Today we will follow God’s Word, and understand he gives us so much information on dates and through prophesies the birth of our Lord and Savior. We begin in Luke 1 and verse 5 reads.
Luke 1:5] There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
A lot was given to us here, first Abia is a date. On our calendar today this would be June 13-19. There were 24 courses repeated twice a year, that would be 48 weeks with 2 periods for the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. Those periods need all priest to work because the event was so large. This makes up the 52 weeks of the year. Notice also that his wife Elisabeth is a daughter of Aaron. It was only of the daughters of Aaron that a priest could take a wife.
Luke 1:6] And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
[7] And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
[8] And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
[9] According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
[10] And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
We see here that his job was to burn the incense in the course of Abia. But outside they would pray as the smoke of the incense went up. A tradition of men no doubt, but people are funny in that way.
Luke 1:11] And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
[12] And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
[13] But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Sounds like those outside weren’t the only ones sending up prayers with the smoke. His prayer was for a son, though both he and his wife were very old.
Luke 1:14] And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
[15] For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
Remember these promises.
Luke 1:16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
[17] And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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.
Elias is Elijah. From Greek to Hebrew.
Luke 1:18] And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
Zacharias just doubted the angel, this will make Gabriel a little mad.
Luke 1:19] And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
Gabriel means “mighty man of God”, he stands by the throne of God.
Luke 1:20] And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
[21] And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
[22] And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
[23] And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
The day after was a sabbath day, and one could only travel ½ mile by law. he lived 30 miles away and was very old, so my guess is it took him until June 22nd. or 23rd. to get home. Keeping track of the time line is important in understanding this lesson.
Luke 1:24] And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
This brings us to Nov. 24th.
Luke 1:25] Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
[26] And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
This brings us to Dec. 24th.
Luke 1:27] To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
[28] And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
[29] And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
[30] And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
[31] And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
[32] He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
The Lords promise to king David was made in 2Sam.7 verses 12-13 and they read.
2Sam.7:12] And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
[13] He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
Back to Luke and verse 33 reads.
Luke 1:33] And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
[34] Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Mary is not doubting the words of the angel, she is just making a very good point.
Luke 1:35] And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
[36] And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
Mary and Elisabeth were cousins, both their mothers were sisters. This means Mary was of the daughters of Aaron on her mother’s side. In Luke chapter 3 we find her father Heli was of the tribe of Judah, but not of Solomon, rather of Nathan. Giving the promise of Melchizedek, Psalms 110:4. Christ would be of the King line and the priest line. King of kings and Lord of lords. Keep track of the time line, this is six months after Elisabeth conceives.
Luke 1:37] For with God nothing shall be impossible.
[38] And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
[39] And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
[40] And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
[41] And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
[42] And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
[43] And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
[44] For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
A few things here, first don’t ever forget verse 37, nothing is impossible for the LORD. And more importantly, this proves that Life begins at conception. The Lord places the soul in the womb at conception, and not at birth. Also verse 44 has just brought verse 15 as prophesy fulfilled. Let’s skip down to verse 56 and read.
Luke 1:56] And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
Mary stayed with Elisabeth until she gave birth to John, then she went home. This would be in the first week of Passover, March 24th. Now let’s go to chapter 2 and read.
Luke 2:1] And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
[2] (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
[3] And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
[4] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
[5] To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
Josephus, a historian in the day of Jesus, wrote that these taxes were for the construction of the roads that Caesar wanted built. This trip Joseph would make is about 70 miles. Caesar would not expect much return on taxes if he had everyone do it in the winter. As we will see, this would be in September.
Luke 2:6] And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
[7] 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.
This would be September 29th, the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Luke 2:8] And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
This also proves that Jesus was born not in the winter. Sheep are too delicate to be out in the cold, they would be in their sheep cots.
Luke 2:9] And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
[10] And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
[11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
[12] And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
[13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
[14] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Can’t help but hear that song “Hark the Harold angels sing”.
Luke 2:15] And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
[16] And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
[17] And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
[18] And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
[19] But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
[20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
[21] And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
This would be Oct. 7th, does this date ring a bell? Can’t anyone just say that Hamas knows more than our preachers at the pulpits. Well, I just did, but I digress. Now, we just read that the shepherds gave the news to them that they were visited by angels and told them everything. How that Jesus would be called Savior. Prophesied long ago by the prophet Isaiah. Let’s read Isa.7:14.
Isa.7:14] Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Immanuel means “God with us”, and also in chapter 9 verse 6 reads.
Isa.9:6] For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
I know this is getting long, but just bare with me, I want to go to John chapter 1 and read
John 1:1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
[4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Think of that tree of Life in the garden.
John 1:5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Skip to verse 14 and it reads.
John 1:14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Now we know the story, Christ was conceived on Dec. 25th and born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, 6 months after John the Baptist was born on the Passover. Then do we celebrate Christmas? Why wouldn’t we celebrate the day the Lord became flesh and dwelt among men. But, what of the Christmas tree? Did not the Lord say “I Am a green fir tree”. Hos.14:8. Ever greens are a symbol of everlasting life. Have a very Merry Christmas everyone, let’s go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word and ask that you bless all that love you in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.