It
is easy to get distracted at this time of year. There are plans and parties,
garland and gifts, family and friends, all of which occupy our time and
attention. Even those determined to “Keep Christ in Christmas” can easily find
themselves swept up in the materialism of the age or the busyness of the
season. If we attempt to re-focus our hearts on Christ’s Incarnation, the redemptive-historical
event being celebrated, we may be distracted in another way. The baby Jesus
transfixes us. We imagine the sweetness of the scene—a rather unhistorical
perspective on events that were bloody, frightening, and occurred in close
proximity to animals. We may think of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and
angels, the wise men and their gifts, or the few stories we have in Matthew and
Luke of Christ’s childhood. But in our reflections, as appropriate as they may
be, we are in danger of forgetting the real point of the Incarnation.
Jesus was born in order to die. The Incarnation was necessary because Man was appointed to death because of sin and only God could pay the appointed penalty. Jesus was not born in Bethlehem so that we could have a winter holiday and erect trees inside our homes. He was born so “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:14-15). He was born to save us from our sins, to save us from wrath and Hell. He was born to die, and rise, and reign over all His enemies (cf. John 12:23-28; 18:37).
Jesus was born in order to die. The Incarnation was necessary because Man was appointed to death because of sin and only God could pay the appointed penalty. Jesus was not born in Bethlehem so that we could have a winter holiday and erect trees inside our homes. He was born so “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:14-15). He was born to save us from our sins, to save us from wrath and Hell. He was born to die, and rise, and reign over all His enemies (cf. John 12:23-28; 18:37).
It is not wrong for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus or the historical event of the Incarnation. But we must be diligent to keep it in its biblical and theological context. The birth of Christ is not an isolated event in the pages of Scripture; it is the antepenultimate event in God’s redemptive plan. The Incarnation is preceded by centuries of preparation. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). This is the context within which we must see the birth of Christ. This is the larger perspective we need to properly celebrate Christmas. We must see it in light of God’s sovereignty and our need of redemption. The climatic moment of the Incarnation is not the manger; it is the cross and tomb.–JME
