The Reason For The Season
We know that December 25th isn’t really the day that Jesus was born, but we celebrate it then anyway.
And that’s okay.
Yet there are many people who celebrate Christmas without any knowledge of the significance of Jesus. They just love the decorations, the gift giving, and the parties. In fact, for many, Santa Claus is the one they celebrate – with little or no acknowledgement of Jesus.
And that’s not okay.
We need to celebrate Jesus, the Savior of the world, as the one and only reason for celebrating Christmas. So let’s take a look at the real meaning of Christmas and why it’s truly a significant time of year.
First, we need to answer the question, “Why Christmas?” We need to understand why Jesus was born. What is so important about His birth?
The answer goes back to the very first chapters of the Bible where we see the fall of man.
When God created man, He placed him in a beautiful garden and He breathed into him His very breath. Man’s spirit was alive and he could walk and talk with God. There was no reason to be ashamed or to hide. He was pure – without anything to separate him from God.
However, there was a choice given to him. Adam was given free will.
There were two special trees standing before Adam and Eve in the garden. One of them was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the second was the Tree of Life.
The two were to eat freely of everything they could find, except for one tree: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told them that if they ate of that tree, they would die.
We know the story. They were tempted by Satan, and they disobeyed God. They chose to eat from the forbidden tree.
Many people wonder why that was so significant. They just made a mistake, right?
Well, actually it was much more than that. The two trees were very significant.
One meant they would trust in God and His spirit within them. The Life of God Himself flowed through them. He would flood their minds with His thoughts, His love, and the goodness that only He could bring to their lives.
God had some great plans for them.
However, Adam and Eve chose the wrong tree. It’s the I-can-do-it-on-my-own tree. The tree of Pride. The I-don’t-need-God-to-live-my-life tree.
Satan tempted mankind with the very same thing which had him thrown out of heaven: pride. And they bought the lie. They disobeyed God and they lost their special place with Him. Their spirit within man died to God. It became dormant – and no longer could hear from Him or be led by Him.
Immediately they wanted to hide from God, because they knew that they weren’t connected anymore. And they soon realized that they weren’t prepared to lead good lives apart from God’s guidance. Yet it was too late.
God immediately began to speak prophecy about the future of the world.
He spoke to Satan that there would be “enmity between him and woman. Her offspring would crush his head and he would bruise her offspring’s heel.”
That prophecy – right at the beginning – was about Jesus. He was going to crush the head of Satan and Satan was going to bruise His heel (send Him to the cross).
So that was eventually what happened. Yet it wasn’t what Satan expected. When he managed to send Jesus to the cross, Jesus actually paid the price for all of mankind so that we could be filled again with God’s Spirit. God, through many signs, wonders, and prophecies, taught mankind that His only Son, Jesus Christ, would come and deliver us from the hand of our enemy Satan.
Now we can be born again, and our spirits can come back to life. No longer will our spirits be dormant, but alive – with God’s breath flowing through us.
Let’s take a closer look at the Christmas story itself and see the lessons our Father wants us to see.
Promise of the Savior
Promise of the SaviorFrom the time of the fall of man, God’s plan for bringing a Savior to mankind was promised.
There is a saying that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
That is a true statement. There were many words written in the Old Testament which can only be understood when we look back on them from the New Testament. After Jesus came, walked the earth showing God’s way, died, rose from the dead, and sent His Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of believers, the actions and words of the Old Testament became clearer.
The more we read the Bible, the more we find understanding. Often we say, Oh! So that’s what that meant! For instance, when God called Abraham, he promised him that through His seed all the earth would be blessed. Now we know that His seed would be Jesus.
Throughout the Old Testament, there are many prophecies about the Savior. We’ll just look at a few as they apply to Christmas.
First, let’s look at Isaiah 9:6-7: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
This prophecy is about the Christmas story, and it shows us several things:
- A child will be born. So there will be a special birth of this King.
- A son is given. God Himself will give His Son to us.
- A new kingdom – on the foundation of David’s throne – will be established, and this King will reign forever.
Did this happen? Yes, it did!
Let’s look at some more prophecies.
- Jesus was born of a virgin. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Luke 1:26-38 tells us that Mary was a virgin, and miraculously became pregnant with Jesus. He was born of mankind, but He was the Son of God. His was a miracle birth, and He was indeed Immanuel (or Emmanuel), which means “God with us.”
