#RAD
What Was The Christ Doing, c. ~ 2,000 Years Ago Today?
Do you know what the Bible says that Jesus Christ / Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Rabbi Yeshua bar Yosef) was doing some c. ~ 2,000 years ago this month, mid November 2015? Well not much at all really. Classic church traditional teaching is that Jesus was birthed in c. ~ 1 BC, would have experienced His now infamous preaching in Jerusalem at the age of twelve years, in c. ~ A.D. 12, commenced with His earthly Ministry in c. ~ A.D. 30, and was crucified, died, buried and Resurrected in c. ~ A.D. 33. But is a birth year of 1 BC reasonable in view of A) Matthew’s story as depicted in Matthew 2:16 – “And Herodus, when he saw that he was mocked by The Magi, was greatly enraged, and he sent and killed all the boys of Bethlehem and of all of its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time he had searched out from the Magi.” – (Aramaic Bible in Plain English); and B ) in view of what history tells us about Herod the Great, in specificity about the time of Herod’s death?
History tells us that Herod’s “Slaughter of the Innocents” (1) (or “Massacre of the Innocents”) had to have occurred before 4 BC (or at least before c. ~ March of 4 BC), as that is when Herod the Great is said to have died. (2). If Christ was born anywhere from as recently as, the winter (January / February) of 4 BC to as long ago as the late summer or even fall (August through December) of 7 BC, Christ’s age at the time of Herod’s death would be anywhere from a few weeks old to a couple of months old (January / February 4 BC), to as much as 30 months (2 ½ years) at the time that Herod gave his heinous order. Let’s just pick 16 November 7 BC as an arbitrary date for Christ’s birth. (I do not care if you celebrate, as do I and my own family, the birth of our Lord on the date of December 25th or not, as this is not about whether or not that date is fact or fiction. It really matters not either way, as the important issue is NOT the express specific date of His birth, rather it’s about the simple fact of His birth).
What Was The Christ Doing, c. ~ 2,000 Years Ago Today?
Do you know what the Bible says that Jesus Christ / Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Rabbi Yeshua bar Yosef) was doing some c. ~ 2,000 years ago this month, mid November 2015? Well not much at all really. Classic church traditional teaching is that Jesus was birthed in c. ~ 1 BC, would have experienced His now infamous preaching in Jerusalem at the age of twelve years, in c. ~ A.D. 12, commenced with His earthly Ministry in c. ~ A.D. 30, and was crucified, died, buried and Resurrected in c. ~ A.D. 33. But is a birth year of 1 BC reasonable in view of A) Matthew’s story as depicted in Matthew 2:16 – “And Herodus, when he saw that he was mocked by The Magi, was greatly enraged, and he sent and killed all the boys of Bethlehem and of all of its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time he had searched out from the Magi.” – (Aramaic Bible in Plain English); and B ) in view of what history tells us about Herod the Great, in specificity about the time of Herod’s death?
History tells us that Herod’s “Slaughter of the Innocents” (1) (or “Massacre of the Innocents”) had to have occurred before 4 BC (or at least before c. ~ March of 4 BC), as that is when Herod the Great is said to have died. (2). If Christ was born anywhere from as recently as, the winter (January / February) of 4 BC to as long ago as the late summer or even fall (August through December) of 7 BC, Christ’s age at the time of Herod’s death would be anywhere from a few weeks old to a couple of months old (January / February 4 BC), to as much as 30 months (2 ½ years) at the time that Herod gave his heinous order. Let’s just pick 16 November 7 BC as an arbitrary date for Christ’s birth. (I do not care if you celebrate, as do I and my own family, the birth of our Lord on the date of December 25th or not, as this is not about whether or not that date is fact or fiction. It really matters not either way, as the important issue is NOT the express specific date of His birth, rather it’s about the simple fact of His birth).
Using
mid November 7 BC, this would place Christ at the bold young age of 20
years. Eight years post the Boy Jesus preaching
at the Temple in Jerusalem. Thus some
2,000 years ago today, the young man Jesus, was very likely working with His
(earthly) step-dad, Joseph as a Carpenter (3),
in dad’s workshop or with dad, in dad’s place
of employ (4). This 7 BC
date presents some challenges to the traditional A.D. 30 commencement and A.D.
33 crucifixion dates, requiring that they be pushed back in to antiquity to
something more along the lines of A.D. 24 commencement and A.D. 27 crucifixion
dates.
