Holidays

It is important that we know the who, what, when, where, and how of the Holidays in which we take part. The goal of these blogs is understanding, not legalism.

Christmas in Context: Waiting for the consolation of Israel…

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Photo by Geoff Robinson

Alec Garrard, 78, has dedicated a massive 33,000 hours to constructing the ancient Herod’s Temple

Luke 2:25(NIV)
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

No doubt there were many in Jerusalem longing for the consolation of Israel. How long would Israel have to suffer occupation?

Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town of David. Not far from Jerusalem… could there have been some stirring, some rumors, of some shepherds who were tending their flocks by night (Lk 2:8)? I’m thinking that there indeed were many a report, and that the temple was quite a buzz. Given Herod’s paranoia, I imagine the temple courts were filled with a sort of hushed excitement. No doubt teachers and scribes were searching the prophets…

Isaiah 9:2-7 (NIV)
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Those who looked to the Prophet Isaiah likely focused on the underlined portion above. Israel was hurting, a shadow of the kingdom it once was. Isaiah also Prophesied that the divided kingdoms that threatened Judah would be laid to waste and then Judah would be handed over to Assyria (Is 7:14-17). There were many who looked to rebellion/insurgency to fight for Israel’s freedom from occupation… perhaps looking for God to follow the redemption of the past when He would raise up a mighty man who would serve as Judge? But Israel rejected God’s Judges, and rejected His rule and asked for a king. There were others who sought political power and favor with Rome to secure for Israel a sense of freedom, to preserve their ways (while historical accounts outside the Bible attest to this, such a mentality is revealed in the Sanhedren in John 11:45-53). Herod took it upon himself to appoint his own High Priest. It was not long before the birth of Jesus that the Temple was defiled and desecrated. All this is simply to say that since the descendents of Jacob had long stopped going to God for their answers (a rebuke against Israel and Judah in Is 8:19-20) they would become a people stumbling in the darkness (leading into Is 9). The Pharisees and Sadducees were the closest thing to leadership Israel had left. No Judges, no kings, and the prophets have been silent for nearly 400 years. Yet the religious leaders of the day were not in right standing with God. God chose to reveal the announcement of the fulfillment of Is 9:6 to Shepherds rather than the Priests, scholars, and scribes. Even the Magi from the east knew to how to identify the fulfillment of the prophecy in Micah 5:2, that out of Bethlehem would be born the ruler over Israel, “whose origins are from of old, from ancient times”.  But not everyone was in the dark… and Luke kept a record of 2 who were eagerly awaiting the promise of God… the Messiah.

A man called Simeon

Luke 2:21-35 (NIV)
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Simeon knew who he saw brought into the Temple courts that day. He knew what was prophesied of Him who would bring salvation. He knew this Jesus was the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. And Simeon was ready to be laid to rest… in peace. But Simeon was not alone, Praise God. Just as Simeon had finished Praising God, and speaking blessing over Mary and Joseph, there came another who was waiting faithfully upon the Lord…

A prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel

Luke 2:36-38 (NIV)
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

How cool is God? A man and a woman of God were waiting in the Temple Courts to see the redemption of Jerusalem, the consolation of Israel, the Revelation to the Gentiles… the Salvation of Man. I’m sure they both spread the word, as did the shepherds. So what happened? How could this young family have had any peace? Well, if you’ll remember the account in Matthew 2, the Magi came to Jerusalem looking for the one who is born King of the Jews. We don’t know exactly how old Jesus was when the Magi found Him, we just know that they were no longer in the manger; rather, they were now in a house. God sends warning to Joseph to flee to Egypt, and warns the Magi to avoid returning to Herod. So what squashed what would have been the biggest news in Israel? It was not yet Jesus’ time.

Remember Herod? No doubt between the news of what happened in the Temple Courts (the expansion of which was one of Herod’s projects), the visit of the Magi (and subsequent disappearance), and the rumors of Shepherds seeing the Heavenly Hosts… Herod was paranoid of losing his power over the Jews, and his authority under Rome. So, to make a point, he has all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity 2 yrs and younger killed. God hid Jesus in Egypt until Herod’s death (Matt 2:13-20). But when they returned home, it wasn’t to Bethlehem or Jerusalem, but to Nazareth in the north. And so, we have the context of Christmas… the Birth of a Savior.

Luke 2:40 (NIV)
40 And the Child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on Him.

I pray you remember the Gift of God this Christmas. Don’t let earthly rituals and mammon distract you from the Message of the Birth of a Savior, who was sent to redeem all of Mankind.

