While we celebrate the birth of Christ today, the celebration of Christmas did not occur for over 300 years after the birth of Jesus (336 A.D.). However, the truth that Christmas represents – the birth of Jesus begins to unveil the hope we can have for a Savior from sin. Today, we will consider what it means for Jesus to be human.
Scripture References: Heb 10:4-12, Heb 10:14-15, Heb 5:1-4, 2Pe 1:3-4, Luke 4:1-13, Heb 4:15-16, Phi 2:3-11
My sources place it earlier.
https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=1225161257171
While unable to listen to all of the cited sermon, the first known mention of Christmas occurred in an old list of Roman bishops compiled in A. D. 354. Dionysus Exiguus, a sixth-century monk, was the first to date all of history from December 25th as a starting point in light of the birth of Jesus. The words that appear for A.D. 336: “25 Dec. natus Christus in Betleem Judeae” (Trans: December 25th, Christ born in Bethlehem, Judea.). Cross, F. L., and Livingstone, E. A. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford, 1997.
Thank you for sharing your source and I have no doubt of your research, pastor.
I was just showing additional cool data you may not have seen.
Bc of your time crunch, Dr. White gets to it at 29:40
“Minimally,, …being very very conservative, you can place the Jan 6 date in the early 200s, and the Dec 25th date in the west probably the 250s…and mentioned in passing and not as if it was brand new.”
Fun, right?
(additional data about 5-10 mins before the time stamp about Beckwith’s scholarship)
Thanks. Yes, the concept was not new to some pockets of people, but the formalized acceptance of the date of what we call “Christmas” as connected to the birth of Christ is recognized as being 336 A.D. While Dr. White can mention probabilities or general awareness of an earlier time, the 336 date stands as the first citation as a formal recognition as far as I know.