The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ 

was divided into three installments. One installment went to Caesar Augustus and to Herod. Another went to 

some kind of debt, related to the building of the Temple.

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     The third installment is intended for widows and poor people, who have had nothing for a long time, but 

of all this little reaches the right people, just as happens to day. The money is meant for nothing but good 

causes, and yet remains in the hands of the great. 

180

    The Jewish religious leaders assisted in the collection of the tax by making their genealogical records 

available, thus helping the Romans to identify the Jews for the enrollment and taxation. In return, the Jewish 

religious leaders received a portion of the tax money, for the relief of the poor. Yet, according to Blessed Anne 

Catherine, that tax money remained mostly in the hands of the Jewish leaders, though they were supposed to 

dispense the money to the poor among their own people. These Jewish leaders took money intended for 

widows, orphans, and the poor, and kept most of it for themselves. 

    Years later, Jesus was asked whether or not the Jews should pay the Roman tax.  Jesus said to them, 

`Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.'   (Mk 12:17). Jesus is 

here criticizing the Pharisees for receiving and keeping part of the tax money. He is saying that the tax money, 

paid in Roman coinage, could be lawfully paid to the Romans, but it was not right for the Pharisees and other 

religious leaders to receive and keep a portion of the money. The things of Caesar, the tax money, should only 

go to Caesar, not to the religious leaders. The Jewish religious leaders were supposed to belong only to God. 

    The Pharisees were hypocritical in the matter of the taxation. They helped collect the tax by providing 

genealogical and other information to the Romans about the Jewish people, and they even kept some of the 

tax money for themselves, yet they despised those among their own people who dirtied their hands by actually 

collecting the money (Lk 15:1 2; 18:10 11). They must have understood the answer which Jesus gave about 

taxation as being, in part, a criticism of their hypocrisy concerning the tax money. 

The Death of King Herod 

    As explained in chapter 12, Herod died in early 8 

B.C.

 Blessed Anne Catherine places the death of Herod 

about the sixth year of Christ's life.  He died about the time of Christ's sixth year. 

181

 By these words, she 

could mean when Jesus was six years old, in other words, when Jesus had completed just over six years since 

His Birth. Or, she could mean when Jesus was five years old, since he would have completed five full years 

since His Birth, and would then be in His sixth year. 

    In another place, she states the age of Christ at Herod's death differently.  (I am not sure whether it was in 

His fifth or seventh year) . I saw two angels appearing to Him and announcing the death of Herod the 

Great. 

182

 If Herod died after Christ's sixth birthday, then Christ would have been in His seventh year since 

Birth at that time. And if his death occurred only a little while after Christ's sixth birthday, then the statement 

the Herod died  about the time of  Christ's sixth year would also be a good approximation. This 

interpretation also agrees with the conclusion of chapter 12, that Herod died in early 8 

B.C.

 So, despite Blessed 

Anne Catherine's uncertainty on this point, Jesus was about six years old at the time of Herod's death. 

    The usual assumption of Biblical chronologists is that Herod died about 2 years after the Birth of Christ, 

shortly after the Massacre of the Holy Innocents. The Gospel of Matthew does not mention any events 

between the death of the Holy Infants and Herod's death (Mt 2:18, 19). However, the assumption that Herod 

died soon after his attempt to kill the Christ Child is unwarranted. Sacred Scripture indicates only that Herod 

was still alive about 2 years after the Birth of Christ. There is no plain statement in the Gospel of Matthew as 

to the total number of years from the Birth of Christ to the death of Herod. 

    When telling a story about a series of events, it is neither necessary nor usual to describe the events of every 

period of time from the start of the story to the end. Ordinarily, the events important to the story are related in 

some detail, and any events that are not relevant to the story are omitted no matter what the length of time. 

Just because there is no mention of the period of time between two events does not mean that the events 

occurred immediately one after the other. 

    Notice here that, of the three years which we initially considered as possible years for the Birth of Jesus 

Christ 15 

B.C.

, 4 

B.C.

, 

A.D.

 3 only the year 15 

B.C.

 makes sense, if Herod died about 6 years after the Birth 

of Christ. If Christ was born in 4 

B.C.

, then He would have reached His sixth birthday in late 

A.D.

 3, placing 

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