Find Similar Products Like Dallas Cowboys Baby Gift Set at Amazon
|
The secular world is always attacking Christmas. Oh, how the economy would suffer if we ever STOPPED celebrating this holiday! There’s no denying that there are a heap of who would prefer that Christ had not one thing to do with Christmas. Before we Christians get our lederhosen in a twist in defense of our beloved holiday, let’s consider a few things regarding this celebration of “the night of our dear Savior’s birth.” We may be amazed to find that Christ – and a heap of Christian traditions – had little to do with Christmas as we recognise it. I’M NOT BEING A GRINCH BUT… When it comes to Christmas Pageants and Nativity scenes, let’s know how erroneous they are. Invariably, they combine the visit of the Shepherds (found in Luke’s Gospel) with the visit of the Magi (from Matthew’s Gospel) into one harmonized birthday celebration. See, in Luke’s Gospel, the account goes something like this: Shepherd’s are in the field and an angel appears to them and directs them to visit Bethlehem where the baby has been born (Luke 2). Verse 16 declares, ” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.” Let’s not overlook that point: a BABY in the manger. The Greek word applied there means without doubt or question refers to a newborn baby. Nowhere does Luke mentions “wise men” or “magi.” Then, as we thoroughly question Matthew, we read not one thing with regards to shepherds or a manger. Here’s how Matthew tells his story (Chapter 2): “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, etc.” After Jesus was born, these Magi showed up in Jerusalem and asked where a king would be born in this queer kingdom. They are told, in Bethlehem. So, off they go. The story picks up in verse 11: “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they staged to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Did you catch that? When the Magi arrive, they enter a HOUSE and find, not an infant – as in Luke – but a toddler, older than an infant, according to the Greek definition. These facts demonstrate two things for us: 1) The Shepherds arrived without delay after Jesus’ birth and visited him while he was still in the manger. 2) The Magi arrived in regards to two years later and visited the toddler in his parent’s house in Bethlehem. Matthew and Luke are telling two dissimilar stories that we have in some way attempted to blend together. The birth accounts need NOT be combined because they describe dissimilar phases in the childhood of Jesus. The fact that Herod killed all Bethlehem boys age 2 and beneath could be proof that Jesus was with regards to that age. Hence, when Christmas Pageants and Nativity Scenes include both Shepherds and Wise Men, they do so versus Biblical testimony and contrary to the Gospels themselves. In short, they telescope two separate, distinct events into one. Does this mean such pageants are evil? No, but it does mean they are inaccurate. THE MEANINGFUL GIFTS OF THE MAGI The gifts were given to the baby Jesus by the Three Wise Men (Magi) from the East. Were there REALLY three? Probably not but there were at least two. Let’s look at what those gifts were and what they represent. The three gifts we read of in Matthew 2 are a BIG share of the Gospel story for they are symbolic of the reason that Jesus was born in a humane body; they are an expression of His ministry on earth. Matthew 2:10-11 “…After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him… they staged to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” First, the Gold is telling of His royalty, that He is the true King of kings. Second, the Frankincense tells of His unfeigned reason for leaving the glory of Heaven and getting man…His priesthood. We read in Hebrews 2:17 that He became like us that He might be our “faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.” And, third, the Myrrh represents His death on the cross “to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). After Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, had been granted the right to remove Jesus from the cross and lay Him in the tomb built for Joseph himself; Nicodemus came, bringing embalming materials, to aid with the burial of Jesus. We are told in John 19:39: “Nicodemus, who had initial come to Him by night, likewise came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, with regards to a hundred pounds weight.” Myrrh was employed as an embalming ointment. Myrrh was likewise an incense often times employed in perfumes. You will recall, in John 12:1-7, that Mary, sister of Lazarus, took a jar of highpriced perfume of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus. When Judas Iscariot chastised her for this, Jesus told him, “. . . Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the joy of My burial.” On the web site, Bible Fragrances — http://www.biblefragrances.net/nard.html — we read: In the Old Testament, nard is referred to in the Song of Songs, as a symbol of the intimate nature of the Bride’s love. This is the point at which relations with her beloved are initiated. When the perfume of nard is named, the bride recognizes her beloved as such. Don’t go broke buying gifts. Instead, give your family the most precious gift, Jesus Christ. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS? I know that some will say that Christmas is not genuinely the unfeigned time of Jesus’ birth. That’s true, for no one genuinely knows the true date of His birth. We DO recognise that Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem for the census decreed by Caesar Augustus, that all must go to their own city to be registered and counted. Now, since the Roman government to a great extent taxed the Jews, they would surely have waited until AFTER the fall harvest to call them to leave their fields Otherwise, the harvest to be taxed would be smaller. The Romans wanted more bang for their buck, one might say. Also, I’ve read that it was most likely the early Fall when the shepherds were still in the fields with their flocks. In December, it would be too cold for them to have their sheep in the fields. It is also unfeigned that December 25th was chosen because it was a pagan holiday, Saturnalia, a Roman festival and holiday, and it has not one thing to do with the birth of Jesus. Put yourself in the place of the Christians for the duration of that time. They were seeing all the revelry of the Roman Saturnalia festival; they were seeing a great deal of of their friends and family being lured toward the good times of that festival. What could they do? Just as today a lot of Christians offer Halloween “alternative parties” for their children to keep them from the pagan rituals of Halloween, the Christians in that day decisive to celebrate an substitute to Saturnalia. What better thing to celebrate than the birth of Jesus Christ? The natural thing to do was to give the Christians a holy event to celebrate while their neighbors were busy celebrating their pagan holiday. That is why we celebrate December 25th as the birth of Jesus Christ. If you think with regards to it, we ought to be celebrating His birth each day for there is no more outstanding gift than that free gift given to us by God, the birth of His Son who came to be our be our King of kings, to be our High Priest, and, to die in our place, that we might have an chance to be born again, free from sin. Share this priceless gift with your family. Tell them the TRUE story of Christmas. Have an unbelievable Christmas! Uh…by the way, the word “Christmas” comes from the Middle English “Cristemas” and from the Old English “Cristes Messe,” or Christ’s festival….in case you were interested. Every blessing, Michael Tummillo A servant of God [http://www.YourTown4Jesus.org] |
