Blog
By David Devine. July 4th 2015
While studying ancient civilization back in high school, a fellow history colleague, and Christian friend, brought to my attention the importance of when Jesus was born. Now, I’m well aware that there have been many debates between theologians of what time and date Jesus was born; the greatest proof of that is the fact that Western civilization celebrated Christmas on December 25th, whereas the Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th. However, my colleague was more interested in when Jesus was not born, opposed to when he was born.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in a time where the Roman Empire controlled the people of Israel. This point is important because the prophesy would not have come true if the son of God was born in a non-holy land. Jesus then escaped the wrath of King Harod and fled to Egypt. Jesus then grew up in Nazareth (Also under Roman Rule), which bound him to live by Jewish law until he was of age. It was without question that the Pharisees wanted to persecute Jesus, however, they were unable to do so because murder of a free man was against Roman law. Even bringing Jesus before the Roman governor (Pontius Pilate) looked to yield no result, as Pontius Pilate found that he did not break any Roman laws.
Knowing this we can conclude that Jesus was born in the holy land, under Roman rule, and because of this, was able to practice his teaching and spread the word of God.
Israel has had many kings, some good but mostly bad; bad kings that turned away from God, worshiped idols and forsaken the laws of Moses. Knowing this, and how Harod reacted to discovering the birth of Jesus, it would be safe to assume that Jesus could not have been born when a Jewish king ruled the lands of Israel. Second, we also know that Jesus could not have been born after the Roman Empire stopped ruling Israel, because the Muslims that conquered the land of Israel would have killed him for blasphemy before he could spread his teachings.
To me this a miracle in itself, the only time that Jesus could have come into the world, he did. News travels fast in the Roman Empire, and It almost seems that the word of Jesus spread so fast because of the roads that the Roman Empire built.
Studying the development of civilizations and the biblical prophecy, I can think of no better time and no better place for the Son of God to make his appearance on earth. We can argue about the date and time of when he was born, but I think the most important aspect is that he was born, he lived and he died. He died for us. And he could have stayed by his father’s side but he didn’t, because his love for us is everlasting and true.