In Him,
FS

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Context of Christmas: Magi from the east…

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Following the Star (artist unknown)

Following the Star (artist unknown)

In the last blog, we walked through a brief overview of the progression of the Nation of Israel from Abraham to the birth of Jesus. The goal of this series is to provide some additional context to the modern celebration of Christmas, a holiday that contemporary Christians have designated to remember and celebrate the virgin-birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In today’s post, I’d like to begin in the Matthew account beginning in Chapter 2:

Matthew 2 (NASB) The Visit of the Magi
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

Here, we have the arrival of “magi from the east”, who came to Jerusalem, looking for the new born King of the Jews. Why would any non-Jew be looking for a new born King of Jews? Given the events of the previous 200 years of Roman rule, how could anyone be looking for a child who is born King? Notice in the passage that the magi quoted the Hebrew prophet, Micah

Micah 5:2 (NASB)
2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for
Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”

Micah 1:1 begins with, “1 The word of the Lord which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.” Remember from the last post that the Nation of Israel was split into 2 kingdoms, Israel in the north whose capital city was Samaria, and Judah in the south whose capital city is Jerusalem. So we have a prophet of God speaking of the impending punishment of Israel and Judah. The Assysrians end up taking Israel and Samaria and scattering its people (the Lost Tribes), leaving Judah for a time.  Judah’s independence is secured largely by the obedience and humility of Josiah, King of Judah (2 Chr 34). Josiah dies in battle, and Judah falls to Egypt and then to Babylon soon after as Josiah’s successors do evil in God’s sight. King Nebuchadnezzar took many Israelites away to Babylon (2 Cor 36:10, 2 Kings 24:12). And that is where I believe we can gain some insight into how these magi could have become aware of Micah.

The Exile

We looked at the exile of Jews into Babylon when we looked at the history of the kings of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar took the very best of Jerusalem into captivity in Babylon (2 Kings 24:10-16). The record in 2 Kings continues in Jerusalem, so instead of going there I’d like to follow those who were taken into captivity:

Daniel 1:6-7 (NASB) 6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.

Now the story of Daniel is an exciting one, filled with great faith, and the mighty Hand of God. It’s a wonderful story. Suffice it to say for this blog that Daniel did well in the Sight of God and found favor in the eyes of King Nebuchadnezzar. Let’s look at what was spoken of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, Belshazzar:

Daniel 5:11-12a (NASB) 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners. 12 This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar… (emphasis mine)

It is soon after that Daniel is promoted to Third Ruler of the Kingdom. Belshazzar was succeeded by Darius, who is tricked into condemning Daniel to the Lion’s Den. When God spares Daniel of this fate, Darius issues the following decree:

Daniel 6:25-28 (NASB) 25 Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: “May your peace abound! 26 I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;

For He is the living God and enduring forever,
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.
27 “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

28 So this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

If you remember from the last post, it was Cyrus the Persian (due to his Zoroastrian beliefs) that would commission the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, sending back many Israelites to their homeland.   God is so awesome. Okay, now here is the part where I share my interpretation of these events and their significance to the Christmas story. I could be wrong here, but I must stress that this is my interpretation of the Scriptures. If my interpretation proves incorrect, that has no bearing on the infallibility of the Scriptures, it just means that I am human. 😉

So, how did the magi learn of Micah?

Given the prevalence of Zoroastrianism in the east, the Chaldeans paid attention to all of the major religions and their gods. Daniel (Beltashazzar), one of the captured Jews, was quickly promoted to “chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners”. While I cannot point to a specific source, it sure seems that this would fit as a definition of “magi”. Daniel stayed faithful to the One True God and would have shared/taught with them the prophets. I believe it is by this that the magi became aware of Micah.

Okay, but why would they care enough to make the journey into Roman lands?

I believe they remembered the decree of Cyrus. They did not choose to stay in Jerusalem, nor did they bat an eye at being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod (Matt 2:13), they simply went back home. In their pantheism, they recognized the sign of the birth of the King of the Jews, and searched Him out to worship Him and bring gifts. Did they miss the greater point? Perhaps… the Bible does not follow their walk after this time. Here we have yet another instance of God using pagans to serve His purpose.

Closing thoughts

It pains me to see everyone refer to the magi as “Three wise men”, or whenever I hear the carol “We three kings” sung in a Church setting. Not nearly as much as seeing an endorsement of santa, but I digress. The Bible only lists 3 types of gifts. We don’t know how many came, but it was a long journey. These men were traveling into a very politically tumultuous setting, seeking a newborn king. They were able to gain an audience with Herod… an evil and paranoid governor. It was most likely a very impressive procession with its own security details.