- .Jesus was born in Bethlehem. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2). Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. Yet the prophecy had said that a Savior would come out of Bethlehem. It doesn’t say he would “live in” Bethlehem; Jesus grew up in Nazareth. It says he would “come out of” Bethlehem. Only God could know that there would be a census taken and Joseph and Mary would have to travel to Bethlehem – right at the time of Jesus’s birth. Again an Old Testament prophecy was being fulfilled.
These prophecies specifically speak of the birth of Jesus. There are many other prophecies about the coming Messiah. Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke to the Israelites through the prophets and showed them that there was a Savior coming who would be their king.
The Power of His Promises
The Power of His PromisesOur Heavenly Father has reasons for everything that he does. When we look at scripture, we find clues He wants us to see that give us greater understanding of Him, His Kingdom, and our place in that Kingdom.
The apostle John begins his gospel with “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2). A few verses later John explains, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
How did the Word become flesh? It was planted into Mary’s womb and she became pregnant with God’s Word. Jesus was that Word.
There are many promises in the Bible for believers. God made promises to Abraham in Deuteronomy 28:1-10, and then later Jesus made the way for us to have those same promises. “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit” (Galatians 3:14).
The kingdom of God works on the seed principle. That is a principle our Father wanted to show us even in the birth of Jesus. Everything He does starts with a seed. And that seed is the Word of God.
To be born again, we have to hear the Word of God about Jesus, and then we receive Him for ourselves.
The same goes for all of God’s promises. He promises never to leave us or forsake us. He promises to give us provision. He promises healing. He promises us protection. And He promises so much more in His Word.
So when we receive that Word for ourselves, that seed is planted in our hearts. Then, as we protect that seed by meditating on it and repeating it again and again, our faith grows and we see the fruit.
Center Your Celebration On Christ
Center Your Celebration On ChristChristmas begins with the prophecies of the Old Testament which were fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords was born in a lowly stable. His first bed was a feed trough, a manger. His first visitors were poor shepherds. It was all part of God’s plan.
Why such a beginning?
Our Heavenly Father wanted to show mankind that Jesus was Savior for all mankind. He understands pain and hardship. Jesus could identify with the suffering of everyone.
But not everyone can identify with Him.
The Jewish leaders of the day knew that a Messiah was coming and He was to be king. So they were looking for an imposing person – a mighty conqueror – to be the Messiah. They wanted a king they would be proud of.
Pride was the sin that got Lucifer thrown out of Heaven – and down to earth to become Satan. He was beautiful, anointed, gifted in music. But he was so filled with pride that he thought he could overthrow God Himself.
But he couldn’t!
We read of his downfall in Isaiah 14:12-15, “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.”
Needless to say, the devil couldn’t overthrow God. Instead he was thrown out of Heaven and down to earth.
Since that time, the pride of man has been our biggest sin. We want to look good. We want to look better than others. We want to have other people praise our abilities, our wealth, our position.
Our Father wants nothing to do with that.
Everything we have – whether it’s talents, or looks, or wealth – is from our Father. He has blessed us and He is the source of all good things in our lives.
Thus our Father doesn’t come to us through our prideful, self-centered minds, He comes to us through our spirits.
People can understand Him through their spirits – and recognize His work – when prideful people can’t even see what’s going on.
When Jesus was teaching, He would say, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Obviously, most people standing there listening had ears. And they could hear His natural words. But they didn’t have “spiritual ears.” They didn’t have the perception to hear and understand God’s mysteries.
When Jesus was born in a stable, the prideful men of the day – the ones without spiritual ears – couldn‘t see that He was the Savior of the world. He didn’t look like a king. He looked like a poor man.
So let us be careful to listen with our spiritual ears and not just our natural ears.
As we celebrate Christmas, let’s keep our ears tuned and our eyes fixed to God’s plan.
The glitter and gifts are fun, but let’s not forget the true meaning of Christmas: the Savior of the world was born to give His life for all mankind. What great love our Father has for us that He would give His Son for us!
Decide in your heart to enjoy this Christmas by celebrating the birth of God’s Son, your Savior! Keep the focus on Him, and may this be your best Christmas ever!
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