I love it when kids ask questions which confound adults. Our Sunday School leader approached me after Christmas with a good question one of our young people asked in Sunday School. “If Jesus were alive today, how old would he be?” There was some argument in the group over whether Jesus would be 2013 years of age or not. Fortunately, the Sunday School leader said she would check it out and come back with an answer. And the answer is, “It depends.” No one, with any certainly, can give a definitive date for the birth of Jesus, no matter if we celebrate it on December 25 every year. We can say with reasonable certainly that he was not born on December 25, 2013 years ago. In several recent issues of the magazine Biblical Archeology Review, a series of letters lays out the various arguments for and against the relative dating of the birth of Jesus. The conversation began when Dr. John A Cramer, Professor of Physics at Ogelthorpe University, Atlanta Georgia, suggested that the usual date of 4 BC for Jesus’ birth was probably not close to being accurate. The date of 4 BC us usually accepted as the year of Jesus’ birth because that is the date ascribed by Gospel writers Luke and Matthew. Both associate Jesus’ birth to the reign of Herod the Great. This is corroborated by an external source, the Roman historian Josephus, who refers to a lunar eclipse shortly before Herod died. Astronomers have found such an eclipse occurred on March 13, 4 BC. However, Cramer suggested that this was only a partial eclipse and only visible very late at night in Judea. He suggests that this was not the eclipse mentioned by Josephus and went on to say that the next lunar eclipses, which occurred in 1 BC and specifically on December 29, were much more visible and would be remembered. Jergen Tempelman of New York responded to Professor Cramer in a recent issue of Biblical Archeology Review with a detailed argument supporting the 4 BC date. Dr. Cramer responded to Mr. Tempelman’s arguments very graciously but pointed out that none of the information we have about Jesus birth date is conclusive. Going back to Roman historian Josephus in much more detail, Cramer points out that Herod’s death was bracketed by “a fast” and Passover. Correlation of Josephus with the lunar calender of that day suggests that the only events which fit that description are Yom Kippur between mid-September to mid-October and the 15th of March or April. Turning to known lunar eclipses, Cramer says that only four can be found in that time period; September 5, 5 BC, March 12-13 4 BC, January 10 1 BC and December 29, 1 BC. The first eclipse occurred to early in the evening to be visible, and can be set aside. The favourite date of 4 BC sounds promising, but was too early in the evening to be visible. The January 10, 1 BC date fits, but again was too early in the evening, leaving December 29, 1 BC as the most probable, both being around the time of Herod’s death and falling between Yom Kippur and Pentecost. Cramer rightly points out that no date for Jesus’ birth fits exactly; based on external and astrological evidence, 4 BC is the least likely date and December 29, 1 BC the most likely date of Herod’s death. Jesus’ birth would have been within that time frame. So how old is Jesus? We don’t know, with any certainty. But around 2013 years isn’t a bad guess. With a margin for error. Thanks to the kids who ask the most interesting and fascinating questions. Rev. David Shearman is the minister of Central Westside United Church, Owen Sound and host of Faithworks on Rogers TV - Grey County