I wish we would do more to keep to the truth of the event, and let go of the all of the extraneous trappings of the holiday.  Much of what is emphasized in popular Christmas celebrations isn’t even remotely Biblical. With respect to the “we three kings” song, imagine if we started treating the Titanic movie (with Leonardo DiCaprio) as an actual account of the events rather than simply a writer’s use of the historical event for a bit of fiction. We can do better than that… as Christians and as stewards of the Gospel… we must do better.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and it is my prayer that it will have sparked some renewed interest in the Old Testament and the Prophets. May the Lord bless you and keep you this Christmas,

In Him,
FS

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Context of Christmas: from kings to the King of kings

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ImageIf it is fitting that we Christians celebrate the Birth of the Jesus (Christmas), then we should endeavor to do so in Truth, the Word of God. It isn’t enough to simply reject the santaism that competes with the message of Jesus, or the materialism that robs us of our peace and joy and even goodwill toward men. I’d like to devote the next few articles to the wonder of the birth of Jesus. Luke 2 and Matthew 2 are wonderful passages chronicling the birth of our Savior, but I’d like to look at this event as the centerpiece of the bible, rather than simply the beginning of the New Testament. This will be my humble attempt at an overview of the Bible in many ways. As such, I will be using a lot more references to scripture (without including the texts here) than I am accustomed. I pray you will find the time to look up the passages referenced for your edification.

Today, I want to look at the significance of title “King of kings”. It is a title of the ultimate supremacy of God over all of the kings of men, and it is a title specifically worn by Jesus in Revelation 19:

Revelation 19:16 (NASB) 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

In the Beginning, when God created man, His desire was to be with us. He desired to have us freely choose to love Him, and live in His presence. To do so, we simply needed to obey Him (Gen 2:15-18). Adam failed in that regard, seeking rather to be like God knowing both good and evil. God immediately spared man from eternal separation from Him by removing man from the garden (Gen 3:22-24), and promising to make a way for the redemption of man by the seed of woman (Gen 3:15). As an aside, I’d like to point out that the enmity is between Satan and mankind. We too often falsely elevate Satan to being the opposite God. He is merely “in opposition” to God, but by this time he had already been cast out (defeated) by God. He remains a viscous foe only to created beings (men and angels, and the lesser creatures). We know that he opposed Jesus to the cross, at which point Jesus crushed Satan’s head and gained victory over the darkness. A second victory for God, the first victory for man, for He was both fully God and fully man (the seed of woman, but not of man, for He was born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14, Matt 1:18-25; John 1:1-4,14).

What follows next is a long succession of mankind demonstrating their desire to do evil, all the while God is reaching out to creation to return to Him. Finally, one man finds favor with God and seeks to serve Him faithfully. God makes a covenant with Abraham:

Genesis 17:1-8 (NASB)
1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
2 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. 7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Notice that God’s promise is to be the God of Abraham’s decedents. Kings will come from him, and a multitude of nations, but God promises He will be their God “throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant”. Again, God’s purpose remains to be our God and to make us fruitful. This takes place roughly 2100 years BC. So then we have Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (whose name gets changed to Israel in Gen 32:28). This whole time, there are other peoples who worship false gods and have their own kings. God uses Egypt to preserve Israel through a terrible famine, but the Children of Israel tarry too long in their comfort under Pharaoh… a situation that declines rapidly once Joseph dies and a new Pharaoh chooses to treat Israel harshly. And so, God raises up a leader (Moses) from among them, raised within the very house of Pharoah until his exile… an exile where Moses meets God in a burning bush (Exodus 3), and is called by God to rescue God’s chosen people, the children of Israel. God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He was moving mightily to rescue Israel and honor the covenant. In Exodus 12, God delivers Israel out of Egypt, just as Jesus’ sacrifice delivers us from the kingdom of darkness (1 Cor 5:7; Heb 11:25-28). The exodus beings in roughly 1446 BC.

Image

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Biblical_judges.png

But Israel would have a terrible time walking in freedom. The generation that was pulled out of Egypt just couldn’t let go of Egypt, it’s rulers or its gods, and for their sin God had to wait for the next generation to lead them into the promised land. Joshua follows God (and so leads Israel) into the promised land… but Israel failed to follow God completely, and as soon as Joshua dies, they chase after false gods and marry foreigners. And so begins a period of raising up judges to rescue Israel from oppression, only to see a period of piece, followed by sin and its consequential oppression once more (the book of Judges and 1 Samuel).

