The Whole Christmas Story

Date: December 25, 2012 12:38 AM
Topic: The Whole Christmas Story

The Whole Christmas Story   
Scripture Focus: John 1:29-34
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3).
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Great anticipation and high hope surround the birth of a baby. This was most certainly the case as Mary and Joseph viewed their tiny newborn Son. While Mother was taking in all the details for her mental scrapbook, Dad was perhaps envisioning the first hammer he would place in his grip.

There was another interested party who had both the beginning and the end in sight. God the Father knew that His Son was destined for a cross. Among the titles His Son was to collect were Suffering Servant, Sacrificial Lamb, and Man of Sorrows.

The contrast is almost too much to comprehend. Jesus' disciples certainly struggled with it: How could our hope of salvation be headed for crucifixion? Still today, when we look at a manger scene, it is hard to envision this same Child being forced to wear a crown of thorns.

At Christmas we celebrate the new life and hope that rests in the manger at Bethlehem. But without the cross of Easter, the wonderful expectancy of Christmas offers no abiding life, hope, or joy.

INSIGHT: This Christmas, celebrate the birth of Jesus for all that it means. He is both a King deserving of praise and a Servant willing to die for us.