I am the Light of the World

As far back as 600 BC, Thales of Miletus observed static electricity. Thales was born 624/623 and died 548/545 BC. He was an ancient pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor.

Fast forward 2 250 years, Benjamin Franklin was born on the 6^th January 1706 according to the Julian calendar and the annunciation style of enumerating years. He was a writer, scientist, inventor and politician. He was also an editor and a printer in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin died on the 17^th April 1790. His studies of electricity made him a major figure in the American enlightenment. With his kite experiment in 1752, he demonstrated the connection between lightning and electricity and significantly advanced the understanding of the electrical phenomenon.

Alessandra Volta was born on the 18^th February 1745, thirty-nine years after Benjamin Franklin. He improved the electrophorus, a device used to generate static electricity. He was appointed to the chair of physics at the University of Pavia in 1779 and invented the electric battery. He passed away on the 5^th March 1827.

Michael Faraday improved on the invention of Volta and invented the first electric motor. He was born on 22^nd  September 1791 and died on the 25^th August 1867. In 1831 James Clerk Maxwell, a physicist unified electricity, magnetism and light into a single framework by showing that they are all manifestations of the same fundamental force: the electromagnetic force. He is also credited with the classical theory of radiation. He was born on the 13^th of June 1831 and died on the 5^th of November 1879. His key contribution was a set of mathematical equations, now known as the Maxwell’s equations.

Another trailblazer in the field of electricity is Nicola Tesla. Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer. Nicola Tesla developed the alternate electric current, AC, the tesla coil in 1897, fluorescent and neon lighting and remote control amongst many others. Nicola Tesla was born on 10^th July 1856, and died on 7^th January 1943.

In another village, 2 000 years ago in Bethlehem, a city located ten kilometres south of Jerusalem, Jesus was born. The exact date of His birth is unknown. Herod Antipas, also referred to Herod the Great, ruled over Galilee at that time. This places the birth date of Jesus around 4 BC. That Jesus’ birth was a significant event, is clear from the words of Herod: “where is He that has been born King of the Jews,” Matthew 2:2.

Although the 25^th of December is celebrated as the birth date of Jesus, it is unlikely that this is the correct date for the following reasons:

• Luke 2:8 states that the shepherds were out in the field at night keeping watch over their flocks. December is winter in Israel and it is unlikely that the flocks would be out in the field at night in winter.
• The Roman census which took place at the birth of Christ, would likely not have been conducted in the dead of winter due to travelling constraints.
• The early Church never celebrated the 25^th of December as the date Jesus was born.
• The 25^th of December coincides with the pagan festival of Saturnalia. This festival was in honour of the Roman god Saturn, marking the end of the autumn planting season and the winter solstice. It was celebrated with feasting, singing and gambling. All business came to a halt. The festival was also marked by exchanging gifts.
• Jesus’ birth date likely would have coincided with the Feast of Tabernacles which is about September/October on the Gregorian calendar. This assumption is based on the fact that Jesus came to fulfil the Old Testament Feasts. The Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the 40-year wandering of Israel in the desert. Apart from this fact, it is also a time of rejoicing, and a symbolic looking forward to a future age of peace when all nations will worship God. Jesus, according to Isaiah is the Prince of Peace. In addition, the Gospel of John uses the word “tabernacle.” It states: “The Word became flesh and tabernacled or dwelt among us.” The Greek word for “dwelt “ in this text ἐσκήνωσεν eskenosen , which means “to dwell in tents,” reinforces the Tabernacles birth date.
• The angel Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband was serving in the temple in the division of Abijah when she was told that she would conceive. This coincided with the month of Tammuz. Elizabeth would then have conceived in the fifth month, which is the month of Av. Six months of Elizabeth’s pregnancy plus nine months of Mary’s pregnancy arrive at Tishri, September / October on the Gregorian calendar.

There is also much debate around the exact crucifixion date. The day Jesus was crucified is clear, the 14^th of Nisan. According to the narrative in Exodus, the Passover lambs were sacrificed on the 14^th of Nisan which was a shadow of Jesus as He is the Lamb slain for the sin of the world. The year however, is debated. Some scholars argue for a 30 AD, and others for a 33 AD date. Support for both these dates can be found from the Luke narrative. The ministry of Jesus started, according to Luke 3, in the 15^th year of the reign of Tiberius. The difficulty is to establish the first year of the reign of Tiberius. If it is calculated from his co-regency with Augustus, which was 12 AD, it would mean that the 15^th year of his regency was 27 AD, and the crucifixion date is then 30 AD, three and a half years after Jesus started His ministry. However, if it is based on Tiberius’ succession of Augustus’ after his death in 15 AD, it would place the date of the crucifixion in 33 AD.

It is astounding that the precise dates of the births and deaths of the inventors of electricity are documented to the day, month and year. Even the Roman rulers at the time Jesus was on earth, like Julius Ceasar, who was born on the 12^th of July 100 BC and died on 15^th of March 44 BC, is documented. The dates of the birth and death of the Light of the World, however, Who was prophesied about in every book of the Old Testament, were not recorded.

His birth and death were both significantly announced by celestial events, His birth, by the Bethlehem Star, and His death by three hours of darkness over the earth. However, in the case of Christ’s birth and death,  historicity is completely without importance. Kierkegaard’s philosophy regarding the great philosophers, can equally apply to the inventors of electricity: It is important to know when Miletus, Franklin, Volta, Faraday and Tesla died, because they are all dead, but in the case of the birth and death of Christ, what is important, is the fact that He is alive.

May the Lord shine into your heart this festive season the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

John 1:9. “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world, and the world was made through him, yet, the world did not know Him”.