The all-important message of Christmas is Immanuel – God is with us. Whether you are a happy person, a hurting person, a lonely person, or a sorrowful person, we can find encouragement in this gospel truth: God is with you, will help you, and will strengthen you. This is a message worth embracing and sharing with others.
The real reason for Christmas is found in the angel’s pronouncement to the shepherds that first Christmas night, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:11-12). We discover that the purpose of Christ’s coming was not to merely present us with a sweet picture of a baby lying in a Bethlehem manger but to be our Savior. There is a lot we can celebrate about the Son of God being born by such modest means. The picture of Mary and Joseph and the Christ child in a stable with shepherds visiting is worth reflecting upon. The scene is quite awe-inspiring. However, I would encourage us to go beyond the manger scene. Christmastime is about more than the Christ child lying in a manger. The angel declaring Him Savior means Christmas is about much more. Christmas is about God coming to earth in human flesh so He could die on the Cross to pay for our salvation, which makes available to each of us life abundant.
People rarely think about the Cross at Christmastime, and few look at Philippians 2:5-8 as a Christmas passage, but both address the true meaning of Christmas. Paul writes, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Paul clearly connects the thoughts of the birth of Christ and the Cross that awaited Him.
As Paul writes about God becoming a man, he goes on to express the ultimate reason God chose to demonstrate this incredible act of love. Paul writes in verse 8, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” There is something noteworthy about the Greek word we translate as “form.” It’s the same word used in an account from ancient times to depict a king who exchanged his royal garments briefly for the clothing of a beggar. Consider how the Spirit of God inspired Paul to use this phrase and specific word to describe Jesus’ coming to earth. When Jesus came, it really was a moment when Almighty God shed His glorious appearance and exchanged it for the clothing of human flesh. For the purpose of our salvation, God laid aside all of His radiant glory, took upon Himself human flesh, and was manifested in the very likeness of a human being.
Jesus, our King, not only humbled Himself and exchanged His royal garments with the clothing of a servant (human flesh) but, out of profound love for us, was “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus, God incarnate, was willing to stoop to any measure needed to bring us salvation. Jesus being born, born in a modest stable, lying in a manger (an animal’s feeding trough), demonstrates the attitude of God humbly lowering Himself to become like a member of His creation to offer salvation to each of us. According to Philippians 2:8, Jesus humbled Himself and chose to go to any measure in order to provide us with salvation and His eternal presence.
The late great storyteller Paul Harvey told the story about a family on Christmas Eve. This family had a tradition where the Mother and children would go to the Christmas Eve service, and the Father would stay home. Then, when the family returned from church, they would all gather to open up their presents.
The Father was not an evil man, but he just couldn’t believe in the childhood stories anymore of God coming as a baby, lying in a manger, and dying on the Cross for our salvation. So, as the family left for church, he sat by the fireplace and read a book. Suddenly, he heard tapping on the window. It was a bird flying against the glass of his window, trying to get out of the snow into the warmth of his home. The man had compassion for the bird and went outside, hoping to bring it in. But, as he approached the bird, the bird just flew against the window even harder. Pretty soon, the bird flew into the bushes below the window, half frozen yet too afraid to be caught by this huge man. The more the man tried to reach for the bird, the more the bird flew frantically into the snow and thorns of the bushes. Finally, after a few minutes in the cold and seeing the bird continue to injure itself, the man yelled in frustration, “Dumb bird, can’t you understand that I’m trying to help?” The man paused and thought, “If only you understood, you wouldn’t fly away … if only … if only I could become a bird and get you to understand.” Just then, the church bells rang, as they always had on the hour. But when the man heard the bells this time, he fell to his knees and began to cry, saying, “Oh, God, I didn’t understand. Oh, God, I didn’t understand.”
God’s Son came in human form so that we might understand from where we have come, why we were separated and how we could be restored to Him. He was willing to come and die so that we can have abundant life in Him, our living Savior. This is what Christmas is all about. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!