In less than a week, just about everybody will be celebrating Christmas — the most celebrated holiday the world over. If you’re a doubting Thomas, just Google it. Despite the best efforts of pagans, atheists, and Democrats, Christmas is alive and well, vivified by the ever-living Christ.
Most people think of Christmas, the birth of Christ, as a New Testament phenomenon, and they’re absolutely correct. It’s recorded in all four Gospels, in complementary fashion, constituting one of the primary themes of the entire Bible — the Word of God.
The Bible is a collection of sixty-six books, written by a plethora of authors, spanning several thousand years. And, it’s completely cohesive, including large sections of prophecy that have never been contravened by the passing of millennia. It’s ancient middle-east archeology’s first resource. Western science arose from its transcendent principles. It is, in and of itself, a miracle. Anecdotally, in his Exodus series, Dr. Jordan Peterson calls the Bible the most important book in all of history.
Meaning is all about context, and Christmas has to be understood within the context of the entire Bible.
The first book of the Old Testament and the fourth book of the New Testament, detailing Christ’s deity, begin almost identically. The Old Testament begins with the book of Genesis: “In the beginning God.” The New Testament Gospel of John begins with, “In the beginning was the Word.” It is this same God, this Word or Logos, who created the universe, all that is in it, and holds everything in existence together by his power (Colossians 1:17) — this is He who Isaiah describes as, “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6,7)
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This is the One we find swaddled in a manger.
It strains the imagination to conceive of The Everlasting Father, becoming frail, mortal flesh in the person of Christ, enduring human birth, entering this world to rest by his mother’s hands in a stone feeding trough meant for farm animals. But, Isaiah records, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8,9)
The mystery of Christmas begins in the Garden of Eden, after the creation of Adam and Eve. The temptation events, recorded in the first few chapters of Genesis, are fairly well known: Satan, having taken on the form of a serpent, deceives Eve into consuming the forbidden fruit. Adam follows in the same sin, disobeying the express prohibition of God. The consequence of sin, or missing the mark of God’s absolute perfection, is death. And so, in due time, Adam died, Eve died, and all their children down to us today. The natural world, in turn, was corrupted by Adam and Eve’s sin, and devolved into violence, chaos, and death.
But God, in the dark hour of Adam’s fall, foretold of Christmas and the redeemer to come.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
In this sentence God, at the very beginning of human history, promises the advent of a Savior who shall strike a fatal blow to death’s head by bearing in his body the wounds and consequence of every man and woman’s sin. Moreover, in one of the most ancient books of the Bible, Job in the midst of terrible suffering declared, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” (Job 19:25) In this prophetic statement, Job acknowledged that he was looking forward to the advent of the Savior and His redeeming sacrifice.
King David, the sweet psalmist, looked forward to the event of Christmas and sang, “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.’” (Psalm 2:8). The Psalms also record minute details of Christ’s redeeming death, “they have pierced my hands and feet…they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots…” (Psalm 22:16,18). The entirety of Psalm 22 describes the events of His crucifixion in miraculous detail.
The Bible from beginning to end is really about the Son of God and the plan of redemption. The deepest mystery is contained within the personal appropriation of Christ’s sacrificial death — without this, a personal salvation experience, based on faith alone in Christ alone, it is impossible to fully understand the true mystery and meaning of Christmas.
Paul explains the penultimate miracle — the meaning of Christmas and of Christ’s crucifixion: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: [emphasis mine] whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom…” (Colossians 1:27,28)
In the beginning and throughout all time, the first advent of Christ, which we celebrate as Christmas, is about a personal relationship with the Savior. It is certainly about the wonder of God’s incomprehensible love and compassion for fallen man, but it isn’t enough to just boggle at the boundless grace of God or at the majesty of His plan.
I invite you to accept the priceless gift of Christ’s salvation this Christmas season by acknowledging that your sin has separated you from your Creator. Ask Him to reconcile you to Him through faith in the completed work of Christ, your Savior. Then, Christ will reside in you and seal for you the unshakeable confidence of future glory.
Here’s wishing every Townhall reader a very Merry Christmas!
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