• Augustus Caesar reigned from 27 BCE to 14 CE (Luke 2:1).
Therefore–Jesus was born between 27 BCE and 14 CE.
• Herod the Great reigned from 37 BCE to 4 BCE (Matthew 2:1).
Therefore–Jesus was born between 27 BCE and 4 BCE.
• The correct date of Herod’s death is early 1 BCE.
Therefore–Jesus was born between 27 BCE and early 1 BCE.
• Herod’s margin for error was two years.
Therefore–Jesus was born sometime between early 3 BCE and early 1 BCE.
• The decree for the registration and oath of allegiance to Augustus Caesar was issued in the summer of 3 BCE and had to be completed before early winter 2 BCE.
Therefore–Jesus was born between the summer of 3 BC and early winter of 2 BCE.
• The fact that the Magi visited a child in a house—not a baby in a manger—indicates that Jesus was likely over one year old at the time of their arrival in late 2 BCE. (Just prior to Herod’s death in early 1 BCE.)
Therefore–Jesus was born between the summer of 3 BCE and the end of the same year—that is—in the fall.
Originally aired on TBTRN on October 15, 2021