18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. - Matthew 1:18-25 (ESV)
Photo by Myriam Zilles on Unsplash
Immanuel, God with Us
The Christmas season is not my favorite.
Most of the time there is too much going and doing, too much hassle and many times too much money spent. There is a lot of joy in buying gifts and trying to make others happy, but the overall chase and the expectations can be too much. For many, Christmas has turned into a needed lever in our economic system instead of a time of what it was meant to be.
So what is it meant to be?
Well, first, let us remember that there is no command in the Bible to celebrate this holiday. And many Christians worldwide do not celebrate it as many Americans do. But there is also no Bible prohibition against it either. In fact, it makes a lot of Bible sense to do so. If done properly, why would we not celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ?
The gospel of Matthew describes this arrival in the following way:
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us). - Matthew 1:22-23 (ESV)
Jesus Christ is “Immanuel.”
He is “God with us.”
This Jesus Christ is described by the book of Colossians in this way:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. - Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV)
This Jesus gave up the glories of heaven to come to earth and the book of Philippians gives us a glimpse of what He gave up and had to endure in order to come and be with us:
6 “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” - Philippians 2:6-8 (ESV)
Why did He do this?
Well, it was not because mankind deserved this act of loving kindness, or even that thought to ask for it. Instead, God sent His Son to do the work to save us while we were still sinners. Jesus came to save us while we were separated from Him as His enemies:
8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8 (ESV)
We needed God to come and be with us in order to save us from our sins. We needed Him to ransom us, to redeem us, to buy us back. We needed Him to save us from the depths of hell and to give us victory over the grave. We needed Him to open wide a way for us to our heavenly home. We needed Him to dispel the darkness and to come and be our King of Peace.
If these thoughts sound familiar it is because they come from they hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” which so accurately describes the essence of Christmas:
1 O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
2 O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain
3 O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai's height
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain4 O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o'er the grave. Refrain
5 O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death's abode. Refrain
6 O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light. Refrain
7 O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace. Refrain
Application
Christmas can be an overly emotional and stress filled time that totally misses the mark. This has happened many times in our household and many times I have been the reason for these problems. I can’t give the perfect recipe for avoiding all of this trouble. But I can give one reminder:
Christmas is about Jesus.
In all of the chaos, Christmas is about Jesus.
In all of the high expectations, Christmas is about Jesus.
In all of the heightened loneliness caused by the holidays, Christmas is about Jesus.
In all of the temptations that come, Christmas is about Jesus.
In all of the joy that we see, Christmas is about Jesus.
And when it is all over, whatever comes next is about Jesus too.