The Mystery Of Christmas

48 Hours Goes To The Holy Land To Explore The Nativity

(CBS)  This story originally aired on Dec. 20, 2005. It was updated on Dec. 19, 2007.

It’s one of the most powerful and beautiful stories in all of Western culture: the son of God, born of a virgin in a manger in Bethlehem, his coming announced by angels, celebrated by shepherds and wise men.

But is what the Bible tells us about the birth of Jesus really true? Where was Jesus born? When? How? And why? As the Christmas carol asks, “What child is this?”

48 Hours correspondent Maureen Maher explores these questions with curiosity and with respect.

Hard facts about Christmas are hard to come by, since the birth of Jesus was not a well-covered news event. To get any kind of glimpse into what really happened, one has to travel back to the first century and into the world of Jesus.

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The troubled lands of Israel and the West Bank are saturated with pilgrimage sites where, at least according to legend, the events of the Christmas story occurred.

Nowhere does the story seem more concretely real than inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

A small staircase leads down to the grotto where it is claimed that Jesus was born.

As much as we know anything, we know from multiple historical documents that Jesus was a real person who really died on a cross. But the mystery of his birth is much harder to solve.

The monuments to Christmas were built hundreds of years after the fact, and there are no contemporary documents such as birth records to delve into.

“We would like there to be records of all of this. And instead, what we have is Gospels,” says John Dominic Crossan, a former Roman Catholic monk and a professor emeritus at DePaul University.

Crossan has spent a lifetime studying the four separate texts of the New Testament that recount the life of Jesus - the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. On the subject of Christ’s birth, Crossan says, their stories are very difficult to harmonize.

“The interesting thing is, of the four gospels, Mark and John of course have no nativity story. Only Matthew and Luke,” he explains. “They agree that Mary and Joseph are the parents. They agree about a virgin birth. They agree about a birth in Bethlehem. But pretty much apart from that, the stories go completely their own way.”

The shepherds, for instance, appear only in Luke, while the magi are only in Matthew.

“When you start looking at them and realize that you can't make the way you heard it come out the same way, you have to ask, ‘Wait a minute, what's going on here?’” says Michael White, a New Testament scholar at the University of Texas. Unlike fundamentalist Christians, White concludes that the Gospels include plenty of creative writing.

“The Gospels themselves were not really intended to be the kind of newspaper-like reporting of day-to-day events that we tend to assume,” says White.

He says that’s because the Gospels aren’t just recording facts. They are making a case to convince people that Jesus was divine.

How would White suggest people read the Gospels? “To read them as religiously-motivated stories,” he says.

“They are not writing history. They are trying to tell you the meaning of history. So to do that, they have to take historical events, of course. But they will adapt them. They will change them. They will create,” says Crossan.

And most scholars agree that each Gospel author tailored his argument to fit his target audience.

“If they had a complete videotape of everything Jesus did and said, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John would still say, ‘Well, no, I'm going to adapt that for my community,’” Crossan says, with a laugh.

The Gospel of Matthew, for instance, was written for newly-converted Jews.

“It's a message that gets involved in the whole sense of Jewish identity and the role of Jesus as the Messiah,” says White.

“Matthew is in there, saying in effect, ‘It's the Christian way that is the future for Judaism,’” says Crossan.

The implications for the accuracy of the Christmas story are profound.

“It becomes pretty clear, I think, that Matthew is creating a lot of the story,” says White.

Where was Jesus really born? Matthew says in Bethlehem, which is, coincidentally, the home of the great Jewish King David and the place where the Jews had always expected their messiah to come from.

“It is the natural way to link Jesus into the lineage of David,” says White.

Some scholars argue that it all seems to fit too well.

“Born in Bethlehem is a clue that we are making the claim that this child is the Messiah,” says Crossan. “But nobody else seems to know anything about it in the New Testament…. It doesn't seem, for example, that John, in John's gospel, has any idea that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.”

But if Jesus was not born in Bethlehem, then where? Crossan and White believe the name says it all: Jesus of Nazareth.

“It's probably the case he was born in Nazareth,” says White. “He's called ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ And that would've been the norm, that is, wherever you're born is the namesake that you will carry with you.”

Instead of a manger, the actual birthplace might have been within a house. “The houses that we have excavated at Nazareth are very often very small, tiny houses, many of them backing into a cliff which has a cave in it,” says Crossan.

