When a King is Born!
Let me tell you about the birth of a King.
You can hear the shots of the artillery in a 21-gun salute.
Flags billow, and chapel bells peal loud clanging music into the night.
Champagne corks stream through the air by the thousands.
People stand together and sing choruses in the street.
Clouds of euphoria make millions of people feel like they are members of one harmonious family.
At least that’s how one newspaper article says it was on June 21, 1982, when at 9:03 p.m., the future King of England came into the world. His name was William, Prince of Wales, born to Prince Charles and his young wife Diana. This boy was a legitimate heir to the throne. He was of royal ancestry, born to be king.
But that’s not how it was when Jesus came into the world. It’s difficult to imagine a birth more humble or lowly than the birth of Jesus.
The Bible says it quickly, “and she (Mary) gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)
We tend to romanticize the scene by painting it in the warm golden glow of a Christmas card. In reality, it was pretty perilous. As the angels declared His birth, they used words reserved for Caesar. Listen to Luke 2:8-14 (NKJV):
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Were they in a stable, in a cave, out on the street? No one knows, but we understand that this child’s first exposure to the world wasn’t enjoyable.
Some American churches don’t talk much about Christmas – neither did the Puritans in early America, but it is good to remember Jesus’ birth. However, it is improbable to have happened on December 25. That date was an adaptation of a pagan festival for the rebirth of the pagan god Mytherus. The early Catholics overlaid the birth story of the Savior onto the pagan fable.
One of the reasons some Christians react adversely to Christmas is because Satan has so commercialized it that we have lost the meaning of the holiday. A man surveyed Christmas shoppers in Tokyo one year and randomly asked people the point of Christmas. Most did not know. One distressing response was, “I don’t know, it has something to do with Jesus. Was it when He died?”
The date of Jesus’ birth is not mentioned in scripture, but a celebration is. Angels rejoiced in announcing His birth as Joseph and Mary celebrated His delivery. Christmas has also made an impact on America’s history. Let me read a few remarks our forefathers made of the day.
Who but a Washington, inspired by Heaven, could have conceived the surprise move upon the enemy at Princeton that Christmas eve when Washington and his army crossed the Delaware? Ezra Stiles
Continental Congress (July 3, 1776) recorded the statement of John Adams after Congress voted to accept the “Lee Resolution” to declare independence on July 2, 1776:
The Second Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epoche in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this time forward forever more.
How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts! Benjamin Franklin
Christmas received little recognition among the Congregationalists of Connecticut and the other New England States until the latter half of the nineteenth century when the Episcopalian and Catholic populations increased, resulting in December 25th being declared by statute a legal holiday. America’s connection to God and the gospel has led us to celebrate the birth of Christ in monumental ways.
Jesus’ birth is more significant than the raucous drinking parties I was exposed to in my youth and more than gift-giving. As Franklin said, it is easier to celebrate the birth of Jesus than obey His words. Let us not forget neither the birth of the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths nor His mission to seek and save the lost. Let’s respond to His words as the Psalmist wrote, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11, NKJV).
Let me give you a closing Benjamin Franklin quote to set our thinking on the purpose of Christmas Day. He said:
"Think of these things: whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account."
We are all accountable to God as individuals and as a nation. How will He judge us in light of the purposes for Jesus’ coming? His presence has brought our personal and national salvation. Our response is to honor Him more than as “CEOs,” “Christmas and Easter Only, but daily in all aspects of our lives. Listen to the response of the Gentiles in Antioch when Paul preached to them (Acts 13:48a, NKJV):
48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord.
Keep The Light of Rejoicing in Christ’s Purpose in Coming Burning!
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