Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 178:709 (Jan 2021)
Article: A Chronology Of The Life Of Christ With Emphasis On The Nativity And Epiphany
Author: Kurt M. Simmons

BSac 178:709 (January-March 2021) p. 34

A Chronology Of The Life Of Christ With Emphasis On The Nativity And Epiphany

Kurt M. Simmons

Kurt M. Simmons holds a juris doctorate, is a licensed attorney, and has served in ministry as a full-time pastor.

Abstract

This article provides a chronology of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, with an emphasis on the Nativity and Epiphany. The chronology is “faith-based” inasmuch as it rests on the witness of Scripture. This article also seeks to rehabilitate “received-by-tradition” as an explanation for the origin of the traditional dates of the Nativity and Epiphany by demonstrating that they have strong roots in both Scripture and early history of the church, such that received-by-tradition has a superior claim to academic recognition than competing theories and explanations.

The ecclesiastical calendar of the church commemorates many important events in the life and ministry of Christ. In some cases, dates assigned have a strong claim to historical accuracy based on the witness of Scripture. Examples in this category include Good Friday and Paschal Sunday, which are all but universally acknowledged as historically correct. In other cases, the witness of Scripture is more attenuated and seemingly silent; dates seem to rest largely on tradition. The primary examples in this category include the Annunciation, Nativity, and Epiphany. For most of church history this was no problem: dates connected with these events were accepted in good faith as having been handed down by tradition from earlier fathers. However, with the rise of the more rationalistic Historical-Critical method and its near cousin, the History of Religions theory, “reception by tradition” fell into academic

BSac 178:709 (January-March 2021) p. 35

disrepute; the age of science rejected the traditions of faith. Today, the origin of the Christmas date in particular is sought almost exclusively outside of Scripture, typically in paganism or other extrabiblical sources. The purpose of this article is to rehabilitate the historical, faith-based position of the church by providing a chronology, based on Scripture, of the major events in the life and ministry of Christ, with an emphasis on Epiphany and the Nativity. As it happens, the traditional dates of these events have a greater claim to scriptural and historical authenticity than is popularly supposed, such that Scripture and tradition offer a far better explanation of their origin than other theories do.

History Of Religions And Calculation Theories Dispelled

The two main theories in academic circles for the origin of the Christmas date are the “History of Religions Theory” and the “Calculation Theory.” The former has it tha...