps of leading to salvation.

I fear that too often, we evangelicals (in our hurry to help someone to conversion as rapidly as possible) fail to teach and address all of these aspects. It requires these five aspects combined to explain the Good News of Jesus Christ.

These five basic levels of spiritual awakening that lead to salvation are:

1. You must understand that your sin is intolerable. "Was ever the remembrance of your sins grievous to you? Was the burden of your sins intolerable to your thoughts? Did ever any such thing as this pass between God and your soul? If not, for Jesus Christ’s sake, do not call yourselves Christians." In other words, if you don't really think that you are "all that bad", then you cannot possibly have accepted the need for Jesus' saving grace.

2. You must be convinced that the foundation of all your transgressions is your basic sin-nature. That is, that even if you failed to act upon the sinful thoughts you had, even the very fact that you had them is damning. That in every possible way, on every possible day, you are guilty and have failed God's perfect law.

3. We must de-construct our self-righteous thoughts. We have all heard the saying, "All our righteousness is as filthy rags..." but we do not let that sink in. You must come to the place where you realize that the best prayer you ever prayed is steeped with enough sin (self-interest or doubt or something else) to be damning. There is literally no good work you can do, because your soul is stained at its core. If you cannot accept that, then you will always hold on to the thought that you somehow deserve salvation.

4. You must actually believe in Jesus Christ and His teachings. Many of us believe that we believe...but our actions and thoughts and attitudes indicate that we are unbelievers. Whitfield said that more people believe in the devil than in Christ, and that the devil knows more of the Bible than the average Christian. Belief in Christ should be the foundation of your thoughts.

5. You must believe that Jesus' death is sufficient in and of itself (i.e., without the help of your righteousness) to provide for you a path to heaven.

All five of these passages must be gone through in order to be saved. And it is for that reason that so many people who have "walked the aisle" in churches might think that they are saved, but not actually be saved.

This is the essence of the Good News. This is why Jesus came to us. If we are not truly deplorable sinners, then we do not truly need God to take human form and suffer and die on our behalf. So if you cannot accept your own worthlessness, and you cannot truly believe in Christ's reality and the sufficiency of His death, then you have not ever been saved.

The traditional evangelical yardsticks used (have you seen your life turn around, is it easy/fun to pray all the time, is everything great, are you content during the bad times, did you make your public confession, etc.) have no bearing. They miss the mark and miss the point.

You must understand that all of your sins and all of your successes are all stained by your basic bad nature, and that only Jesus' death provided that pathway. You must also accept that death is sufficient in and of itself, always.

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Quote

>

Faith is the art of holding onto things your reason once accepted, despite your changing moods.

--C.S. Lewis

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Wanted: Jesus

> Admittedly, I stole this idea from another blog and did it myself with a slightly different spin.

Consider Jesus: a Middle-Eastern religious extremist, believed to have made terroristic threats against major landmarks (the Temple), and organizing a secret revolution against the authorities of his day. He was seen as a terrorist and insurgent, with delusions of grandeur and possibly possessed by the devil.

C.S. Lewis once said that Jesus did not leave us the option of merely considering Him a "moral teacher". Jesus intentionally left us only three reactions: we can kill Him as a devil, we can mock Him as a madman, or we can worship Him as our Lord.

Never forget that Jesus is not safe. His religion is not always comfortable. He is the Lion of Judah, God in the Flesh, the Creator of all...and He wants you on His side.

Below, see a mock-up poster I made detailing our Lord, the "criminal".

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Extra Dimensions and God

> Sorry for the delay in posting, but a combination of Thanksgiving, work, and this (rather large) project below took up my time.

As you may know, I come from an engineering background--meaning that I know just enough physics and math to be dangerous. One of the most fascinating aspects of modern physics is string theory, and its prediction of extra dimensions of space and time.

Most Americans of course do not realize that modern physics predicts 10-11 dimensions of space, and 2 dimensions of time...nor do they understand it.

This, if true, is of massive consequence for Christianity and Scripture - far more about God could be learned through this development than anything science has ever discovered.

So below is a presentation that I cannot recommend to you highly enough. I know that it might be a bit confusing at times, but in it I go through a thought experiment and then look at some Scripture to explain how a multi-dimensional universe affects us as Christians.

