Christ The Eternal Word Series

Christ the Eternal Word

John 1:1-3

Rev. Brian Bill

December 2-3, 2023

Are you aware many of our mental images about Christmas come from medieval art, Christmas cards, or Christmas carols? Speaking of Christmas carols, sometimes it’s challenging for kids to sing the lyrics correctly.

• For example, in “Joy to the World,” instead of singing, “and makes the nations prove,” some children declare: “and makes the nations prudes.”

• In the place of “the cattle are lowing,” some kids prefer: “the cattle are glowing.”

• Instead of “boughs of holly,” a few have been known to belt out these words, “Deck the halls with Buddy Holly.”

Speaking of kids and Christmas, you won’t want to miss next weekend as our EdgeKids Christmas Choir will be singing Christmas music in all three services.

Let me give a warning as I begin: I’m going to walk through a list of ten common myths about Christmas, and you may experience some push back because some of us don’t have the correct lyrics of the first Christmas narrative. Make sure you have your Bible handy so you can compare what is cultural to what is truly Christmas.

Did I mention you may push back on what I’m calling, “Merry Mythmas.”

1. There’s no evidence Mary rode on a donkey to Bethlehem. Luke 2:4-5 only says Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, not how they got there.

2. There’s no record of the innkeeper saying anything in the Christmas story. In fact, he’s not even mentioned in the Bible. Luke 2:7 simply says, “there was no place for them in the inn.”

3. We don’t know the exact day of Jesus’ birth. It’s more likely He was born in the spring or fall, though it’s totally fine we recognize His birth on December 25.

4. The ox and the lamb didn’t keep time while the little drummer boy drummed on his drum. Matthew 2:11 does say the wisemen “fell down and worshipped” the Christ child and gave him gifts, so perhaps the drummer boy was just following their lead by offering his drum solo to Jesus.

5. Jesus was not born in a wooden crib. Luke 2:7 says Jesus was “laid in a manger,” which was a stone feeding trough. BTW, this may mean animals were present, but the Bible doesn’t say.

6. Even though one of our carols declares, “no crying He makes,” it’s likely Jesus did cry since He later wept when Lazarus died (John 11:35). In addition, Hebrews 2:17 says, “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

7. The Bible doesn’t say, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Luke 2:13 indicates the angels were “praising God and saying…” but there’s no indication they were singing.

8. The Bible never says there were three wiseman. Matthew 2:11 does mention three gifts which were given. Sorry, the Bible doesn’t say they came on camels either. Oh, and the Bible never records them singing, “We Three kings from Orient Are...” They were magi, probably Persians, men who likely belonged to the group described in Daniel 2:2: “magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers.” As the context indicates, part of their focus involved astrology and astronomy. Our English word magic comes from the same word used to describe these pagan seekers.

9. Speaking of the wisemen, they did not arrive the night of Jesus’ birth, but up to two years later. Now that messes up our manger scenes, doesn’t it? Matthew 2:11 indicates they went “into the house” and saw the “child,” which is the word for toddler.

10. Speaking of manger scenes, the Bible doesn’t state there was a star over the place where Jesus was born. Matthew 2:2, 9-10 indicates the star caused the wisemen to head out on a journey and when they got closer, the star guided them to the “house” where Jesus was.

There’s one more myth we must address at the start of the Christmas season: Many believe that Jesus Christ got His start in Bethlehem.

As we will see, because He is the Son of God and God the Son, Jesus Christ has always existed. Unfortunately, many today know very little of the glory of Jesus both before and after his birth.

Let’s make sure we get the facts straight about the Christmas narrative by reading the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke. These two gospels give us insight into the birth of Jesus and provide much of what we know about the first Christmas. While the Gospel of Mark focuses on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Gospel of John actually begins much earlier than even the accounts of Matthew and Luke.