Why Christmas?
Good Morning,
Did you realize that Christmas comes around every December? This year it is on the 25th. Ok, so that’s old news. It is in fact old news. Christians across the globe will spend time looking through the Gospels and reading the story of Jesus’ birth. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want to answer the question “Why Christmas?” then you need to start earlier in The Book.
Did you realize that there are over 300 prophesies in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah that are fulfilled by Jesus? Mathematicians marvel at that record. They express it this way: The odds of 1 person fulfilling just 8 prophecies is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. 1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies is 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power. Now that is a lot of zeros. Yet to somehow express the magnitude of 1 person fulfilling over 300 prophecies can only be done in 1 word: Jesus.
The Biblical record points to Jesus from the start. Moses, Isaiah, Micah and others prophesy about the coming King over 1000 years before His birth. Why is this important? Because the Bible tracks from beginning to end. To embrace Christianity, you don’t have to set aside some key incongruencies to make it work. Our faith is rooted in both historical fact and Divine mystery, all rooted in the unchanging, incorruptible character of God.
The story of Christmas is more than a warm, fuzzy tale about a baby born in a manger. It is a story of hope, love and mercy. It is also the story of victory. Because Jesus did not stay a baby. He grew into a man who experienced all that life throws at us so He can relate to us. He took upon Himself our punishment for sin and rose from the grave conquering death. But wait. There’s More! He is coming back again, not as a baby, but as the victorious King of the Universe. We will spend eternity with Him where there is no more pain, rejection, disease, disappointment or loneliness.
In a word, the answer to the question, “Why Christmas?” is Jesus. No other words are needed, and no other name compares.
Live this week on purpose and Merry Christmas,
Ron Klopfenstein
P.S. The Monday Morning Minute will not be published on December 30. It will resume in January 2020.