So it continues until the time of Samuel. The story of Samuel is awesome, but that’s for another time. Though Samuel served God faithfully, his sons did not. Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel, and they fell into sin, seeking dishonest gain and taking bribes for perverting justice (1 Sam 8). It is at this point that the elders of Israel came to Samuel and demanded that he appoint a king to judge over Israel. This greatly troubled Samuel.

Here in the U.S., we are far removed from having a king. We have a veritable pantheon of elected officials to whom we give great power over us, but we do not have a solid concept of a king. The Israelites had over them the priests, judges, and prophets. Each office was a position of authority over the people of Israel; however, the seat of their authority was firmly established in God. The priests, prophets, and judges were advocates of the people to God. A king is something different. What the Israelites were saying was that they no longer wanted to be judged and ruled over by God or His advocates, they wanted to carve out their own identity, have their own kingdom, patterned more after the kingdoms around them that served false gods. So God gave them over to their desire for a king, with a strong warning of what would come of it (read the remainder of 1 Sam 8). Saul becomes the first king of Israel in roughly 1050 BC.

When Saul sins against God, the Lord leads Samuel to anoint David as King. Now David being a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) serves God mightily and wanted to build for God a Temple. God denies his request (1 Chr 28:3) but David gathers up materials for the Temple that would be built later by Solomon in roughly 970 BC.

1 Chronicles 28:6-7(NASB) 6 [God] said to [David], ‘Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as is done now.’ (emphasis mine)

Solomon did not keep God’s commandments, and as a result, he was the last king over a unified Israel. Israel was split into 2 kingdoms, “Israel” to the north, and “Judah” to the south. Jerusalem, where the Temple was built, remained the capital city of Judah, and Samaria became the capital of Israel. In 722 BC, the Assyrians invaded Israel and scattered its tribes in exile. These are known as the lost tribes of Israel, because they never again returned to the land of Israel as a people. Their final king was Hosea. Judah lasts a bit longer until approximately 586 BC, when Babylon takes Jerusalem and destroys the Temple. King Nebuchadnezzar takes as captive “some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans” (Daniel 1:3b-4). But not all of Israel was taken to Babylon. Those that remained, suffered greatly. Without a king, without their nobles, best craftsmen leaders, intellectuals… they were left to starve and fend for themselves. The book of Lamentation was written in Judah during the Exile.

Now Cyrus, a Persian king, had conquered all of the kingdoms. The book of Ezra picks begins with a proclemation made by Cyrus:

Ezra 1:1-4 (NASB)
1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

Cyrus was a Zoroastrian, so in his mind, he was simply supporting all “good gods” in the epic struggle against the “evil gods”. Aside: How awesome is it that God can use and has used pagans and pantheists to work His Will! But God used Cyrus and the Persian empire to not only put an end to the Exile, but to commission the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple using Persian funding! Ezra and Nehemiah cover the rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem. This second temple is dedicated in roughly 516 BC, but Israel does not regain its independence, only it’s Temple and its identity under Persian rule. Alexandar the Great defeats the Persian empire, and the Greeks then rule over Jerusalem beginning roughly 333 BC. The Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes reigned over Judah from about 175 BC to about 164 BC and tried to destroy the Jewish religion and copies the Torah. He also defiled the Temple in Jerusalem by making it a temple to Zeus and demanding pigs be sacrificed within the temple (Daniel 11:31-35). The Maccabees revolted and gained some independence until  the Romans took over in 63 BC.

Now the stage is set. The throne of David seems all but abandoned. Israel is but a shadow of what it once was. For nearly 400 years now, the Prophets have been silent… and the people are looking for a Messiah. When the Romans took over, they placed Herod as governor over Jerusalem. He commissioned many an architectural wonder in expanding the Temple Mount (actually enlarging the mountain around the Temple, we’ll discuss this in greater detail later). But many Jews suffered under Herod. He would appoint High Priests in the Temple of his choosing, and should any of them disagree with Herod, He’d remove them and place another. Israel, wanted to be made free. This is why the message of Jesus was so completely difficult for the Jews to accept… especially for those who recognized Him as possibly the Christ:

John 10:22-24 (NASB) 22 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. 24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Now that we have established a historical and biblical context for the birth of Jesus, in the next blog I plan on looking at some of the really cool statements made in the Luke and Matthew accounts of the birth of our Savior. We will be looking at prophecies from Daniel and Isaiah for sure. In the meantime, I hope this has been at least interesting for some of you.

