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| Why We Celebrate Christmas |
Toms777 |
12/24/07 |
There are some non-Christian religions (i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses) and even some Christians who believe that it is wrong to celebrate Christmas. Scripture addresses this point:
Col 2:15-18
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
NKJV
There is nothing in essence wrong in the celebration - the problem only comes when the festival is contrary to the word of God. So is worship of Jesus through the celebration of His birth contrary to scripture? Does scripture give any significance to His birth? Yes it does. For example, the first prophecy that we have is in Genesis 3:15:
Gen 3:15
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel."
NKJV
This was so significant that at the very start of the Bible, we have God prophesying the birth and mission of the Saviour. Let in the Old Testament, we have more detailed prophecies about His birth:
1) He would be the seed of Isaac Gen 17:19, Gen 21:12, Gen 26:3-4
(Fulfilled: Rom 9:7, Heb 11:18)
2) Born of the tribe of Judah: Gen 49:10
(Fulfilled: Heb 7:14, Rev 5:5)
3) Promised Redeemer: Job 19:25-27
(Fulfilled: Gal 4:4-5)
4) Born of a Virgin
(Fulfilled: Matt 1:22-23, Luke 1:27-35)
5) Massacre of Infants: Jer 31:15
(Fulfilled: Matt 2:17-18)
These are only examples. There are many more. And we have many more regarding the truth of who Jesus is and what He did on the cross to pay the price for our sins.
He is from everlasting (Micah 5:2), the creator of all that exists (Col 1:16). He is God (John 1:1), one of the three persons of the trinity (Is 48:16-17), who came to earth in order that he might give His life as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of all (Mark 10:45), that whosoever would receive that free gift of salvation might not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16-17). Those who reject Him have condemned themselves (John 3:17) and are destined to an eternity in the lake of fire (Rev 20:15). No one has an excuse because the truth of God is revealed to us all (Rom 1:20), and all have sinned (Rom 3:23), thus are deserving of the penalty.
He died on the cross (Luke 23:26), was buried and was resurrected on the third day (Mark 16:6) and after many days, rose up directly into heaven (Acts 1:9-11)to sit at the right hand of the Father (1 Peter 3:22). He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega (Rev 1:8,11), and the one who will at the end be the judge of all (2 Tim 4:1).
When the veil was ripped from the Holy of Holies (Matt 27:51), it was symbolic of the fact that through Christ we no longer need a human priest to intercede for us who sacrifices cannot take away sins (Heb 10:11), for those who worship (Heb 1:6) Jesus as God (Heb 1:8), and receive Him and His sacrifice on the cross as Saviour are no longer condemned (John 3:17), but are a member of the priesthood of believers (1 Pet 2:5), over whom there is but one High Priest, Jesus Christ (Heb 8:1-2).
Jesus Christ is the central point of all history, and the event of the death on the cross (and the subsequent resurrection) is the singular central event of all history. Prior to the cross, we look forward to the coming of the Messiah, starting with the prophecy in Genesis 3:15. After the cross, we look back at the source of our hope, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Without that event, all of us would be facing an eternity in hell without any hope. The Bible is written about Jesus. Everything in the books speaks about Him, and again we find that the central even around which all else revolves is the cross.
The importance of His coming was such that we have the timing of His coming prophecies in the Old Testament, and we have the wise men coming to worship Jesus while only a child. At the same time, this event was so significant, we have the King trying to kill this baby.
We have the prophetess Anna who waited to see His coming:
Luke 2:36-38
36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
NKJV
This is certainly a critical event in all history and certainly nothing could be of greater significance than God Himself appearing on earth in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16).
Taking in account the importance that scripture gives to this event, and to the subsequent mission of Christ on earth, we can see clearly why so many Christians feel that it is important to celebrate the birth of our Saviour by celebrating Christmas.
May each and every person have a Merry Christmas, and may those who do not know the Saviour in truth come to know Him this year, and His gospel.
Tom
http://discern.ca
PS: Those who want to find out how to come to know Jesus can contact me through Discern.ca. |
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