YESHUA’S BIRTHDAY- When and where? I mean really?

I promise to have something on this blog to offend everybody. Here's something which might be a real challenge. Sure, everybody knows Jesus wasn't born December 25th. But how much are we prepared to acknowledge?

Starting with John the Baptist

It all starts with the official end to the "Old Testament" (I prefer to call it the "first Testament"), Yochanan the Immerser. Luke 1 explains that his Dad Zacheriah’s priesthood was in the “course of Abijah” (Luke 1:5). 1 Chronicles 24:10 explains that the course of Abijah is the eighth week of the Hebrew year. But before we count 8 weeks into the Hebrew year, which puts it around the beginning of the third Hebrew month of Sivan, there’s a couple of curve balls:

Deut 16:16 specifies that all males are to attend the Temple for a week for each of the festivals Pesach, Shavout, and Sukkah. The Rabbis took this to mean that all 24 Levitical Priests from the surrounding districts attended the temple as per Deut 16:16 as well as their normal course of priesthood as per 1 Chronicles 24:10. This would have put Zak’s priestly term into the tenth week of the year (two weeks already added due to Pesach and Shavout). Counted from the first month of the religious year, Nisan (Ex 12:2) this would put Zak’s term at around the 10th of Sivan.

In Luke 1:13 Zak was burning incense and offering prayers for the people (Ps 141:12) when the angel appeared and said “your prayer has been heard”. What prayer? According to Rabbinical tradition, all priests would have prayed that Elijah would come, according to Malachi 4:5. Let’s have a quick look at that:

Elijah came?

There was a belief that Eliyahu (Elijah) would return to herald the coming of Messiah: Malachi 4:5, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. Of course, we would recognise this to be prior to the second advent of Messiah. “Great and dreadful day of the LORD (Adonai)” denotes judgement, not the sacrifice and redemption. How do we know this? Well, because of history, but also because Yeshua confirms it:

Remember when Yeshua read from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue (Luke 4:18-19) "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to [those who are] bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,” and then BAM! He stopped right there, in the middle of a sentence, saying “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." If you go to the verse in Isaiah, you see the rest of the sentence reads: “And the day of vengeance of our God”; Yeshua was implying that only the first part of that sentence was being fulfilled.

Also, in Matthew 17:10-13, the disciples ask “Why do the Torah teachers say Elijah must come first?” and Yeshua confirms that he had, in John the Baptiser. This is important, as it eludes to a strong Rabbinical tradition that Elijah would come at Passover. This tradition is held today, in every Jewish home celebrating the Passover Seder, they leave a chair empty for Elijah, and sometimes the kids are told to run to the door and wait for him.

Well folks, perhaps he did come at Passover!

Back to Zak in the Temple: The angel told him his son would be in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Since Luke 1:23 & 24 tells us that at the end of his course (Abijah) he went home and presumably, um, re- consummated their marriage this would put the conception of John at the feast of Shavout (Pentecost) which is the second week of Sivan. It was possibly a little later since Levitical Laws regarding women’s purity (Lev 12:2) meant Zak and Liz may have abstained for a week after his Temple service. Adding 9 months to this would put John’s birthday at Passover.

Mary’s Angel

Next up, Miriam (Mary) gets her visitation in the sixth month of Liz’s pregnancy (Luke 1: 26). This would put it around the 25th of Kislev which, interestingly enough, is Chanukah, the feast of the rededication of the Temple which, like Sukkah, is also called The Festival of Lights. The Light of the World was conceived during the festival of lights! If we accept this, then counting 9 months beyond that we arrive at Tishrei 15th, the first day of the Feast of Sukkot. Apparently, according to early Rabbinical tradition, Miriam’s dialogue with Gabriel is part of Sukkot prayers. Further to this, the words "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace on whom His favour rests" also appear in very early Jewish Sukkot prayers, which is what the angels said to the shepherds in Luke 2:14. Oh yes, they also said they were bringing tidings of great joy. One of the names of Sukkot is the "Festival of Great Joy".

It also means that Yeshua was circumcised on the 8th day, as per Lev 12:1-3. The eighth day of Sukkot is called Simchat Torah, or “rejoicing in Torah”. In Luke 2:25, when Yeshua was brought to the Temple for circumcision, both Simeon and Anna rejoiced greatly in what they had seen. Yeshua, after all, is the fulfilment of Torah. (Rom 10:4)

So what is Sukkot?