May the Lord bless and keep you in His Will,

FS

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It is fitting to celebrate the birth of Jesus…

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ImageLuke 2:8-14 (NASB)
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Clearly this event did not take place in the middle of winter. The Bible does not compel us to celebrate this event as a festival or a feast. We have the Passover, which served as a foreshadowing of the Christ and His sacrifice and our deliverance out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Nevertheless, it is good that we have a holiday that is at least in-part dedicated to honoring the gift of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  For Jesus was with God in the beginning…

John 1:1 (NASB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14(NASB)
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

It is fitting to celebrate the birth of Jesus, just as the angels did on that wonderful night. If your celebration of Christmas is with this purpose and focus, then I have no doubt that you and your family are truly blessed. At the risk of sounding a bit trite, the birth of Savior is something we should celebrate year-round, as we live our lives joined to Him in His death and resurrection (Phil 3:7-16).

However, when I think about how mixed the messaging during this season has become, my heart aches. I’m not talking about what the world celebrates… they will always chase after their false gods, idols, deceiving spirits, and exalt themselves in humanism. That they are so lost is the reason Jesus came. We were no different than they, having been born into their sin and equal partners in their death, but by the Grace of God in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, we have been redeemed. I’m talking about Christians… even churches… endorsing, supporting, and perpetuating the demigod of Christmas, Santa Clause. How we have allowed ourselves to become so numb to deception and idolatry is beyond me. That we invite it into our sanctuaries and our homes is worrisome.

There is only One who is all-knowing, and ever-present, and all-powerful. We don’t even grant Satan that kind of power, yet we knowingly ascribe such characteristics to a character of pure fiction. Then we tell our children that he is actually coming to the house, and we go to great lengths to present false evidence of his presence. In full knowledge of our lie and deception. For what? To get our children into the practice of putting their faith in false gods? To teach our children that we cannot be trusted with their faith? That Jesus isn’t enough for us, so we need other gods in the mix?

Proverbs 22:6 (NASB)
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

The same holds true (doubly so, I fear) when the way we train them up is in error. My wife and I have made a conscious decision to speak truthfully to our children. We will not knowingly lie to our children. When the topic of santa comes up, and my 3 year old asks me point-blank (which has happened already), “daddy, does santa bring presents?” my answer is a quick, “no, son, he isn’t real. He’s pretend, like Micky Mouse, he isn’t real”. I will not lie to your children, nor endorse your lies. I will do what I can to simply refrain from having the discussion, as long as it is fitting that I do so. If your child asks me while we are at church or while I am in a position of authority over your child (Sunday school teacher), I will speak the truth. I am under no obligation to support you in falsehood. If my child “ruins the lie”, I will bear no remorse nor will I reprimand my child. See to it you are not found guilty of reprimanding or disciplining my children for speaking the truth; however, if they are being malicious reprimand them for that and then let me know.

Ephesians 4:17-25 (NASB)
17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

If only santa were given no more credence than the grinch or the cat-in-the-hat, especially in Christian homes. Jack Frost and Father Winter (Old Man Winter) are other false gods that pop up in our “carols” and seasonal stories/traditions. The limitations of our English create an odd grey area around “the Christmas Spirit”… if it’s merely a mood, fine, but once it is given a persona, not good. The only spirit we engage in/with is the Holy Spirit which was sent to us by Jesus after He ascended into Heaven.

Whenever I bring this topic up, there is usually an appeal to the other extreme where the entirety of Christmas should be rejected and avoided. Sometimes it is merely a hyperbolic counter-assertion set up as a straw-man to dismiss the fundamental appeal I am making (that we lay aside falsehood), and at other times it is a sincere desire to make sure we are only celebrating what is acceptable in the Word (such as limiting ourselves to only the festivals ordained in Leviticus 23). While I see problem with limiting oneself to Levitical festivals, I also don’t agree that Christians are banned from celebrating the birth of Jesus, what we now call Christmas.  I do not think less of any Christian who, even after hearing/reading my views on this matter, lack the faith to walk away from santa or the other non-biblical traditions. If ever I am tempted to do so, I am reminded that my living, breathing, and very being is the result of divine Grace, not of my own merit. I am also reminded that we will each be made accountable to God. I think Paul put it best in his letter to the Romans:

Romans 14 (NASB)
14 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. 7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

What we are commanded to do in the Scriptures, we must do. Everything else should be covered in Grace, Unity, and Liberty. I pray the Lord Bless you and your family this Christmas Season. May we all join the angels in their praise of the Savior, “Glory to God in the Highest!…”

In Him,
FS