But we don’t know exactly where that house might have stood. While most of the ancient village has been excavated, part of it remains buried under what is now the bustling present-day town of Nazareth.

It may be hard to grasp, but there’s a real possibility that Jesus was actually born on a plot of ground now used as a market place, unmarked by a church or even a monument.

But if Matthew concocted the Bethlehem birthplace to inspire his Jewish audience, what else did he make up? White suspects other episodes were inspired by another Jewish hero.

“There's this constant undercurrent in Matthew to Moses stories and Exodus stories, and aspects of the life of Moses,” says White.

For example, Matthew writes that Herod, the power-mad king of the Jews, ordered the slaughter of all the young boys in Bethlehem, and Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fled to Egypt.

“So, now Matthew is saying to himself, ‘Jesus is the new Moses. Aha, I know what I'll do. When Moses was born, Pharaoh tried to kill him, and kill all the young men. I will say the same of Herod,' ” says Crossan.

In a cave underneath the Church of the Nativity lie the skulls of Herod’s alleged victims. To some they look too big to be those of children.

“We have no historical evidence that such a massive slaughter or any kind of event like that ever occurred,” says White. He adds that there is no historical evidence he is aware of that the holy family fled to Egypt.

But if Matthew took liberties with the truth, what about Luke?

“The birth narrative in Luke is far more miraculous at every turn. More spectacular,” says White.

And how did people who first heard the Christmas story respond to its most important miracle, the virgin birth?

[gwhoward1]

For Loree Phillips'' report of 12/25/07@ 11:19pm. I agree with your overall setiment regarding the Bible and it''s authenticity being of utmost importance. I would just like you to clear a slight error in your thnking. The John who is the son of Elizabeth is John the baptist, not the apostle John. The apostle''s writings of John the baptist, knowing Jesus to be the sinless Lamb of God, would certainly bring a sensible understanding that he knew everything pretaining to this revelation.

[teilhard8]

Having seen this special for the third time, it has really become benign from a theological point of view. All of the Gospels were written by groups of people over the course of at least 100 years after Christ, so there is plenty of room for conjecture.

I can honestly say from my contacts that no single church, including the Catholic Church, has the subject down pat. The information age (Internet) has allowed the vast sharing of information which is contrarian to the inculcated, indoctrinated responses most people have grown up with. I have yet to find any real continuity even among Catholic priests on their interpretations.

This special has given me one idea. John Dominic Crossan''s current address is one mile north of my parents, west of Orlando. He would certainly be an interesting person to look up.

Before I close, I wanted to wish Maureen Maher a belated Happy Birthday.

Lordy, lordy, now ALL 48 Hours correspondents have indeed, officially, turned...40!!!

[LKanner]

How sad... This program picks apart the New Testament, specifically the gospels without fair and balanced reporting! I watched it expecting it to attempt to unravel my faith (although I am not sure what good that would do). Having worked in PR for most of my life I can tell you this is an example of LAZY reporting. Producers find someone who has an opinion and will call them back! To have a balanced report would require that they double the number of interviews and the expense/time/effort that goes with it. Please know Ms. Maher and CBS producers you will have to answer for every soul lost resulting from your poor reporting...

Signed-
One Less CBS Viewer

[red8730]

If only the reporter did her homework or is she paid to be ignorant? Let%u2019s see if CBS will do a show on Islam and doubt some of Islam''s doctrine. Oh wait they can''t do that - they would be in fear for their lives.

Miss TV Reporter and those noted scholars forgot about this - It was prophesied some 500 years earlier that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem.

Mat 2:5 And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea. For so it is written by the prophet,
Mat 2:6 "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the governors of Judah. For out of you shall come a Governor who shall rule My people Israel."

Shall we talk about the 100 other prophesizes of the Christ?

CBS is a joke if it considers itself a reliable source of information. Its not.

[jeff-fla]

Why is this story a bad one?
Because x-mas just might be make believe?

No story from the bible can be untrue?

Here are two.

Moses

Exodus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exodus

Humm makes you think?

[jeff-fla]

Why is this story a bad one?
Because x-mas just might be make believe?

No story from the bible can be untrue?

Here are two.

Moses

Exodus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exodus

Humm makes you think?

