When Was Jesus Born?

When was Jesus born? No, not on December 25. Though Christians had adopted that date by A.D. 336, Christ was born “when shepherds watched their flocks by night.” In other words, most likely in the spring. And no, He wasn’t born in the year A.D.

The Bible tells us that Herod the Great ruled Palestine when Jesus was born, and Herod died in 4 B.C.—so Jesus had to have been born not long before that. (Blame Dionysiuys Exiguus for this one—he’s the sixth century monk who came up with the idea of splitting history into A.D. and B.C. He just chose the wrong date to do so, that’s all.)

Signs of the Times, Dec, 1991, p. 6