Even though we do not know the exact day and date of Jesus’ birth, we do know from the Bible that Jesus and his “cousin/relative”” John the Baptist were born 6 months apart sometime in 6-4 BC. The story starts with Zechariah, a priest of the order of Abijah, who was married to a relative of the virgin Mary called Elizabeth. While Zechariah was performing his ministrative duties in the Temple in Jerusalem, an angel appeared to him and told him he and his barren wife would have a son whom they should name John. Zechariah did not believe the angel because Elizabeth was post menopause and he was very old. Because of his unbelief, he was struck dumb until his son John was born. (Luke 1:5-22)
When Zachariah’s ministries were over, “Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, ‘This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.’
Now in the sixth month (a month later) the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’
The angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, the bondslave (in Greek the word is “slave”) of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her. Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zachariah and greeted Elizabeth.
CLICK TO READ Jesus & John The Baptist Were Relatives
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.’” Luke 1:24-45
In I Chronicles 24:1-19 (c. 450-400 BC) there are listed 24 orders of priests who were to tend to the regular duties in the Jerusalem Temple. Zechariah’s administrative order was named Abijah and was the 8th order among the 24 orders. Abijah priests served in the 8th week in the rotation from Nissan 1 (March-April) when the Temple duties began. Zechariah’s Abijah order was in the Temple then sometime in May-June and returned home and impregnated Elizabeth about the middle of June. That would have placed John The Baptist’s birth nine months’s later in March sometime.
If Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Immaculate Conception, six months after John was as the passage in Luke states, that would place Jesus’ Conception sometime in December and His Birth nine months later sometime in September.
Maybe our Christmas in December should now be celebrated as the Conception of Jesus rather than the Birth of Jesus?—Sandra Sweeny Silver
CLICK TO READ When Was Jesus Born?—Calculations