Jesus Is The Reason For The Season

Or is he?  Well, yes and no I guess.  He's supposed to be that's for sure.  But is he really the reason for the Christmas season?  Here I go again.  Looking at the details and what is found and is NOT found in the Word of God.  Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ and is one of we Christians most important holidays.  We assume that December 25th is His birthday and is cause for great celebration!  And boy have we developed a lot of different traditions from nearly all cultures all over the world to help us celebrate!  Too many to even begin to list. 

But......is December 25th the day that little baby Jesus was born in that manager in Bethlehem?  Well, the truth be told, I don't really have a clue.  There's some stuff about His birth in the Bible.  But what is strangely missing is the actual DATE of His birth.  It's just not there.  However, it is clear that he was most likely NOT born in December.  When you look at Luke 2:8 which says "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."  So it might have been spring, summer or even fall but probably not winter.  Why?  Because in December it is too cold and rainy in Israel for the shepherds to be out in the fields at night tending their sheep.  And it's pretty clear from Luke 2:9-14 that the shepherds WERE in the field the night that Jesus was born: 

     "And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:  and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

So the shepherds were definitely IN the field on the night of our dear Saviour's birth but it probably was not in December at all. 

Here 's another little item to note.  There is NO mention of wise men being at the manger either.  Although this is very clear from scripture, most folks just never notice this yet somehow we've developed this traditional "picture" of the manger scene with Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, three wise men, and maybe a couple animals and maybe even some shepherds hovering over the manger looking at the babe.  Admit it, that's what you always assumed, right?  That's certainly what we see in all the nativity scenes we used to see set up all over our towns and cities.  Unfortunately, now the manger scene seems to be a violation of someone else's rights or something.  It's an offense to some.  Can you even imagine that?  I'm digressing again.  Anyway, why are those wise men there when they didn't even show up until possibly up to two years later and it sure wasn't at the birth manger?  The first mention of the wise men is in Matthew 2:1-8:

     "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?  for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea:  for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the Land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.  Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also."

Notice these scriptures don't say HOW MANY wise men either.  They don't say three; they just say "wise men."  So, it could have been two or many; we really don't know how many.  Notice too that they followed a large, bright star of some kind.  We don't really know what that star was exactly but it did move.  From Matthew 2:11 we know that when the wise men finally did find Jesus it was not in the manger at all but in a HOUSE somewhere.  We don't really know where either.  "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him ."  So it was in a house and this also indicates that Jesus was a young child;  not a baby but a young child! 

A while later, in Matthew 2:16 we see that King Herod was angry and decided to kill all the children in Bethlehem who were two years old and under.  "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men."  So........Herod at least knew that Jesus could have been as old as two years by that time.  So that means that it is possible that the wise men didn't even find Jesus until he was two.

There's not much else in the Bible actually about the birth of Jesus.  So there goes another one of our "traditional" images of the manger scene.  No wise men, no decorated trees (see previous blog dated November 16, 2009) and it wasn't even in December!  So much for the Christmas cards with this picture on them.  In fact, there isn't even a record anywhere in the Bible of Jesus' birthday being celebrated.  Evidently that wasn't the custom at that time.   

So how did we end up celebrating Christmas in December anyway?  Well, it turns out that it goes way, way, back a long, long time ago.  In fact, many of our traditional Christmas customs go back thousands of years ago and before Jesus was even born.  Most historians mention the ancient practice of honoring the sun god in late December.  There were parties, banquets, and gift exchanges for the festival of Saturnalia, named for the heathen god Saturn.  Over the many centuries these pagan celebrations have been mixed in with the worship of our Lord and somehow these practices which were never mentioned in the Bible became intertwined with the spread of Christianity. 

Now are you ready for a huge surprise?  This one blew me away.  The early settlers in New England did not even celebrate Christmas and, in fact, outlawed it! Christians helped pass laws that actually made it illegal to observe Christmas because they felt it was insulting to God to honor a day associated with pagan rituals.  Most of us are totally unaware that Christmas was banned in Boston from 1659 to 1681.  Christmas was not declared a federal holiday until 1870.  Can you believe that?  That wasn't even that long ago!  Who would have ever guessed that except maybe historians?  I guess it's an example of how ungodly things "creep" into our traditions and even into our churches today.    

Well, celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25th may not be the exact right date and many of the traditions we normally associate with Christmas may have originally been mixed with paganistic beliefs and practices but I believe that most of us who love the Lord celebrate this day with all of the right motives in our hearts.  Even though it may not actually be the day of Jesus' birth, we have been celebrating it as such for so many years that it has become one of our most important Christian holidays.  It is a day that we have chosen to honor the Lord and to pay respects to his day of birth (even though it technically isn't his birthday).  I just wish that we could all come away from the materialism of this day and truly just worhip the Lord on this special day. 

Did the early settlers have it right when they outlawed the celebration of Christmas?  I don't know.  You be the judge of that.  I do know that we've allowed it to become the most materialistic holiday ever and that is wrong for sure.  I wish we could just get back to the basics.  Keep it simple and full of love for one another and mostly for the Lord.  Teach your children the real Christmas story.  Read it straight from the Bible.  Explain to them that different customs, rituals, and traditions have developed over the years but that most of them have nothing to do with the actual biblical story of the birth of Jesus.  That doesn't necessarily make these traditions wrong.  But I think it's important that we all know the truth and can distinguish the actual and factual from what has just become customary. 

In the meantime, if you do shop for Christmas gifts, please go to the stores who are not afraid to allow their employees to say Merry Christmas; who are not afraid to display Merry Christmas signs on the doors and windows of their shops.  Fight back when it comes to "political correctness" which is not usually correct at all.  It's just plain dumb sometimes.  Don't turn your hard earned money over to the stores who have basically outlawed Christmas with their crazy policies.  It doesn't even make sense.  They're sure happy to take your money and plenty of it but they're not willing to recognize the Christ in Christmas.  Be different.  Make a difference.  Look around inside the stores.  If you see no signs of "Christmas" versus "holiday" in the store then go somewhere else after you tell the management why you are leaving.  Write a letter if you don't find anyone in authority to actually talk to in the store.  Written letters usually carry more weight anyway.

Were you surprised by any of this?  I was but I appreciate knowing the true facts about stuff;  especially about biblical stuff.  In the meantime, keep studying God's Word and keep on praying.  If you don't have a strong desire for God's Word in your heart, then just pray for it.  Ask God to instill this love of His Word in you.  I'm sure He will.  He is no respecter of persons.  What He does for one he will do for another.