We live in a time when science is continually solving crimes, or at least according to CSI & NCIS. And it can be done in about an hour.
Can we use a little science to help prove the validity of the Christmas story we find described in the Bible? I believe through science and archeology we can helps support the truthfulness of the Christmas story. Let’s investigate…
The Census (Luke 2:1-4).
Luke tells us that Joseph & Mary went to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus ordered a census for tax purposes. Archeology has uncovered a number of census recordings. A worldwide census throughout the Roman Empire took place from the time of Augustus (23BC) through the 3rd century every 14 years. One from AD 104 reads: Seeing that the time has come for the house to house census, it is necessary to compel all those who for any cause whatsoever are residing out of their provinces to return to their own homes, that they may both carry out the regular order of the census and may also attend diligently to the cultivation of their allotments.”
The Cities & People.
Bethlehem (Luke 2:4). Bethlehem is about 5-6 miles south of Jerusalem on the main road to Hebron. Bethlehem plays an important role in Bible history. It was the location of Rachel’s death and burial. It was adopted home of Ruth and her husband Boaz, the grandmother of King David. David, himself, was born in Bethlehem and was anointed as king by Samuel there. It soon became insignificant, leading Micah’s prophecy (5:2) of Christ’s birth to take on significance.
In 2012 archeologists discovered the first physical evidence supporting the existence of Bethlehem before Jesus’ birth. A clay seal was unearthed near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem with the word ‘Bethlehem’ on it. It appears to be part of a tax shipment to the King of Judah in the 8th or 7th century BC.
Nazareth (Luke 2:4). Skeptics have for centuries claimed that Nazareth never existed during the time of Jesus, though the Bible claims that He lived there after his birth in Bethlehem. Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, by Paul, the Talmud, or Josephus (first century historian). No historian or geographer mentions Nazareth until 400 years after Jesus. A modern atheist, Rene Salm, has written a book The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus in 2008 and has a new book NazarethGate coming out in 2015.
We might argue that Nazareth was such an insignificant village that no wrote about it. It was a small 60 acre village with about 300-500 people. Historians write about kings and emperors, not common people. Nathanael even said, “Can there be any good thing come out of Nazareth.”
The reason we have little archeological evidence is that most of the ancient city lies under the modern city of Nazareth of 60,000 population. There is no evidence that it did not exist. Argument from silence is never proof of anything. However, archeologists have discovered a list of priests that was composed near 70 AD. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and priests were no longer needed. So they were sent to various locations, even in Galilee. A group of priests were relocated to Nazareth. In addition, tombs from the 1st century have been uncovered near the modern day city of Nazareth.
The Wise Men (Matthew 2:1). The Greek word for ‘wise man’ is magi. Very little is known about the Magi. Matthew doesn’t even record how many of them there were. All the Bible tells us is that they came from the East to Jerusalem. The magi were a priestly group from Persia, once a mighty country in modern day Iran & Iraq. Because of their combined knowledge of science, agriculture, mathematics, history and the occult, their religious and political influence was great. No Persian became king without the approval of the magi.
Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1). This ruler was in power when Jesus was born. When he didn’t hear a report from the wise men, he decided to kill all the boy babies younger than two years old in the area surrounding Bethlehem. Yet, there is no evidence of this event.
However, archeology tells us that this slaughter is consistent with his character. Herod was suspicious of anyone whom he thought may take his throne. His list of victims include one of his 10 wives (his favorite), 3 of his sons, a high priest, an ex-king, and two of his sister’s husbands. One of the greatest evidences of his cruelty was having the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested and imprisoned before his death. Because he knew no one would mourn his own death, he gave orders for those prisoners to be executed the moment he died – in order to guarantee that there would be mourning in Jerusalem.
His brutality to Bethlehem is consistent with historical evidence. Bethlehem was a very small village of less than 600 people. The number of boy babies under 2 years would be very small. So, the fact that he killed a few babies in a small community did not get many people’s attention.
Science & archeology are not absolute proof of the Christmas story. But they serve as testimony that everything told in the Christmas story is true. I hope this encourages your faith.