In our country, you don’t have to be a Christian to be excited about Christmas. Perhaps you just like presents or cherish the time together with family. Maybe it’s getting to decorate your house with lights or watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. Maybe it’s quoting A Christmas Story with your family or watching NFL football around the big screen.
However, while you don’t have to know the salvation made possible through Jesus Christ to enjoy Christmas, you must be born again into the family of God to understand why Christmas is so important. It is not ultimately about us at all. All of the gift giving, cookie eating, tree decorating, and football watching are but shadows of the joy that God wants us to have on Christmas. In fact, apart from the grace of the One who “upholds the universe by the word of His power,” none of us would be able to enjoy Christmas at all!
2011 years ago history records the birth of a Jewish boy in the small town of Bethlehem. But unlike every other birth ever recorded, the unique events surrounding this child’s birth make this child unique. Consider this example found in the Gospel of Luke:
And in the same region (Judea near Bethlehem) there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”
Luke 2:8-14
I’m willing to bet that your birth didn’t include a multitude of angels saying, “Glory to God in the highest!” I know mine didn’t!
How fascinating it is that the Savior of the world, Christ the Lord, would take on flesh in the very same way that we ourselves did. He spent 9 months in his mother’s womb. He was birthed. He pooped and cried and was utterly dependent on his parents for clothing and shelter and food. He didn’t come into human history immediately preaching repentance. He came as a baby. Imagine it! The King of the universe who was in the beginning with God becoming not just a man, but also a helpless baby!
It would be an absurd thing to believe if it wasn’t so clearly testified to be true. But we can believe it. The shepherds’ story is recorded in Luke. The wise men’s testimony is in Matthew. Simeon was made a promise by God that he would lay eyes on the Savior before his death. Angels from heaven proclaimed the glory of this little baby. And God Himself lay in a manger. And He grew up. And He performed many miracles, cast out demons, raised the dead. And He was crucified for His crazy claims of deity and because of the influence He was having on people.
And He rose from the dead.
Christmas is important because it marks the fullness of time when God determined to make known His salvation to the world. In a clear presentation of what Paul calls the foolishness of God being wiser than men, God sent His only Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. But He didn’t come riding on the clouds in an “end zone touchdown dance” kind of way. He came as a helpless baby just like all of us. What a foolish way for God to reveal Himself to the world! Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!
Christmas is important because our own actions and words condemn us as sinners because we have denied God’s authority and truth and exchanged His Word for our own foolishness. We have rebelled against our Creator. And without reconciliation, we will all die in our sins condemned under the just and mighty hand of God. But Christmas marks the beginning of the solution to our greatest problem: sin. Christmas signifies the birth of our Savior, Jesus.
Christmas is important because, while Jesus was in the beginning as God, He had to come to earth and become a man in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. If Jesus had never come to earth, He would not be able to stand in our place of judgment and take our sins upon Himself. He had to be made like us. He had to take on flesh. And glory to God, He did!
Christmas is important because without the appearing of Jesus Christ, the True Light, we would all still be walking in darkness. We would still have no hope. We would be condemned as sinners awaiting judgment. But Jesus came and so we have hope. Thanks be to God that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
Christmas is important because it is God’s message against what the world defines as excellent. The world celebrates wealth, possessions, success, gold medals, and prestige. It mocks gentleness, compassion, and humility as weaknesses. Perhaps from a distance we might celebrate the humility of Mother Theresa or Gandhi, but only from a distance. We don’t cherish that type of life enough to live it ourselves. But Jesus, look at Him! His humility is a product of who He is.
And there is no greater display of humility than the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ because no one else has been found in the form of God and not counted equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
True greatness came into the world at Christmas: humility, compassion, patience, grace, mercy, and love. True greatness came into the world because the God whose character produces true greatness came into the world. And He didn’t just come into the world to give us examples of great character and perform acts of service. He came into the world to save His people from their sins.
If you are still reading, please do not miss this next part! It is eternally important!
Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, is how God chose to reveal Himself and His plan of salvation to the world. Reflect on this a moment. God wanted to reveal Himself to His creation. He has done so in many ways, but the most important way is through Jesus Christ. This was God’s choice. It is not a fabrication made up to be leveraged for power by religious fanatics. God revealed Himself to us by sending Jesus to earth to live among us as a man.
The law that is written on our hearts proves to us that we cannot measure up to God’s standard. We can’t make God happy by performing well or doing good to others. Jesus’s birth gives us great hope because God has declared that we do not have to! Jesus has measured up and will always measure up to God’s standard of goodness. And He took on flesh and dwelt among us so that He might die in our place for the forgiveness of our sins! This is God’s Word. This is His message to the world. This is His wisdom and His righteousness and His love.
Jesus is not simply one path to God. Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life that God saw fit to use to proclaim and execute His plan of salvation. Jesus is the light of the world. If you reject THE light, you make God out to be a liar. But God is not a liar. God is truth and always speaks truth. If you reject the light of the world, you stand condemned already, not by God or by Christians, but by the very works that you do. Your works condemn you because they prove that you love the darkness rather than the light who is Jesus.
You must turn from the darkness and come to the light. Then you will know the living God and eternal life! Then you will be born again to a living hope. Then you will enjoy Christmas the way that it was meant to be enjoyed by celebrating the birth of a Savior, Christ the Lord.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
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