The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Merry Christmas! Before I begin my next commentary, which will be the book of Ecclesiastes, I wanted to focus once more on the wonderful tradition of Christmas.

Now we know that Christmas’s date was derived from the Roman, pagan festival of the Saturnalia, and that December 25th is extremely unlikely to be the date of our Lord’s birth. Several authors have noted from instances such as Luke’s commentary in Luke 2:8 that the shepherds most likely would not be in the fields with their flocks so late in December.

What the Christian in this instance may refer to is Paul’s admonition: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind,” Romans 14:5, KJV. My family observes this holiday to the Lord, recognizing and celebrating the birth of Christ, the Savior. Whether it was actually December 25th or September 25th is not relevant. The Bible does not record the dates of Jesus’ birth or death.

What Scripture does record, however, is the monumental moment God entered the world He created for mankind as one of us. The Father sent the Word to become the Son, to live on earth amongst His creation, to sympathize, teach and heal; and ultimately His love and sympathy would climax with His vicarious death on our behalf. God gave two great gifts that day. He offered His own Son to leave Heaven and walk among men. Seeking the truth about God’s person and purpose, the hungry searcher could now find satisfying and comprehensive answers in Jesus Christ. Who is God? God’s invisible attributes—namely, everything that He is—are embodied in the person of our Lord. Secondly, the Son came for an express purpose. He did not come specifically to teach, heal or sympathize. Yes, He did these things because He is God and it is in His intrinsic nature to simply do them when He is among His creatures.

One expects a bird to fly, a fish to swim, and a man to walk. Just as naturally, one should expect God to care, and to care in a capacity that far outstrips anything anyone has formerly seen. In truth, His love was so perfectly immense that He was born to die on our behalf. It was ironic from a certain perspective. The one man alive that did not have to die on account of sin chose to willingly die on behalf of others, to save them from their own iniquity. Hebrews reminds us that mankind dies but once and suffers judgment afterward, Hebrews 9:27. But Jesus, free from sin and entirely without it, did not have to die. Nor would He ever enter into judgment. Rather, the death He suffered was our death; it was my death. It was your death.

God’s Christmas gift in the person of His only begotten Son was salvation through faith in that child born to Mary so long ago. Because in that child, foretold by angels and revealed by a star, was the person of the Godhead bodily residing. Mankind would reveal their thoughts and intents toward their Creator by coming into contact with Jesus. For the lost and forlorn, they found direction and peace. For the self righteous and arrogant, they found an implacable opponent that no worldly wisdom could overcome or silence. In the end they were motivated to murder because His very presence frightened them. The supposed religious authority that aided in having Him killed weren’t interested in God; they were interested in the perks and prestige that came along with such an association. For a secular job, garnering the bells and whistles of promotions and such is well and good. But it is outright sinister and wickedly deceptive when one’s “job” is to shepherd souls and teach them God’s word so they might have eternal life.

As we celebrate this Christmas, reflect and rejoice over what our Lord has done for us, and what he will continue to do in us and for others, because our God always gives, regardless of the season. There is always need, and that need is infinitely more desperate than you or I can rightly grasp. Praise the Lord for the birth of the Savior, fulfilling the words of Jewish prophets and satisfying the demands of God’s law for Adam’s children, who were, until His advent, without hope and without God in the world, Ephesians 2:12. I say one more time with the utmost affection: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!