When Was Jesus Born?

The question is, can we actually find out when Jesus was born; both the correct year and the correct date? The answers are, yes, we can find the exact year, and no, we can't find out for sure the actual date, but we can find the season and the date he was very likely born.

First let's find out the year. There is a prophesy in the Bible called the seventy weeks prophesy. It's major purpose is to tell when the Messiah, Jesus, would begin His ministry. We know He was thirty years old when He began His ministry, so if we count back thirty years from the year it began we'll know the year of His birth. Let's see what the prophesy says:

Daniel 9:25 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks..."

All we have to do is find out when this command was issued and we know what year Jesus was born!

The book of Ezra tells us that it was in the seventh year of king Artaxerxes:

Ezra 7:8,11 8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

11 Now this [is] the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

Counting forward 483 years from 458 B.C. gives 26 A.D. (If you do the arithmatic yourself remember you have to add one year because there is no year zero.) Now, if we count back thirty years we come to 5 B.C. (You have to add a year again because there's no year zero. It may seem strange that you have to add a year going both directions but that's the way it works.) To make sure it's correct, just subtract 30 years from 483 years to get 453 - then subtract that from 458 B.C. and you get 5 B.C.

Now that we know Jesus was born in 5 B.C., can we figure out the time of year He was born and even come close to the actual date? Yes we can.

The key is in the book of Luke and the book of 1st Chronicles. Let's look at Luke's account of the birth of John the Baptist:

Luke 1:5-6 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 Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Luke 1:5-6 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

Luke 1:11-22 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, "Fear not, Zacharias: for your prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

"You will have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

"And he will go before the Lord 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."

And Zacharias said unto the angel, "How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is old too."

The angel answered, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I am sent to speak to you about this good news. Because you didn't believe my words, you shalt not be able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed."

The people waiting for Zacharias wondered why he was so long in the temple. Then, when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he signed to them, and remained speechless.

This also fits perfectly with a three and a half year ministry of Jesus that ended in His crusifixion on the Passover day, which is half a year away from the Feast of Trumpets.

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