Did you know that the
entire Christmas story (from conception to flight to Egypt) only takes up 77
verses in the New Testament? In fact the story of Jesus birth is only recorded
in two of the four gospels (Matthew and Luke).
Did you also know that the death, burial, and resurrection
of Jesus takes up 331 verses (from
betrayal to resurrection morning), and is recorded in all four gospels in
great detail.
Surprisingly, Christians
didn’t start celebrating Jesus birth until almost 400 years after his death.
Whereas Jesus himself instituted the remembrance of his
death with his disciples in the upper room, and the observance of the Lord’s
Supper is taught in the New Testament epistles.
Did you know that the
Bible doesn’t give any indication for the year or season of Jesus birth? We
make educated guesses based on context clues (and guess what, it most likely
wasn’t winter).
However, the Bible gives us the specific year, month, day,
and hour of Jesus death.
In fact, in the record
of his earthly ministry we don’t see Jesus refer to or defend the circumstances
surrounding his birth in any way, but he constantly refers to his impending
death and resurrection.
I love Christmas as much as the next person. Really, I do!
One of my favorite things to do in December is curl up next
to the Christmas tree with lights twinkling, sipping my hot Chocolate and
having my morning devotions. I love singing Christmas carols and making cookies
to share with friends and loved ones. I love the sense of community I feel with my church family and those around us, as we deck the halls and trim the trees.
However, in the hustle of bustle of decorating, gift
giving, and celebrating, I think it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. We forget that
the joyous occasion of Jesus birth really isn't all that significant without
the pain and agony he endured on the cross. We forget that Jesus never told us to celebrate his birth, but he did
charge us go into all the world and preach the message of his death and
resurrection.
So this Christmas as you prepare to celebrate with friends
and family, spend some time dwelling on the true
meaning of Christmas:
Not just the birth of
a baby, but the hope of our salvation, the grace and mercy of the cross.
Interesting! I had never realized the difference between His birth and death in the Bible!
ReplyDeleteAh that's our focus! Great post! Oh and another interesting point....did you know the 3 wise men weren't at the birth of Jesus? They didn't visit Him until He was approx. 2 yrs of age yet 99% of Nativity Scenes include the wise men.
ReplyDeleteAMEN! It isn't just a birthday...it's a PROMISE fulfilled! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThe reason we celebrate Christmas in December is because as Europe was "Christianized" through the Crusades and after, European kings and Church leaders wanted to force pagans to convert by taking their biggest celebration of the year (winter solstice) away from them and replacing it with a Christian holy-day. But our biggest holy-day as Christians has always been (rightly so!) Easter or, as some churches are now calling it, Resurrection Sunday. Thanks for pointing out that as much as we love our Christmas memories and the building of memories, Easter still reigns as the most important part of God's gift to us in Christ Jesus--redemption. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Amen sister:0)
ReplyDeletevisiting from pint-sizedtreasures.com
Alison Wood
Terrific post!! Thanks for linking up over at WholeHearted Home this past month.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else! I love this post. Christmas is about so very much more than gifts - trying to instill that in our kiddos.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Our pastor mentioned( not in a Christmas sermon) how we are not to look down on the Jesus as a baby but Jesus is to be looked up upon and worshiped. Thanks for writing this post, many Christians celebrating this holiday should remember that we are not to be focusing on Christ as a child but who he is as God and the promise God gave us.
ReplyDelete