When Jesus was Actually Born and What it Means to Us

A Christmas sermon, adapted from my book, The Road to Heaven: a Traveler’s Guide to Life’s Narrow Way:

“Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” So asks a despondent Charlie Brown at the beginning of one of the most famous scenes in the history of television holiday specials. You probably know what comes next: a spotlight illuminated recital of Luke 2:8-14 by Linus, who concludes the nativity story with, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

A Charlie Brown Christmas was a hit when it was first broadcast in 1965 and has become a classic, mostly, I believe, because of Charles Schultz’s simple point: Christmas is about Jesus. We watch it again and again because we like to be reminded that Christmas is more than shopping and bustle. We know deep down that “Jesus is the reason for the season” and that we should “Keep Christ in Christmas.” But what does all that mean, exactly? Is the call to focus on the baby in the manger just some mild anti-consumerism, or does the birth in Bethlehem 2000 years ago have a bit more depth of meaning to it? That is what this message is about. I want to help us get beyond tired clichés and further explore Linus’ answer. We will do that by using the Old Testament to shed some light on the foundational story of the New Testament: Christ’s birthday.

The Outline

I want to try and lay out the roadmap for this quick journey quite clearly so you will have a good handle on where we are in each stage and not get bogged down at any one section, which are as follows:

Part 1: To provide some context, we will start by briefly reviewing the story of the Children of Israel and show how it is allegorical to our own, particularly in regards to the exodus from Egypt.
Part 2: We will then explain the Festival of Tabernacles and make the case that Jesus was actually born on the first day of this festival.
Part 3:. Part three is about the significance of this date for the meaning of the incarnation. I trust by the end of this post you will be able to see how the timing of Jesus’ birth is incredibly relevant to us today.