You shall dwell in booths for 7 days, all who are native Israelites will dwell in booths. That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Adonai. (Lev 23:42-43)

“Sukkot” means “booths”, specifically a temporary dwelling. Like all the festivals it has several layers of meaning, historical (Lev 23:43), agricultural (v 39) and spiritual (v 36-38). Historically it is to commemorate their wandering in the wilderness and dwelling in tents, whilst God provided for them. As distinct from Yom Kippur five days earlier, it is a time of great joy and celebration. Today, it’s a great time to be in Israel and many Christians go during Sukkot. Much like secular people decorate for Christmas, secular as well as religious Israelis build booths in their yards, or balconies, rudimentary in nature with nothing but branches and leaves for roofs, so you can see the stars, as per YHWH’s instructions.

The lights and strip heater may be a little too luxurious for the point of it, but who am I to judge..!

Like all the holy feasts it is prophetic on so many levels. And like all holy feasts, traditions or embellishments were added which may not have been specifically ordained, but were faithful to the meaning of the feast and some of which also point towards Yeshua the Messiah. For example, during the (so-called) silent years between the first and second testaments, the Jews developed two elements to Sukkot: The Drawing of Water and The Illumination:

The drawing of water symbolised YHWH’s provision of water in the wilderness. From the second day of Sukkot on each morning, amidst the celebrations, the priests would shout prayers such as "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (Is. 12:3). Remember, the word “salvation” in Hebrew is “Yeshua”. When our saviour said this: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:37-38), He said it on the last day of Sukkot.

The Illumination was to symbolise YHWH’s presence with them in the wilderness (“tabernacling” with them) as the pillar of fire. At the time of Herod’s temple, there were 70-foot hight candelabras in the court of women, with massive bowls for lamps at the top. When they were illuminated, most homes in Jerusalem would have been illuminated by them. In John 8, it’s the day after the Sukkot when Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, and they brought him the woman accused of adultery. If the woman was permitted to be there, then Yeshua must have been teaching in the women’s court, alongside these huge lamps. It was there, after the “stone her” incident, that He said “"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12) referring no doubt to the Sukkot lamps.

(Digressing slightly, but on the subject of the woman accused: How many people have asked "what did Yeshua write in the ground?" Many of these seemingly little details are hidden in some of those mysterious, obscure first testament prophesies. Check out Jeremiah 17:13. I reckon He wrote the names of all the accusers who left). Moving right along...

This is probably a little more like it! A Sukkah in Israel

Yeshua’s birth

Here’s the bit which challenges all our Christianised sensitivities. Yeshua was not born in an animal stall, a barn, or a stable. Not as such. In Luke 2 we see Josef and Miriam return to Bethlehem for the census. During Sukkot, Jerusalem would have been packed to the rafters with (mostly male) pilgrims and the surrounding towns would have also been busy, hence there being no room at the inn. All of the Christmas traditions are derived from Luke 2: And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. From that we get scowling innkeepers, stables, donkeys, cows, and a little straw basket.

Okay, so the word for manger in Greek was phatn’e, which is also used for stall referring to an animal stall (e.g. Luke 13:15). In Hebrew the word is marbek , but in Gen 33:17 Jacob built “booths” for his cattle and the word is Sukkot. In Jewish tradition, in their Sukkah, a family would put a receptacle there for the food, including unleavened bread to symbolise manna provided for them by YHWH. Manna was a prophetic event symbolising messiah (Ex 16:16-18). This receptacle was often referred to as marbek, or in English, a manger.

When Josef and Miriam arrived in Bethlehem the place would have been littered with Sukkot. They would have sought temporary shelter in one. That’s not to say there weren’t some animals in there since the shepherds would probably have let some take shelter. But, the Messiah was born in the very symbol YHWH gave the Jews to remind them of his dwelling amongst them, signifying the drawing of living water, and the shining of the light of the world. And, as an added touch just typical of YHWH’s attention to detail, the Messiah was laid in the very receptacle which resembled the housing of manna, and “swaddling clothes” was also the very same material used to light the huge candles in the Temple court.

To the orthodox Christian, some of this might sound a little "forced". Perhaps it is, but when it comes to explaining things to us, YHWH doesn’t miss much.

Folks, I'm not suggesting for a minute that we cease celebrating Christmas. Unity in the body is the core priority right now and besides, the Christmas season it still clinging onto some kind of relevance as an outreach opportunity, even though the truth does appear to be slowly disappearing under the weight of postmodern secularisation.

What I am saying is that getting intimate with YHWH's word should challenge us to add things to our life or remove them according to YHWH's will. He seldom forces us to do anything, rather He prefers that we want to do it. Who says that one day, down the track, you won't willingly and joyously take up Sukkot as the real celebration of YHWH's human birthday, the heralding of the time he arrived to dwell with us. Never say never.

After all, He has already given us the very festivals to commemorate (in advance) the different points of His redemption plans for the human race. Even simply recognising them can be pure joy.


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