Christmas and the Cross: The Overlooked Part of the Story

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:24-28 (ESV)

Christmas, there is a song that says "it's the most wonderful time of the year." The hustle and bustle of Christmas is the joy of the holiday season. Gift giving and getting is the center of all attention during this month of December.

And in the middle of all that is Jesus, the little baby in the manger. We often say that the miracle of God becoming a man gets lost under wrapping paper and colorful lights. But have we ever stopped to consider that we even forget why Jesus, the infinitely powerful God taking the form of a mortal man, came to earth in the first place?

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Jesus came to earth to provide salvation for all of mankind. Man in his current state is sinful and corrupt. But Jesus came to provide us a way to be freed form sin, it’s called Jesus. Yes, He provided Himself to save us from our sins. 1Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

Why have we forgotten this important fact of Jesus’ life? I mean, we do remember it every other time of the year when talking about the Jesus and the Bible, so why does the cross so often get omitted from the Christmas story?

Our culture wants Christmas time to be a “feel good” time. All we do is talk and care about our lives. Society tells us that Christmas time is a time for self-indulgence. But as you see in the Hebrews passage above, Christ came to sacrifice Himself. Christmas was the beginning of the path to the Cross. A lyric in a song said that “He was born to die.”

Jesus, had infinite riches, infinite glory, yet he gave it up to live in poverty. Because he loved us. One of the most famous verses in the Bible, John 3:16 (KJV) says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

His spectacular birth, fulfilled so many prophecies.

An example of one is in Isaiah 7:14 (KJV) “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother, was a virgin who conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit, broke no law and still fulfilled prophecy through God’s empowerment to accomplish His will.

Another example is that prophecies said that the messiah would be born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” and in John 7:42 (KJV) “Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” 

These prophecies of Jesus, or the Messiah’s birth, were written hundreds of years before the Christ was born, which simply adds to the miraculous story of His life.

The final prophecy I want to point out is also in Isaiah, prophesying His death and resurrection. Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” This prophecy mentions piercing, which refers to the crucifixion of Jesus where nails were driven through His wrists and ankles. But, when Isaiah wrote this it was 400 or more years before the Romans had even invented crucifixion; just adding more noteworthiness of the Perfect life of Jesus Christ.

So during this Christmas season, I encourage you to remember what the birth of Jesus started in the work of conquering sin and death. Please, do not forget why He was born and what He sacrificed for you.

Have a Merry Christmas