Was Yeshua (Jesus) Born on December 25th?

It is that time of year again. The time when the trees, lights, and ugly sweaters come out and everything turns red and green. Radio channels start playing seasonal music from years gone by, much of which was written by Jews. Online debates begin in ernest as Biblical experts from both sides of the debate advocate for statements made and conclusions, all having to do with what side of the battle you are on and much less to do with what the Holy Scriptures have to say. 

At the time of the year when the “ungodly” all around us are saying peace on earth and good will towards men, those in the Messianic/Christian world have grabbed our rifles from over the mantle of the fireplace to fight. Like the Hatfields and McCoys, we once again begin to argue a topic in which both sides agree, but we don’t actually have proof while pointing our fingers at the other side of the battlefield and shouting heretic at the top of our lungs.

Now before I go on, my family's tradition on December 25th never included any of the things listed in the opening sentences. Since the days of my youth, on that day we joined our family and community at the local Chinese restaurant and then went to the theater to watch a movie. I have no familial or emotional ties to any other celebration that takes place on that date. So as I write these words, I am not writing for or against the celebration many around the world will partake of on December 25th. While this article mentions that celebration, the focus of this article is not about celebrating the celebration that is celebrated on that date. 

This article is about the fact, and yes it is a fact, that no one who claims that Yeshua was born on December 25 has any actual Biblical or historical proof that He was born on that day. Those who claim that date only have conjecture and emotions based upon statements of people such as Augustine who wrote that It was tradition (not a fact nor historical evidence) that many (not all) early Christians held that Yeshua was conceived on the same date on which he died. There is no Biblical or historical evidence for this belief, just a statement that some people believed this, so here you are. On the other hand, those on the side proclaiming Yeshua wasn’t born on December 25th calls for equal or greater questionability. Again, conjecture blended with emotions to come up with conclusions. 

What we do know with 100% certainty is that no one knows what day Yeshua was born on with absolute certainty. What we also know with 100% certainty is that a debate over when He was born argued aggressively and many times hatefully when we openly admit, or at least should admit openly, that we honestly don’t know when He was born, causes us to look to the world around us like immature children arguing over if Superman or Batman would win a fight. Before you begin to debate that, please remember that Superman and Batman are just as fictitious as the arguments people use to prove that Yeshua was or wasn’t born on December 25th. 

In John 17:20-21 Yeshua said, “I pray not on behalf of these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their message, 21that they all may be one. Just as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You, so also may they be one in Us, so the world may believe that You sent Me.

Yet, every year during the season when many people's eyes are turned towards Yeshua, we who are believers in Yeshua begin to battle each other with the theological and historical accuracy of stormtroopers (another fictitious creation). I am all for strenuous and impassioned debating, but if there is anything we should fight for, it should be the truth about the Messiah. I’m just saying that if we are going to enter the arena to publicly attack false teachings and problematic theological or historical issues, we should be able to defend our positions by pointing to the Text of G-D’s Holy Word or valid historical references and not “he said she said they said so there.”

Once again, please don’t read this as an endorsement for celebrating December 25th as His birthday nor is it a condemnation of celebrating December 25th. That subject is for another article for another time. Today, I am simply saying that the Body of Believers lose credibility when we stand upon soapboxes of false narratives and attack each other publicly, especially at a time when it is so easy for those watching to simply search and find out that both sides of the fight are simply sharing weakly researched opinions. Once we lose our credibility while arguing with each other about something we have to admit we don’t know for a fact, we weaken our ability to be credible when we share the truths from the Bible, history, and archaeological evidence about Yeshua. 

So in conclusion, was Yeshua born on December 25th? NO ONE KNOWS. So let’s stop fighting about when He was born and start sharing about His death, burial, and resurrection, which by the way we do have dates, times, and evidence of.