Thoughts With Dalt

What is Christmas really about? No, I mean REALLY about. It is likely that you thought of a baby in a manger, maybe some shepherds and a donkey. That is what a Christian mind flows toward. That is what mine normally flows toward. I would argue those are good thoughts to associate with Christmas, at least on the surface level. Again I ask, what is it really about?

The morning before Christmas I was home listening to podcasts while doing a few chores. One podcast simply played an old sermon in lieu of their normal discussion format. The sermon was titled “The Secret of Christmas” by Dr. Walter Martin. I will attach it below for ease of access, and I highly recommend you give it 23 minutes of your time.

He takes time not to tell of the Christmas story, but to explain what it means by using a few verses in John chapter 1. I won’t attempt to add to what Dr. Walter handled so elegantly. I just want to point out what grabbed me as I listened to it. I will be brief.

I don’t believe I have really thought of what was in the manager in the barn that night. Obviously I know that it was The Christ, The Son of The Living God as Peter would say later. However, John 1:14 tells us that “The Word was made flesh” (KJV). I wrote about this term “the word” in my first series. We identified Jesus as The Word. Logos, meaning word, reason, discourse, or logic as I pointed out in that writing.

This was not a mythological story of a demigod coming to Earth. It was an actual occurrence that would split the world’s entire history into two sections: A time before Christ, and a time after “the year of our lord”, Anno Domini. My favorite rebuttal to someone denying the physical existence of Jesus on Earth is simply to ask them what year it is. “2024”. “2024 what?” “A.D.” “What does that mean?”.

So what was I missing here? God the Son left his abode in perfection. He took on human flesh in the humble form of a helpless babe. He endured the humble process of growing into an adult, with all of the hardships and struggles we all face (without sin). He studied and applied himself through a difficult ministry. He endured constant persecution and questioning. Many days he operated on little sleep, walking long miles just to minister to others. On no occasion do we find Jesus being pampered. He lived a hard life.

He eventually was arrested and led to a cross, a most heinous method of murder. He was crucified, spat upon, stabbed, and made to suffocate. He drew his last breath in thirsty misery while being weighed down by an unimaginable amount of pain; physical, mental, and spiritual. As tough as that is to read, it still sounds familiar. Here is the new part of the thought for me.

The man (God/Man) that hung from the cross while taking OUR punishment, is the same man we find discussed in Colossians 3:16. “For by HIM were all things created…” He created the Earth, which would produce the tree that He would be hung on. He created Adam and Eve, which would produce the very people that would hang HIM on that cross. They would also be and produce the people that required HIM to die on a cross.

Here is the part that blows my mind: All of this horror took place as a planned, written story from the one that would suffer. He knew His creation would turn on Him, hate Him, kill him, but He still went through it. Why? Can you think of a better way to bring glory to Himself than to redeem a people that would never deserve it? Everything God does is for His glory and our good. Creating a people that would turn on Him… The people turning and sinning against Him… Sending Himself to be brutally murdered by that people… Those people being redeemed and given new life, able to worship him eternally face to face… All for His glory!

Praise God! I hope you can maybe learn something new or hear something new through my few words, or from Dr. Walter. I promise it is worth the time to listen to the sermon, do yourself a favor.

See you next week!

-Dalton