Truth versus Myth: The Biblical Story of Jesus’ Birth

written by Cheryl Devine Tuumalo

MYTH #1: December 25th is the day that Jesus was born on.

TRUTH: As I’ve stated before, careful analysis of the scriptures depict a fall birth. This December deception began through man-made tradition around 325 AD. The first recorded date of celebrating Christmas was under the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine. A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th of December. Numerous other pagan gods were celebrated during the winter solstice season. You also have take into account the census and wet weather.

MYTH #2 Mary gave birth the night they arrived in Bethlehem.

TRUTH: Not so fast, what we do know is “while they were there” in Bethlehem to registered for the census, the time came for Mary to give birth. “And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.” Luke 2:6

MYTH #3: Mary wanted to spend the night at an inn, but there were no “hotel rooms” available because the ‘inn’ was full.

TRUTH: There was no space in the “upper room” of a private house because other family members had got there first, not a public inn, motel, hotel etc.
..…. “Luke’s phrase “there was no room at the inn” is often taken to mean that Mary and Joseph couldn’t find a local hotel in town. Bethlehem was a very small village with no major roads. So a traveler’s inn would have been extremely unlikely. In addition, Luke doesn’t use the common word for hotel inn (pandeion) that he uses in other places. Instead, he uses a word that means guest room (kataluma). It’s the same word that he used to describe the place where Jesus took the last supper. It’s far more likely that since Bethlehem was Joseph’s ancestral home, he had relatives there. And because of the census taking place at the time, none of his relatives had any room in their guest quarters. Guest rooms were typically in the front of houses and the animal shelters were in the back of the house or the lower level (in a cave).” -Beilfnet

MYTH #4: Mary remained a virgin until the day of her death.

TRUTH: Although Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary until after she gave birth to Jesus, Mary and Joseph had many other children: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? “And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” (Matthew 13:55-56)

MYTH #5: There were ‘three’ wise men.

TRUTH: There were three types of gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh. There may have been 10, 20, 30 or more wise men, we don’t know. But each of them likely brought some gold, frankincense and myrrh. Since these were common currency items of value, each wise man, regardless of the actual number, brought a little of all three. It would also be dangerous for only 3 of them to travel so far carrying gold. And, there might have been more men as well, since it seemed to really concern King Herod.

MYTH #6: The wise men arrived the night Jesus was born in a manger. As shown in every Christmas picture, movie and Nativity scene.

TRUTH: The shepherds came to the manger (Luke 2:8-10), but not the wise men. After Jesus was born, there came wise men from the east (Matthew 2:1) It could have taken months for them to have gotten there. Scripture tells us that Ezra’s travel from Babylon to Jerusalem was 120 days (Ezra 7:8-9). In fact, Herod orders the slaughter of all male babies two years of age and younger. This shows that the child could have been two years old and under, in order that no error could be made in killing Jesus, but it also indicates that Jesus was older than a newborn. (Matthew 2:16)

MYTH #7: The Father (Creator) wants ‘Christians’ (His Children) to remember and celebrate the birthday of Jesus.
TRUTH: The scriptures do not tell us to celebrate the birth of Jesus but to remember His death and Resurrection! (Luke 22:19/ 1 Cor. 11:25)

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19

In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Cor. 11:25

This retelling of Jesus, The Messiah’s Birth is an example of why we need to read the Scriptures for our own selves and not depend on others to interpret them. Through movies, books, and teachers this beautiful depiction of The Messiah’s Birth has been so distorted. Be a Berean, they studied out the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11)