Was Jesus born on December 25th?

Written by John Benza

It is doubtful that Jesus was truly born on December 25th. Some early church fathers believed it to have been December 25th, but the Bible does not say when Jesus was born. The Bible does not even really tell us what season he was born. The early church declared December 25th to be Jesus’ birthday in order to replace a pagan Roman holiday.

Jesus really was born in Betheleham

Whatever the case, it does not matter, when Jesus was born. It also does not matter what day we celebrate his birth. What really matters is that Jesus really was born.

Angel boy

Louise Rousseau wrote beautifully about the day she realized that Jesus really was somebody’s baby boy for the 1998 edition of A Christmas Digest. She wrote:

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Last year, I was delighted to discover I was going to have a baby in December. Here was the excuse to skip Christmas and dispense with the gifts, cards, and other seasonal exertions. According to plan, my son Gabriel was born on December 13^th. But instead of warding off Christmas, as I had hoped, my little boy took me to the very heart of it.

A real baby for Christmas

It happened on Christmas Eve, when my family went to see the children’s musical put on by our church. In the darkness, Gabriel on my lap, I watched the familiar story unfold. “No room,” the Bethlehem innkeeper told Mary and Joseph. The weary travellers found refuge in a stable, just in time for Mary to give birth to a boy – the Son of God.

Singing with exuberance, the children on stage bopped around Mary, who was cuddling a swaddled plastic doll. “I should have let her borrow my baby,” I thought idly. And then, it dawned on me. Mary’s son Jesus had been a baby boy just like the little guy in my arms.

Suddenly, baby Jesus came to life for me. Gone was the plastic doll. Gone were the porcelain Jesuses of my childhood. He was no longer a well-painted figure with a shining halo, a peach complexion and a maddening smile, but a real baby – soft, tiny, with a hazy gaze and wrinkled skin. A baby who needed to be nursed, diapered, rocked and kissed.

What an amazing thing! God had become human. He left the magnificence of heaven for a makeshift bed in a stable full of hay and manure. He made himself vulnerable so that all people would know God was not too great or too remote to be touched by human love.

Real love for Christmas

As the play ended, I understood Christmas as an invitation from the baby Jesus to love him from the depth of my flawed human heart, just like I loved my Gabriel.

The audience applauded and the lights came back on. People slowly left, but before I joined them, I gave Gabriel a happy hug. My little guy with the angel’s name. He helped me grasp the essence of Christmas and understand that the baby in the manger was real. That night, the peace I had always longed for filled my heart.

The baby in the manger was real and all of the things the Bible says about him are true. You can know the peace that comes from knowing that you are loved, that you are forgiven and that there is a God who not only exists, but knows that you exist too and is interested in your life. God sent his son, Jesus to come into the world to redeem it. His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for all of the sins you or I will ever commit. He makes it possible for imperfect humans to have a living relationship with a perfect God.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.