And hereto as with His birth ‘date’, the exegetical, the foundational to the Christian faith and the central core issue, is not about whether or not those dates are, in fact, “fact” or “fiction”. It really matters not either way, as the important issue(s) here is / (are) NOT the express specific date of either His ministerial commencement or death (or even of His Resurrection), rather it’s about the simple facts of the events of His Ministry, Death and Resurrection!
But if it’s not exegetical, or even remotely important, why even talk about it? It’s a fascinating subject matter, that’s all. It’s interesting, and it is intriguing to muse over the fact that some eight years ago, we were 2,000 years post the Boy Jesus preaching at the Temple in Jerusalem! It is somehow exciting that in eight to ten more years, we will be 2,000 years post the commencement of the earthly Ministry of Jesus. And that in about a dozen or so years, should the Lord’s return tarry that long, we will be 2,000 years post His very crucifixion, death (as it is by and through His death that we as Christians are truly set free, II Timothy 1:10; Yeshayah 25:8; and Hebrews 2:14) and Resurrection (and yes, it is by His Resurrection that we as Christians have hope, I Corinthians 15:20; Romans 8:11 and I Peter 1:3, for new life in Christ. A hope that is available to ALL of humankind Romans 10:9 and John 3:16-17. Isn’t that truly #RAD?!)
And hereto as with His birth ‘date’, the exegetical, the foundational to the Christian faith and the central core issue, is not about whether or not those dates are, in fact, “fact” or “fiction”. It really matters not either way, as the important issue(s) here is / (are) NOT the express specific date of either His ministerial commencement or death (or even of His Resurrection), rather it’s about the simple facts of the events of His Ministry, Death and Resurrection!
But if it’s not exegetical, or even remotely important, why even talk about it? It’s a fascinating subject matter, that’s all. It’s interesting, and it is intriguing to muse over the fact that some eight years ago, we were 2,000 years post the Boy Jesus preaching at the Temple in Jerusalem! It is somehow exciting that in eight to ten more years, we will be 2,000 years post the commencement of the earthly Ministry of Jesus. And that in about a dozen or so years, should the Lord’s return tarry that long, we will be 2,000 years post His very crucifixion, death (as it is by and through His death that we as Christians are truly set free, II Timothy 1:10; Yeshayah 25:8; and Hebrews 2:14) and Resurrection (and yes, it is by His Resurrection that we as Christians have hope, I Corinthians 15:20; Romans 8:11 and I Peter 1:3, for new life in Christ. A hope that is available to ALL of humankind Romans 10:9 and John 3:16-17. Isn’t that truly #RAD?!)
“No
Jesus, NO peace” and yet, “Know Jesus, KNOW peace”
How
does one get to “know” Jesus? Simple,
invite Him into your heart, as Jesus says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with
him, and he with me.” [Revelation
3:20 NIV] How can we be assured that this Jesus stuff
means anything? Well because the Bible
tells us so, as the Apostle Paul wrote:
“If
you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess
your faith and are saved.” [Romans
10:9-10 NIV]
And
for those of you who say to me, I can’t be bothered reading the Bible, “it’s
confusing” or “it’s a waste of my time”, may I draw your attention to what the
Bible says about wisdom: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” [Proverbs 9:10 NIV]
If
nothing else, PLEASE read two chapters from the Bible – (don’t own one, sorry
NO excuse, if you’re reading this, you can access this: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16&version=NIV) John 3 and John
14!
John
3:16 says: “For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.”
And
John 14:6 says: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.”
Well that’s it,
that’s Da Bauz’s take on, What The Christ Was Doing, c. ~ 2,000 Years Ago Today,
this 16th day of November, 2015 © 2015, All Rights Reserved. wr (Da
Bauz, Christian Zionist “creationist” too!)
What
is #RAD? #RAD is:
R
epent of rejecting Christ
A
ccept Christ as your Lord
D
evelop your relationship with the Living Almighty God Himself as your personal
Lord and Saviour
John
3:16, Revelation 3:20, Romans 10:9 -10, Revelation 21:27, II Corinthians 5:21
and I John 5:13 / John 20:31!
Shalom!
Cited or consulted
sources and resources
(2)
- http://bit.ly/1ONm8t6 - Hope Of Israel dot org
(3) - Mark 6:3, Aramaic
Bible in Plain English
(4) - Matthew
13:55, KJV
