INTRODUCTION
Why do we take time to celebrate the Christmas holiday? Why does a nation of people take time out of their busy schedules to celebrate this national holiday? Are you all busy? How much time have you taken out of your busy schedule to decorate (how much have you taken out of your budget), to buy presents and open and send Christmas cards?
Sometimes in the hype of a holiday, we tend to forget the real reason for the holiday that we are celebrating.
I see this during the Easter season; many people think that Easter is all about a big bunny that comes to the house to give us candy. Who thought that up? The dentist? The Forth of July and Memorial Day get reduced to another day off of work for many people.
If you ask people what the reason for the season is, you will get many different answers, they will range from; “it is a special time for the kids”; to “it is a time to give and receive gifts”; to “it is a time for family” to “Jesus”. I know why we say these things. With all the commercialization and hype around Christmas we lose sight of Christ.
I have watched a few new Christmas programs that lead you to believe that this season is all about children and family. It is a time to give gifts and be with family and reconcile any differences that exist in the family.
If you push hard enough, many people will finally say that Jesus is the reason for the season. Over the last several weeks we may have seen that statement in a variety of places from cards to T-shirt’s to Church bulletin boards.
But is that a true statement? Is Jesus really the reason for the season?
Is Jesus really the reason for the season or is there some deeper reason for the birth of Jesus that we celebrate during this season?
I want to look briefly look at a few statements that Jesus made in the Gospels to see if we can uncover the real reason for the season.
TS: As you celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas don’t forget the real reason for the season.
SERMON
One reason that Jesus came was:
I. FULFILL THE LAW. Matthew 5:17
• MAT 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
• Why did Jesus have to come to fulfill the Law? Why would the Law need to be fulfilled? The purpose of the Law was to lead a person to Christ. It was designed to let a person know that they could not get to heaven on his or her own. GAL 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.
• Jesus was the focus of the Law; it was to be completed by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
• This is important because without Jesus fulfilling the Law, there would be no salvation by grace. Without the blood of Jesus, there would be no true forgiveness of sins.
• READ HEBREWS 10:1-4
• READ HEBREWS 9:12-22
• In this statement, I do not see anything about Jesus coming for family time or gifts. Let’s look at another statement from Jesus to see if we can find the reason for the season.
One reason that Jesus came was:
II. DIVIDE MEN. Luke 12:51-53
• LUKE 12:51-52 "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five {members} in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.
• Does this statement sound like a “time for family”?
• READ MATTHEW 10:34-39
• I really do not like this picture, Christmas time is a time that we are to go to war with each other in our family. Jesus came to make war?
• Jesus tells us in this passage that He came to divide those who believe in God and those who do not.
• There are only two teams you can be on. You are either on God’s team by deciding to give your life to Christ and to be immersed into Christ, or by simply doing nothing, you choose not to be on God’s team.
• Satan wants us to ignore God so that he can keep us from God. MATTHEW 12:30 states, "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
• JOHN 9:39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."
• In this statement, I do not see anything about Jesus coming for family time or gifts. The reason for the season is war? Let’s look at another statement from Jesus to see if we can find the reason for the season.
One reason that Jesus came was:
III. SERVE OTHERS. Matthew 20:28
• Now this is starting to sound a little bit more like it. We do the Santa Claus thing so that we can get something from someone. Maybe the reason for the season is service?
• MAT 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
• This fits right in with the spirit of the season. Santa Claus comes to give gifts, not take them away.
• It is interesting that Jesus said this in the context of James and John asking Jesus if they could be His right hand men in the kingdom.
• Do you find it interesting that God sent His Son into the world to serve HIS creation?
• Just who is He here to serve? Why did we need Jesus to give His life as a ransom for many?
• In this statement, I do not see anything about Jesus coming for family time or gifts. The reason for the season is service? This is sounding better, but I do not think we have gotten down to the real reason for the season yet. Let’s look at another statement from Jesus to see if we can find the reason for the season.
• What kind of service did Jesus do for us?
One reason that Jesus came was:
IV. SEEK AND SAVE THE LOST. Luke 19:10
• Jesus had just spent some time at the house of Zaccheus, who was a known cheat and thief, he was a tax collector. The religious leaders were shocked that Jesus would take the time to eat in the house of a sinner, Jesus knowing their hearts gives us this response found in Luke 19:10. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
• Just who are these lost people that Jesus came to seek? What caused them to be lost?
• MAT 9:12-13 But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means: ’I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
• Jesus came to seek sinners! Who are sinners? Those who commit sin. What is sin? It is doing what God has told you not to do and it is not doing what God told you to do. Sin literally means to miss the mark.
• ROM 5:1-2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
• The Bible tells us that sin separates from God; sin puts us at war with God. This verse tells us that we make peace with God through Jesus.
• Jesus came to do some things for people who were lost. He wanted to give us the chance to be a part of God’s kingdom. Jesus came to do some things for us so that we can stand before God knowing that heaven will be our home.
• ROM 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus came to pay the price for our sin. He came to pay a debt that we could never pay on our own.
• Sin enslaves us. JOHN 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
• Jesus came to set the captive of sin free.
• LUKE 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,
• JOHN 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
• 2CO 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin {to be} sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We can have the stain of sin removed from us by Jesus.
• Jesus came to give life to us.
• JOHN 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have {it} abundantly.
• What the world has to offer you is not real life. It we settle for what the world has to offer it could be compared to a person who is given a wonderful gift. When they open the box, they ignore the real gift and play with the box. The world offers you the box; Jesus offers you the gift of life!
• The enemy wants your life and soul. The enemy wants us to forget about the real reason behind our Christmas celebration. He wants us to forget about why Jesus was born in a manger and why He suffered and died on the cross.
• If we do not have a good grasp on why Jesus was born of a woman into the world, then we will also not have a thankful heart toward Jesus for what He did for us.
V. YOU ARE THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
This all leads up to the ultimate reason for the season.
We must not forget that on one level Jesus is not the reason for the season. Dr. Jack Cottrell is right when he says that Jesus is not the reason for the season. Sinners, you and I, we are the reason for the season. Christ came to give us life and hope. Without sin, there would be no reason to come. You are the reason for the season.
This thought should humble us, it should serve as a reminder of the love that God has for us that He would send His Son to redeem us from the curse of sin.
The season is really all about sin and its devastating effects on mankind.
The season is about a God who loved you so much He sent His Son to die in your place. The season is about the love that the Father and the Son has for you.
The season is about family, the family of God; it is about gifts, the gift of salvation that God is offering to you through His Son Jesus!
Theologian R.C. Sproul said, "Moses could meditate on the law. Mohammed could brandish a sword, Buddha could give personal counsel, Confucius could offer wise sayings, but none of these men was qualified to offer atonement for the sins of the world. Jesus alone is qualified.
CONCLUSION
When you receive your gifts this year, I want you to remember the gift that Jesus wants to give to you, the gift of salvation. When you look at your tree that is so finely decorated, I want you to think about the cross and how it was decorated with the lifeless body of Jesus and how He allowed Himself to be put there to pay for our sins.
What is the reason for the season? The reason for the season is sin. It is about Jesus coming to redeem what was lost. This is the greatest gift that God could give to mankind.
Will you accept it? Will you to moved to take Jesus up on His offer of salvation?
