No Room In The End - Birth of Jesus Christ

Prophecy (536-530 B.C.)

Jesus would have to be born at least 30 years before the following prophecy could occur: “And after the sixty-two weeks, Messiah will be cut off, but not for Himself.” Daniel 9:26 (NKJV)

Fulfillment

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. Luke 2:1-6 (NASB)

Comment

The prophecy recorded in Daniel 9:26 predicted that the Messiah would die in the year A.D. 33. Consequently, that reveals the approximate date of Christ’s birth.

Since the Jewish religion would have required the Messiah to be at least 30 years of age before He could start His ministry, this means that the Messiah would have had to be born at least 30 years earlier. The gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus was born during the reigns of Caesar Augustus (43 B.C. – A.D. 14) and Quirinius of Syria (3-2 B.C.). Multiple church fathers also indicate that Jesus was born by at least A.D. 1 (Finegan, Jack. Handbook of Biblical Chronology, 519-526). Together, the data indicates that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. He was born early enough to die on Nisan 14, A.D. 33.