Most churches and society in general believe the following facts about the birth of Jesus. But many of the facts have been found to be unlikely due to modern research and the finding of the dead sea scrolls.
Most people believe Jesus was born to a young virgin girl called Mary who gave birth to a son Jesus in Bethlehem on December 25 0AD. This is partly correct, but it must have been a few years earlier. It was also probably early October as winter would have set in by December and it would be hard to travel.
Year of Jesus’s birth
Herod the Great died in 2BC so the wise men must have visited him some time before that. Joseph the foster father of Jesus was warned that Herod had been told by the wise men that a king was to be born in Bethlehem and he was to take the child to Egypt. They stayed 2 years in Egypt and returned after Herod had died. It is probable that Jesus was born around 5BC as early records record state it was around that time there was a census which was why they had to travel to Bethlehem.
Wise men
Although it is generally believed there were 3 wise men it is probable there were 4 or more but early artists painted 3 because it was more symmetrical. The men were Magi who were experts in astronomy and were highly regarded as king makers as their influence was so great. They would have come from the Persian Empire, which was often at war with the Roman Empire, so they would have been accompanied by many hundreds or even thousands of soldiers and servants. They were coming to worship a new king so their gifts would have been lavish. It is probable that the gifts to Mary and Joseph would have provided for them during the 2 years they were in exile.
Accommodation for the birth
As there were travelers from all over the empire returning to their ancestral area it is not surprising that there was no room at the inn. Mary and Joseph were probably allowed to stay in a cave that was often used for the rearing of sheep destined for the temple. Bethlehem was a village approximately 9 kms or 6 miles from Jerusalem. The fields around there were used to rear the special sheep that were used for the sacrifices in the temple. The sheep had to be without blemish to be accepted so they were often wrapped in swaddling clothes to keep them from being damaged on the stony ground. It is significant that Jesus would be wrapped similar to the lambs that were to be sacrificed, Jesus would have been laid in a manger made of hollowed out stone as wood was very scarce in most of Israel.
Shepherds were first to see Jesus
An angel appeared to the shepherds that looked after the temple sheep and told them:
Luke 2.11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
It would be unusual for the heavenly host of angels appearing like this but they would have come to salute their leader Jesus who of course is the Lord of the heavenly host. They would also have been present at the death of Jesus but were prohibited from interfering.
Herod kills all the baby boys under 2
When Herod found out the wise men had taken a different way home and none of the Jewish scholars could tell him where the young boy was, Herod ordered all the boys under 2 in Bethlehem to be killed. Many historians put the number killed in the hundreds or even thousands but as the population was only about 400-600 it was more likely less than 20. Mary and Joseph were on their way to Egypt by then and Herod had no idea where to look. God had it all planned out!