As a teaser, let me say this...I think that understanding this presentation explains how God did a ton of His miracles, how Jesus' death at one moment can atone for sins committed even after He died, and possibly even resolves the six days vs. millions of years controversy. It has the potential to totally change your perception of God and Scripture, and help you take God out of the box that we put Him in.

In the end, I hope you will find that God is far greater than we typically realize, and have your faith strengthened: for while theology teaches us "why" God did certain miracles, Christians have too long been in the dark about "how".

See below for the presentation. You can view it in your browser or (if you have Powerpoint) download it to your hard drive.

PPT 2007:
Extra Dimensionality and God PPTX -

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The Dock

> I've diverged a bit from my typical research-based posts and out of my comfort zone. Below, I present a short story I have written, which is designed to help illustrate some major spiritual truths that we have discussed here several times. There is a tremendous amount of symbolism, so feel free to digest and I hope that it means something to each of you. Enjoy.



THE DOCK

by Michael Belote




He rolled the car to a stop in the parking lot, and sat staring blankly for several minutes. It was an old habit of his father’s that brought him here so early, dawn still almost an hour away. After considerable effort on his part, he rolled down the window and the salty, moist air wafted into the car.

Pre-dawn it may be, but the temperature was already north of 80 degrees, and so sticky that his shirt clung tightly to his arms and chest. He looked up, seeing the fingernail sliver of the moon out of one window, and his vast obsession laying before him. A deep fog hugged the Sea, thick enough to reach out and cover him; and through the open window he could hear the quiet roar even from here.

In the distance he saw the lights of a few opportunistic fishing boats, and immediately felt the stab of pain from his father’s recent funeral. His father had been a deep-sea fisherman, and always launched before the tourist boats could get started. A simple man, his father, and the two never saw eye to eye. To his father, the Sea was something to be experienced and known instinctively, like a lover: not to be studied from a distance like a painting or a book. For all of their disagreements, though, his father was a good man, and he missed him dearly; the Sea had been his love, and to the Sea his ashes had returned.

He sat like this for hours, air conditioning off, watching people arrive as he sipped his coffee. Drinking coffee in the warming morning seemed strange, but it was a habit he could not break. He glanced through a couple of books, including the one he wrote, feeling that familiarly-strange mixture of pride in his work and guilt at indulging his ego.

The sun rose magnificently, as it always did in the Gulf. Its glorious strength drove the moonlight out of sight as though in terror. Through the passenger window he saw the ancient orb peacefully arise from his slumber and begin his slow and steady trek across the sky. Rays of light seemed almost alive as they danced across the waves, revealing sea gulls and sand castles.

Over the next several hours, he did nothing but watch the arrivals. It was always the people and their reaction to the Sea that truly interested him. Some were locals, their baked-leather bodies looking magnificent as they came to the beach for a run, or to play in the Sea as part of their daily routine. Some were workers in the area, people who supported the visitors to the Sea but rarely got a chance to go in themselves; they tended to stay for just a few minutes, staring blankly at the Sea as they tried to remember why they have been spending their lives helping others get to the Sea, while they themselves lack the time to do so.

But most, of course, were tourists. Large SUVs jam-packed full of toddlers and towels, beach blankets and boogie-boards. Their paunchy stomachs and pale skin betrayed them, no matter how confident they looked strolling to the beach. These are the people who show up once or twice a year to play and swim and enjoy the Sea, and then retreat back to their normal lives.

Taking his final sip of coffee, and unable to stay in the car any longer without risking back pain, he wrenched up the courage to approach the Sea. He removed the keys from the ignition and got out of the car, stretching his arms and legs. He hesitated, then removed his shoes and tossed them back into the car.

Walking across the asphalt while carefully avoiding broken beer bottles, he stepped onto the beach. There was nothing quite like that feeling. The fine grains of sand spread and engulfed your toes. It was almost impossible not to sit down and bury yourself whole immediately, especially in these early mornings when the sun had not yet cooked the coolness out of the sand.

