Christmas And The Cross Series

One of the great turning point days in the history of the Western

world was June 18, 1815. Napoleon and Wellington faced each

other on the battlefield for the first and last time. The history of

Europe, and possibility the whole world, hung in the balance. The

weight began to shift in Napoleon's favor as many of Wellington's

European troops deserted before the hardest fighting began.

Toward the close of the day Wellington was seriously outnumbered.

He looked at his watch and muttered, "Would to God that night or

Bleucher would come." To his delight Bleucher did arrive with his

troops, and his coming through the balance in Wellington's favor,

and Napoleon was defeated. Historians ever since have speculated

on what would have happened if Bleucher had not come.

This same speculation surrounds the coming of Jesus into the

battlefield of history. What if He had never come? It would mean

that we would live in a world with no Christmas, no cross, and no

resurrection. It would be a world with no Savior. It would still be a

pre-Christmas world if Jesus had not come. That was not a hopeless

world, for people still had God's promise, but it was a dark world

with no symbol of ultimate victory. We have this symbol and

assurance of victory because we live in a post-Christmas world. We

live in a world with a cross and a Savior. Without Christmas there

would be no cross, for Jesus had to be born before He could die. It

is because of Christmas that we have the cross and all that it means.

As birth precedes death, so Christmas must precede the cross

and be the basis for it. One of the greatest gifts that comes to us

from Christmas is the cross, and all of its benefits for time and

eternity. Christmas marks His coming, and the cross marks His

conquering. The two are so linked together that I will not be

surprised if we learn in heaven that the timbers for the cross came

from the very barn or cave where Jesus was born. The two timbers

that formed the cross are themselves symbolic of these two great

events in God's plan. The long timber plunged into the earth, yet

pointing to heaven, represents the incarnation of the Son of God

plunging from heaven's glory into earth's gloom to dwell with man.

The cross bar pointing in both directions represents the death of

Jesus for the sins for the whole world. The birth and death;

Christmas and the cross are as linked together as the two timbers

that formed the cross. Both of these eternal events that transpired

in time are needed to fulfill each other.

Christmas without the cross would not exist, for the birth of

Jesus would not likely ever be thought of had He not died for the sin

of the world. The cross, on the other hand, would just be another

case of capital punishment had the one who died there not been the

virgin born Son of God. Christmas and the cross need each other.

The cross is the final proof of the reality of the incarnation. God

really did become a man, and not just a fake or phantom man. He

came all the way into manhood, even to the point where He could

die. Only the creature dies and not the Creator, but the cross

reveals that the Creator really did become a creature and experience

death. The cross confirms the message of Christmas that God really

did become a man. In doing so He became the hero that arrived on

the battlefield just in time to save man and establish a kingdom of

liberty that will have no end. Paul in Gal. 4 reveals some of the basic

strategy that links Christmas and the cross in His plan of

redemption, and makes them both days of victory. The first thing

we see is-

I. THE TIMING OF HIS COMING. v. 4

In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son. When the time

was ripe and just right God started the first Christmas. Jesus

learned well from His father, for His strategy was the same with the

cross. He could have let Himself be crucified at any time, but He

kept saying His time was not yet come. Only when He could say that

His time had come did He permit the crucifixion to take place.

Christmas and the cross have this in common: They both took place

at just the right time because timing is the key to victory. Almost

everything you see to convey the joy of victory over evil follows this

pattern of right timing.

1. The cavalry comes just in time to save the wagon train or

besieged fort.

2. The hero arrived just in time to save the damsel in distress.