Excavating the Evidence for Jesus

Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25? Was Jesus possibly born on this day, or did celebrations start as a result of religious syncretism from Roman times? The Roman festival of Saturnalia, honoring the god Saturn, is often cited as the inspiration behind the church-sanctioned date for Christmas, but Saturnalia was celebrated from December 17–23, not on December 25, and therefore it was not a replacement festival or holy day. Another claim is that December 25th was the day for Sol Invictus and the early church just “Christianized” this day.

Situated in Bethlehem is the Church of the Nativity, commemorating the birth of Jesus above the cave where ancient tradition placed the nativity. Although the Gospels state only that Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem because there was no room for them in the guestroom (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:7-15), this tells us that Jesus was born where the animals were kept at night, which indicates the birth likely happened in a cave rather than an open air animal pen.

Although Bethlehem is an important location in the Bible, it was a relatively small and insignificant village in ancient times. Recent archaeological excavations at Bethlehem have uncovered material confirming that the town was in existence around the time of Jesus (Matthew 2:4-8).

Quirinius is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke as a ruler in Syria Province, but he was also a major political figure during the time of the Roman Empire (Luke 2:2). Quirinius is known from numerous historical sources and held positions such as legion commander, governor, and even consul – the highest rank that one could achieve in the Roman political system.

While the Gospel of Luke emphasizes the Romans and Augustus, the Gospel of Matthew emphasizes the local king, Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1). This Herod was crowned king of the Judeans by the Roman Senate in 40 BC as a client king under the authority of Rome, but he actually took power with the conquest of Jerusalem in 37 BC when he was able to finally defeat the previous ruling Hasmoneans.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke begin narrating before the life of Jesus, with Matthew emphasizing the local government and Luke including information related to the Roman Empire. The leader of this Empire was Caesar Augustus (formerly, Octavian), who became “first citizen” of the Roman Empire in 27 BC and ruled until his death in AD 14 (Luke 2:1).