[crtclthnkr]

As a "hard reporter" you have to be polite and respectful to those you are postulating against, or else they might recognize your cloying, hit-and-run approach and realize this is not a soft interview. So what if it is a one-sided essay and not an objective report? To air this on Christmas Day is a direct challenge to believers. So what? It''s OK to insult Christians, and even popular, so let''s go with it. The question a lot of us have is "What Is The Point, CBS and Ms. Maher? To real believers, the miracles are seen every day in changed lives; not how big a car God got us, or how prosperous we''ve become as Christians, or how big the Fish sticker on our car is, but how our attitudes have been changed by God''s Grace by our Reconciliation to Him through Christ''s Birth and Sacrifice. No matter what anyone says, or how cynically non-believers try to stretch the Truth, NOTHING can change that. What IS the point, CBS?

[crtclthnkr]

How respectful Maureen Maher is! Let''s see: A beautiful story, yes. But is it true? Let''s investigate. Of course the only way to get a true investigation is to go to the "Theologians" who really don''t believe the biblical record of Jesus'' birth. That''s the "hard reporting" way.

[xpagan]

You all beat me to it. I also was appauled at the program and I truthfully can not believe that CBS would air such a biased opinion of a religious holiday on that holiday. However, I am also encouraged to think that we are being persecuted (ever so little) in our own country. This is nothing brothers and sisters, keep the faith and tell everyone what the truth is.

God Bless and Merry Christmas,
xpagan

[schmoog1970]

For once I would like an investigative reporting program, which is attempting to unravel the mysteries of Christianity, to do an actual thorough job. Why do you choose to only quote from liberal theologians? At the minimum, why not choose those on both sides of the argument and let the audience decide? You would do well to include some of the scholars that investigative reporter Lee Strobel, formal legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, has interviewed to answer some of the questions you asked in his book "The Case For Christmas". If you would have you and your audience could have seen that there is excellent proof for the census that was taken at the time of Quirinius, governor of Syria which would have forced Joseph and Mary to return to Bethlehem (and not Nazareth); or proof that the gospels are very accurate historically. Luke for instance is very meticulous in his descriptions and time and again archeology has confirmed his writings.

Next time please do a more thorough job of actual investigative journalism and then truth will speak for itself.

Signed,

A concerned viewer.

[schmoog1970]

For once I would like an investigative reporting program, which is attempting to unravel the mysteries of Christianity, to do an actual thorough job. Why do you choose to only quote from liberal theologians? At the minimum, why not choose those on both sides of the argument and let the audience decide? You would do well to include some of the scholars that investigative reporter Lee Strobel, formal legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, has interviewed to answer some of the questions you asked in his book "The Case For Christmas". If you would have you and your audience could have seen that there is excellent proof for the census that was taken at the time of Quirinius, governor of Syria which would have forced Joseph and Mary to return to Bethlehem (and not Nazareth); or proof that the gospels are very accurate historically. Luke for instance is very meticulous in his descriptions and time and again archeology has confirmed his writings.

Next time please do a more thorough job of actual investigative journalism and then truth will speak for itself.

Signed,

A concerned viewer.

[schmoog1970]

For once I would like an investigative reporting program, which is attempting to unravel the mysteries of Christianity, to do an actual thorough job. Why do you choose to only quote from liberal theologians? At the minimum, why not choose those on both sides of the argument and let the audience decide? You would do well to include some of the scholars that investigative reporter Lee Strobel, formal legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, has interviewed to answer some of the questions you asked in his book "The Case For Christmas". If you would have you and your audience could have seen that there is excellent proof for the census that was taken at the time of Quirinius, governor of Syria which would have forced Joseph and Mary to return to Bethlehem (and not Nazareth); or proof that the gospels are very accurate historically. Luke for instance is very meticulous in his descriptions and time and again archeology has confirmed his writings.

Next time please do a more thorough job of actual investigative journalism and then truth will then speak for itself.

Signed,

A concerned viewer.

[schmoog1970]

For once I would like an investigative reporting program, which is attempting to unravel the mysteries of Christianity, to do an actual thorough job. Why do you choose to only quote from liberal theologians? Why not choose those on both sides of the arguments and let the audience decide? You would do well to include some of the scholars that investigative reporter Lee Strobel, formal legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, has interviewed to answer some of the questions you asked in his book "The Case For Christmas". If you would have you and your audience could have seen that there is excellent proof for the census that was taken at the time of Quirinius, governor of Syria which would have forced Joseph and Mary to return to Bethlehem (and not Nazareth); or proof that the gospels are very accurate historically. Luke for instance is very meticulous in his descriptions and time and again archeology has confirmed his writings.

Next time please do a more thorough job of actual investigative journalism.

