The Reason of Christmas

"She will give birth to a son, and you will give Him the name Jesus, BECAUSE HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS."

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Matthew 1:21

Behind the glamour and glitter of Christmas; behind the wrapping paper, Christmas trees, parties, and family reunions; behind the black Friday sales, the Nativity scenes, the busyness and bustle of the holiday season is the true reason of Christmas. The angels announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds---THEY ANNOUNCED GOOD NEWS. But to understand why it is such good news, we must first understand the bad news. Because if we stripped away everything we depend and cling to, if we ripped the wrapping paper away from our hearts and looked at the truth in God’s Word, concerning our heart’s condition it would not be good for we are desperately lost in our wickedness and sin.

Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray…each of us has turned to His own way.”

Psalm 14:2-3: “No one seeks God, NOT EVEN ONE.”

Isaiah 59:7-8: “Their feet rush into sin...their thoughts are evil…the way of peace they do not know.”


Imagine you had to go to the doctor and He calls you into his office and tells you to take a seat. “After examining your heart we found some things that cause us GREAT CONCERN. Your heart has a hereditary condition that has poisoned you with self-love; parasites of pride and arrogance have deteriorated your whole being, leaving you completely and utterly infected by sin and hate for God and all that is right. It does not matter what medications you take, lifestyle changes you make, or treatments you undergo you cannot undo the damage that has already been made nor can you be rid of this terrible, TERMINAL soul condition you are in.”


Wow…so this is where we are at---WE ARE WITHOUT HOPE. We have sinned against a holy God and have turned away from Him…we have become God’s enemies. There is no way for us to fix the situation we are in or change our standing with God. We are headed for Hell where we will pay the penalty of our sins for all eternity…living in complete separation from God.


But the story is not over yet….


This is the reason Christ came…to save us!!!!


The doctor continues after a great pause. “However, you may be saved yet, if someone is willing to do a heart transplant. Their heart must be completely healthy and perfect without any sin or wickedness. They must be willing to die because to give you life they must die in your place.”


You sit there shaking your head in your hopelessness, thinking “Hardly anybody is willing to die for a good person, who would die for me?”


The doctor smiles at this point. “But I have good news for you…someone already volunteered to save you. his blood type is correct and it matches yours and his heart is perfect. He willingly gave up his life so that you can have his heart. And he did it for free…though it cost Him everything.”



This is what the angels announced---GOOD NEWS!!! We had no hope, but what we could not do Christ did. He came to earth as the God-man…lived a perfect life for us…went to the cross…bore the punishment of all our sin…was utterly crushed by His Father…FORSAKEN…He went to Hell for us who would believe in Him and He died.

They laid His body in a tomb, but three days later He rose from the grave! God the Father had accepted His sacrifice; our debt had been paid. The great exchange was finalized: Jesus took all of our sin and had given us all of His righteousness! Now we can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. HE IS THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER.


Christmas is the celebration of the Good News of Jesus Christ. We were helpless and hopeless because of the bad news that our sins had brought us. But now Jesus has come and He has brought us good news that we can have forgiveness because of the sacrifice that He made at the cross. Now we must believe and confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior, take up our crosses and follow after Him. The way has been made to the Father---the only way is Jesus Christ.


Isaiah 53:3-5: “…BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED…”