He drug his feet through the sand as he slowly approached the shoreline, enjoying every moment. It was odd, he reflected: sand was nothing but dirt that happened to be close to the beauty of the Sea. And yet, people who prided themselves as being clean in the ‘real world’, and avoided mud and dirt with care, would come near the Sea and cover themselves in it. Why consider this less filthy than other dirt? It was certainly more beautiful, owing to its closeness to the Sea, and more acceptable to be engulfed in this dirt than in ‘real’ dirt of the world. But he never understood why it was truly any different. True, it does not stain as visibly as the everyday muck of the rest of the world; but as everyone has experienced, sand remains with a person long after they have left the beach, finding any crevice or orifice and setting up camp. It digs at us and reminds us, minute by minute, that we were unclean. Why was this better?

Shrugging to himself, he pulled his meandering mind back to its purpose and walked out to the busiest section of the beach, right near a small dock. He glanced around, and took in the variety of people.

First he came to the typical tourists who come to the beach with no intention at all of entering the Sea. They sit in the sun, enjoying its glorious warmth, enjoying the idea of the Sea more than its reality. The reality gets sticky and salty, and can be painful and uncomfortable. So they sit by and bake, listening to the waves crash nearby without actually having to take part in it.

Nearby sat some teenagers and other youth, playing beach volleyball, Frisbee, and catch. They do exactly the same things at the beach that they would do at home; they may find the venue to be more interesting and noteworthy, but their behavior is unchanged by the vast Sea nearby. It might be the Sea this week and the mall the next; the beach is nothing more to them than a cool hangout.

Others were building castles in the sand, as they did every day. They try to get as close as they can to the Sea without actually getting touched by it; then, at night, when the tide inevitably destroys their handiwork, they get right back to it the next day. For them, he supposed, it was the building and the work that was exciting; to him, it seemed monotonous and depressing to spend so much effort—even in play—to build that which will not last.

So he passed the typical beach-comers, and came closer to the Sea itself. The Sea—the great mystery which excited his interest, fascinated him endlessly, and terrified him completely.

All along the edge of Sea, waves crashed down. Children played freely, without regard for safety. They jumped and pushed and laughed and threw balls; they were knocked down by the waves and pulled out by the undertow; and all the while, they giggled freely, screamed excitedly, and relished their time in the Sea. For his part, he scowled in disapproval at parents who would allow their kids to be so reckless with something so dangerous. But, such it was every day, and so he shrugged again and continued to near the water.

His eyes raised to look deeper, and there he saw another group of young teens. Unlike their beach-volleyball friends, who only came to the beach because it looked cool, these teens were certainly making the most of their time at the Sea. They body-surfed, played games, and dove and swam until they could barely be seen. He envied this group, as he had his father: their passion for the Sea was immense and complete, their confidence unshakeable, their distrust miniscule.

Closer to shore, a young couple stood waist-deep in the Sea, and kissed deeply. The obviously-new bride was unable to let her ring finger out of sight, lest she lose the important memoir of their commitment. The groom clearly had his mind elsewhere, fully enjoying his freedom with his new bride. He leaned in and spoke in her ear; she blushed and giggled nervously, but returned his kisses with complete passion.

Not a stone’s throw from the couple was an old black couple, floating on their backs on those swimming mattresses. The gray-haired man had a relaxed smile crinkling his aging face, and his left hand held tight to his plump wife’s hand, keeping their mattresses together. They bobbed up and down with the waves, unconcerned and relaxed.

How he envied such people! To relax, at the Sea! With jellyfish and sharks inches away; with stingray at hand; with fish that could bite and waves that could crash and undertow that could sweep you out to the depths! Was it the burden of his greater knowledge that made him so hesitant? No, that was not it: for even as a teenager, he did not have his father’s confidence in the Deep.

He stepped up onto the dock, where he could get a better look, and narrowly avoided a flying fish hook. “Sorry, mister,” a young boy said, fishing off the dock with his father. He smiled and watched them for a few minutes, the touching father-and-son moment warming his heart. The boy would never be a fisherman, he thought: too jumpy, possibly even a kid that could use some medication. The little toe-head could not be more than four, and his father was clearly no avid fisherman. Still, they were loving their time together, laughing and playing as they cast out into the Sea. Suddenly, the father hooked something and handed the rod to his son. After several minutes of fighting, the tiniest little fish was brought up onto the dock. Though barely big enough for bait, it could have been a world record to judge by the size of the boy’s smile. Dad took a quick photo and taught his son about returning the bounty of the Sea to its home, so that others could enjoy it as well.