Signed,

A concerned viewer.

[schmoog1970]

For once I would like an investigative reporting program, which is attempting to unravel the mysteries of Christianity, to do an actual thorough job. Why do you choose to only quote from liberal theologians? Why not choose those on both sides of the arguments and let the audience decide? You would do well to include some of the scholars that investigative reporter Lee Strobel, formal legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, has interviewed to answer some of the questions you asked in his book "The Case For Christmas". If you would have you and your audience could have seen that there is excellent proof for the census that was taken at the time of Quirinius, governor of Syria which would have forced Joseph and Mary to return to Bethlehem (and not Nazareth); or proof that the gospels are very accurate historically. Luke for instance is very meticulous in his descriptions and time and again archeology has confirmed his writings.

Next time please do a more thorough job of actual investigative journalism.

Signed,

A concerned viewer.

[schmoog1970]

For once I would like an investigative reporting program, which is attempting to unravel the mysteries of Christianity, to do an actual thorough job. Why do you choose to only quote from liberal theologians? Why not choose those on both sides of the arguments and let the audience decide? You would do well to include some of the scholars that investigative reporter Lee Strobel, formal legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, has interviewed to answer some of the questions you asked in his book "The Case For Christmas". If you would have you and your audience could have seen that there is excellent proof for the census that was taken at the time of Quirinius, governor of Syria which would have forced Joseph and Mary to return to Bethlehem (and not Nazareth); or proof that the gospels are very accurate historically. Luke for instance is very meticulous in his descriptions and time and again archeology has confirmed his writings.

Next time please do a more thorough job of actual investigative journalism.

Signed,

A concerned viewer.

[mss0603]

The birth "divine'' or not?? It is your faith it really does''nt matter what anyone thinks. As stated, whether it is divine or not, you have to know that this belief has withstood the test of time. When you are in high school, every student asks "Why do I need to take a history class, it''s alrady happened??" Every teacher answers the same "Because history has a way of repeating itself.."
Just like in the days of JESUS, you have believers and non believers. As you read these comments by people, it seems to kinda be repeating itself, don''t you think? There will come a day when all questions shall be answered..I pray that we are all happy with the answer../. As for stabbing at Islam and other religions, I really don''t care to even here about any more of it. The Muslims are proving their beliefs everyday. Remember, any publisity is good publisity. God Bless..

[jubas7]

After a long and joyous holiday, celebrating our Savior''s birth, with my family, I settled in to watch with interest your 48 hr segment. I was horrified by the way the children were "grilled" about their beliefs and the correspondance continued questioning of these little children whether they believed the "story" of Christ''s birth was fictitious. What a horror and insult. Why didn''t the authorities of this Catholic school throw your crew out? You are no longer welcome in my home.

[rsmsd]

Thank you, thank you ... for having the courage once again to air this beautiful program. I am encouraged and revitalized by theologians like Crossan. He is an inspiration to me. I thank him, and I thank you, for enriching our faith with history. It can be easy sometimes to think historical accuracy conflicts with faith. This need not be so. Programs like this bless my life and renew my hope for Christianity.

[fload46d]

This is a bunch of hogwash! The Communists have nothing on you people! Whenever they started their program in a country they had to destroy real Catholicism and this is how they did it. With lots of lies. Why don''t you also do a show on the fraud of Islam, Protestantism and modern Judaism?

[w2gt]

What I find amusing is psy_war%u2019s stab at Christians who %u201Cbegin to lose [their faith] the minute anyone challenges the admittedly contradictory and ahistorical gospel accounts of Jesus.%u201D He wants to be able to throw a few punches at Christians while dismissing any rebuttal of admittedly biased and ahistorical reporting as evidence of Christians wavering in their faith. As your web board name indicates, this is a psychological war being waged here, but don%u2019t be so insulting as to think that this is mostly about the weak-minded Christians fearful about their own faith. This is about the battle for the minds and souls of non-believers. They watch programs such as these that prominently display %u201Cscholars%u201D, all complete with libraries of books behind them, that debunk the Biblical accounts while the only rebuttal comes from a lone Christian being interviewed at times with stained glassed backgrounds. They walk away from such programs never investigating any further the issues raised, assuming they have already been settled by true %u201Cscholars.%u201D

psy_war is also right. We Christians need to calm down. Debates in this forum rarely get read by such impressionable nonbelievers as only the impassioned from opposite sides that find their way to these sites to do battle.