Luke 2:1–14; John 1:14; John 3:16; Matthew 1:21, Colossians 1:21-29
Every December the world celebrates Christmas – lights go up, songs fill the air, gifts are exchanged. But if we’re not careful, we can celebrate everything around Christmas and miss the reason for Christmas. Of course there are different opinions about Christmas. One argument is that Christmas is a Pagan Holiday, and for Christians to celebrate it, means that they have adopted Pagan practices. My first question here, “what is a Pagan?” In it’s original sense of the word, “Anybody that was not a semantic Hebrew Jew – meaning “Gentiles,” were Pagans. The sense being anyone that rejected God. Another argument is that Christmas is a man-made holiday, therefore it is not Scriptural. Well, in John 10, Jesus is in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Dedication, what is now known as Hanukkah. This particular feast was not mentioned in the Torah, which is the Bible they had up to that point, so this was a celebration that was added by man, and Jesus didn’t have a problem celebrating this holiday. So, just because man may have made a holiday, does not instantly constitute it as a “pagan holiday,” or that it doesn’t honor God.
The biggest writing on Christmas being a Pagan holiday come from various camps, of which I am not. Truth is, for all the research you can find to say this is a pagan holiday, I can find just as much to support why it isn’t. But here is what I don’t won’t you to miss, I don’t believe for a minute that God would be opposed to the Christian Church setting aside one day a year to focus on the birth of His Only Begotten Son. I just can’t see God being angry or displeased because on this time of year: We open our Bibles and read the story of the birth of His Son; We sing hymns of praises to glorify His name; We lift up prayers of thanks for this great gift He has given us – and the truth is, I think that’s enough to make any Pagan squirm in the chairs.
Having said that, I also don’t believe God is honored when we get so wrapped up in giving and receiving gifts that we overlook the giving of the Greatest Gift. I don’t think God is honored when we run our families in debt to buy presents. Christmas is not about nostalgia, tradition, or sentimentality. Christmas is about God stepping into our broken world to give us a breakthrough!
So why do Christians celebrate Christmas? Because Christmas answers our greatest problem with God’s greatest solution.
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATES GOD COMING NEAR
Remember that between the Book of Malachi and the New Testament, there was 400 years of silence. No fresh word from God. Then after 400 years:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14)
Paul said that through sin, we were “alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.” (Colossians 1:21)
Christianity is unique because it proclaims that while you and I were alienated and enemies with God. Listen:
- We were not neutral with God.
- We were not undecided.
- We were running full throttle away from God.
- We were not a little dirty from sin – we were headed toward a cliff full throttle.
But God did not stay distant. He did not shout instructions from heaven. He came down. I’m glad that “God so loved the world that He gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world – THROUGH HIM – might be saved!”
You are never too far gone, too broken, or too insignificant for God to come near to you.
CHRISTMAS DECLARES GOD’S LOVE IN ACTION
“For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16)
“You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
“In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:” (Colossians 1:22)
Christmas is not just about a baby – it’s about a mission. Jesus was born to die, and He died so we could live. He came so that you and I wouldn’t have a tune-up, but a full engine swap.
- He didn’t come to clean-up our act, he came to drag us out of the darkness and into the Light.
- He didn’t die to make us better – He died to make us new.
- He came to unmake us so that he can Remake us.
- He came so that this mortal could put on immortality.
- He came so that this corruption could put on incorruption.
- He came to take away out filthy stinking grave clothes to give us grace clothes!
He didn’t come to condemn the world, but to rescue it. The gift of Christmas is not earned by good behavior, or keeping some Law; it’s received by grace through faith. Grace is God’s gift before you ever deserved it.
CHRISTMAS PROCLIAMS PEACE FOR A BROKEN WORLD
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is (and Paul drops this little nugget) Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Colossians 1:27)
The angels didn’t promise peace through politics, prosperity, or power – They announced peace through a person, “Christ in you, the hope of Glory!”
- That’s not religion.
- That’s not church attendance.
- That’s not wearing a Jesus patch on your vest.
That’s Jesus moving into the garage of your heart and taking over
- It’s not Christ around you.
- Not Christ beside you.
- But Christ inside you.
Church, let me land this for a Christmas message: The same Jesus Paul talks about – Christ in you, the hope of glorydidn’t first show up with power tools in His hands or resurrection glory in His eyes:
- He showed up small.
- He showed up helpless.
- He showed up in a borrowed barn – laid in a manger that smelled more like a biker’s garage than a church sanctuary.
What Christmas tells me is that God “Isn’t afraid of our mess.” Jesus didn’t wait for you to get polished, tuned up, or road ready. He stepped into the world the same way He steps into your life: Right in the middle of the dirt, the noise, the chaos, and the brokenness – THE WORD BECAME FLESH.
The manger wasn’t clean…Your heart wasn’t either. But He came anyway. Why? Because the hope Paul writes about, “Christ in you,” began right there in Bethlehem. Christmas is the proof that God reached future towards me than I could ever reach toward Him.
On that first Christmas night:
- Heaven came down into humanity
- Light invaded darkness
- Hope climbed off the throne and laid down in straw
- The King showed up undercover so every broken life could become brand new
Christmas isn’t just a cute story; it’s the opening scene of your rescue:
- The baby in the manger is the Savior on the cross.
- The Savior on the cross is the King who walked out of the tomb.
- The King who walked out of the tomb is the One who now lives in you.
So this morning, don’t just admire the nativity…Invite the One in the manger to take the handlebars of your life.
Because Christmas means this:
- You don’t have to stay ruined – He came to rebuild.
- You don’t have to stay far – He came close.
- You don’t have to ride alone – He came to ride with you.
This Christmas, don’t just celebrate that Christ came to the world, celebrate that He wants to live in you. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
CHRISTMAS CALLS FOR A RESPONSE
- The wise men sought (Matthew 2:9-11)
- The shepherds went and saw (Luke 2:8-14)
- The angels worshiped (Luke 2:13)
- Mary pondered (Luke 2:19)
- Herod rejected (Matthew 2:12-18)
- Paul proclaimed (Colossians 1:28) “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man…”
Everyone responded – but not everyone responded the same way. We’re not just a social club with loud pipes, we’re not just a Sunday pit stop or bar hop, we’re a garage for broken men and women.
WE ARE: Hope for the hopeless; Help for the Helpless; A Hospital for the hurting! And listen, that’s not always easy. In fact, Paul concludes Colossians 1 by saying he labors, he struggles. Look at verse 29, “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
Where does that might come from? “Christ in you . . . the hope of Glory!”
Christmas proclaims this unshakable truth: God didn’t send a message – He sent His Son. And folks, to me – that is worth celebrating.
Fighting for My Pea Patch 