Sighing, he leaned against the dock and looked at what he knew would be his most conflicting vision: the group of older fishermen off to the right of the dock. Every morning they gathered: wrinkled, overweight, simple country men with thick redneck accents and ratty clothing. They stand knee deep in the Sea and cast, over and over. They catch all manner of fish, enjoying every minute of both the fishing and the company. These are men, he knew, with little money and few prospects; the kind of simple people who enjoy sharing a beer with a friend more than the finest caviar; the kind of people for whom the Sea is not a study project or a distraction or a cool setting, but a source of daily food and constant enjoyment. In other words, men like his father. Men whom he could understand, but could not fully love: for even as he envied their bravery in embracing the Sea, a part of him always contemptuously looked down on them for their lack of knowledge about the thing that they loved. He knew that he was superior in every measurable known to man; and yet, in them was a peace and comfort he had never felt. His arrogance and his jealous formed immutable walls between him and such men.

He turned around, leaning backward on his elbows against the dock railing. He turned his face upward and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight as he deeply breathed the salty air.

Now was the time that he dreaded each day. The time that he would try to discover who he was, where he fit in with all of these people. What group would he join? What kind of person was he?

His father would say he was a fool to learn about the Sea, visit the Sea, idolize the Sea, but not experience the Sea. And yet…the danger, the mystery, the infinite blackness of it was so much to bear. To truly sink down and let the Sea cover him; to allow its cold water to envelop his face and head; to float trustingly on its chaotic waters; to eat the slimy things that swam in it; to ignore the dangerous currents and creatures that flitted silently through its depths: it was simply too much to ask.

He agonized, considered, argued with himself. He told himself that he was an idiot, and that he was dishonoring his father’s memory. He told himself that he was weak, and robbing himself of joy.

But in the end, he gave in to himself. Was there really any chance he would not have? After all, he did the same thing yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that.

He sat down on the dock, and let the day pass him by.

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A Different Perspective

> Christians are a strange bunch. We can sit idly by and watch our nations, politicians (including those for whom we will vote later!), schools, and church leaders corrupt, neglect, and misrepresent Christianity. And yet we will get vastly up in arms about minor issues of no Biblical import. I dare say that none of us would have to travel far to find a fellow Christian who would be horrified to find you allowing your children to watch certain cartoons, read Harry Potter, watch the Twilight movies, go trick-or-treating, or the like.

Why is this? I propose that it really comes down to a wrong-headed perspective that we Christians (especially parents) have.

You see, there is a basic truth in Christian theology: man is basically sinful and depraved, a rebel of God, incapable of "goodness" by his own strength. Only through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can we find ourselves redeemed.

Most Christians would agree with that statement, and yet do not seem to live with such understanding. You see, human parents have been living since the time of Socrates with the grave fear that someone else will "corrupt" their "innocent and pure" children.

Look guys...I have two boys. Both toddlers. Both wonderful, loving, amazing, inspiring kids. My best friends. Are they innocent? Not on your life! Are the pure? Please. Anyone who has had two boys under the age of four cannot possibly think so! :)

In all seriousness, though, our society is wrong to be concerned that our "good" kids are going to be "corrupted" by culture. This is a very nice and feel-good philosophy, but it is decidedly anti-Christians.

Bad kids are not "good kids" that were corrupted by fairy tales or video games. We are all inherently "bad kids", if left to our own devices. True, we have a responsibility as parents to protect our children from things that are inappropriate. But I am saying that if you spend 100% of your energy as a parent trying to protect your "pure" kids from culture's corruption, you are failing.

It is not your job to keep them from being corrupted by society: even if they are totally shut off from society, their very nature as a child of Adam will corrupt them.

No, your job is twofold: (a) to teach them (through both words and discipline) that corrupted actions cause destruction in our lives, and (b) to teach them that they do have an inherent corruption, and therefore an overwhelming need for the love of the Christ and the grace of the Almighty God.

How many of our children would seek out salvation younger, if their parents would tell them the honest truth that they need Christ in their lives as well? Instead of being honest with our children, we reinforce their behavior over and over and over again...and then are surprised when they turn from God as teenagers.

You can have fun with your kids, love your kids, discipline your kids, teach your kids, and protect your kids...without keeping them from the knowledge that they do bad things sometimes, and that they need God's forgiveness for it, and Jesus' death.







Type rest of the post here

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