Our Savior Was Born

Articles

Kevin Heaton
11/24/24 - The Zephyrhills Beacon

For many, the end of every year is the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is referred to as the holiday of Christmas. This was a tradition started by the Roman Catholic church and has thrived ever since. Many people “become religious” or have their hearts stirred up a bit by this event. As you drive down the road, you’ll see many yards that have set up their version of the nativity scene. You’ll see many denominations advertising Christmas events and inviting all to come watch and be a part. All this is done in the name of celebrating Jesus’ birth.

And it is at this time of year, and toward the religious view of Christmas that we turn our efforts to teach from God’s Word and explain why it is not correct to “celebrate” the birth of Christ with something like Christmas. We can show from God’s Word that we are not instructed anywhere to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but we are, however, instructed to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection by means of the Lord’s Supper. Every first day of the week. Sunday. We can even show that some are misinformed about the events of Jesus’ birth and have mixed up the information given us in the Bible.

With that being said, listen up. While we correct some of the errors of the celebration of Jesus’ birth by means of the Christmas holiday, we need to be very careful that we don’t fail to see that we SHOULD celebrate the birth of Jesus. See how important it is. Rejoice in the fact that our Savior was born. This is not to say that we need to have any official ceremony or holiday, but rather we can spend time celebrating the birth of Jesus in any way that is not contradictory of the Scriptures.

The message of the Gospel (good news) is that God had a plan to save us. He sent us our Savior who was born in the likeness of mankind. He was crucified and died for our sins and then was raised on the third day. He then gave the good news to His apostles who proclaimed it to as many as they could. And we continue to live in this Gospel and serve the Lord as our fellow brethren did. We are to rejoice and “celebrate” every part of what God has done for us. We are to be amazed and full of God’s praises when we see how His plan was brought about and fulfilled. An extremely vital part of that plan was the birth of our Savior. And God not only made it a significant part of the plan, He did it in such a way as to show His awesome power by causing Jesus to be born of a virgin. Whoa! That is truly amazing.

After Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord went to some shepherds at night who were taking care of their sheep. This is what the angel told them (and us):

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…. ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!’” (Luke 2:10-14)

“He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

“‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel (God with us).’” (Matthew 1:23)

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him…And you, oh Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel…they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:1-11)

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)

“My eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)

While we are not given any specific ceremony to perform in celebrating Jesus’ birth, it is very clear to see the events of His birth from God’s Word and that there was great rejoicing and praise and worship and celebrating. Why? Because it was the fruition of God’s eternal plan in the flesh! Our Savior had finally come. The One who would fulfill the will of God and bring about our salvation. If you had a life threatening disease and someone found a cure, wouldn’t you rejoice in that? Absolutely! We worship God and rejoice in our Savior’s birth when we realize that He left His home in Heaven with the Father to come to this pitiful rock, to take on the flesh of man to eventually pay the price for our sins by dying on the cross. Thankfully He would then rise from the dead. But our salvation would not have happened if Jesus had never come to this earth!

We celebrate the birth of Jesus when we pray, when we sing, when we consume God’s Word. And even though the purpose of the Lord’s Supper is centered around the death of Jesus, it is book-ended by His birth and His resurrection. If Jesus had not come to earth, we would not have a Savior to die for our sins. If Jesus hadn’t been raised, then we would be of all men the most pitiable because we’d have no hope beyond death.

We may not celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas, but we better be celebrating the birth of Jesus every first day of the week and every day of our lives for that matter. Hallelujah! Our Savior was born! We have a Savior! We have hope! Thanks be to our Father! Thanks be to Jesus! Thanks be to the Holy Spirit! Jesus was born. Let’s always remember, He left Heaven and came to earth so that we could leave earth and go to Heaven.