“Jews were waiting for a Savior, and God sent Jesus, Immanuel, to fulfill prophecy. He was ‘God’s plan made manifest.’” But there are other elements to the Christmas story that provide some context and enrich our understanding of God’s character and what it means to walk with Christ.
Many verses shed light on parts of the story Christians and non-Christians alike are apt to overlook. The world would say there is a kind of magic to this season. The following five verses illuminate the deep significance of Christmas day by day.
1. Micah 5:2
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
God tells Micah that Jesus was always there; he is coming from “of old, from ancient of days.” Since the beginning he was, and we know that he still is. This statement should remind us that the Lord has never lost control of our world.
Christmas is a time when we tend to focus on love and goodwill between one another, giving gifts and celebrating. We thank God that Christ was born into our fallen circumstances to personally lead us out of them. But let us not forget the one who prepared and sent: the Father.
Micah 5:2 also tells us that Christ would be “ruler in Israel.” Christ came for all of us who would believe in him alone for salvation. Gentile believers were grafted into the nation of Israel — this is a miraculous gift (Romans 11).
Thirdly, Micah 5:2 “signal[s] renewed kingship. [...] The unlikely choice of David as king foreshadows the unlikely choice of Bethlehem as the hometown of the greater David” (Amos 9:11; Malachi 3:4).
The ESV Study Bible online tells us that “this text is referring to the Messiah’s ancient Davidic lineage, confirming that the ancient covenantal promises made to David still stand.” The throne has been filled with the real King as promised in prophecy.
2. Luke 1:16-17
“And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.”
What came immediately before the birth of Christ? Israel did not hear from God for several hundred years. Elizabeth and Zechariah, like the rest of God’s people, had endured God’s silence for a very long time.
Mike Leake explains, “There was no Scripture written between the close of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament. There was an inspired prophetic silence, though. During this time God did not reveal anything new.”
The long silence since Christ ascended is different because Christ proved the trustworthiness and power of God, inspiring hope and leading many Jews and Gentiles to the Kingdom. “God is at work just as he was at work in the intertestamental period. He is just speaking differently.”
But for Zechariah, Elizabeth, and countless Jews, Christmas is when the Lord spoke again. His silence had been a hardship. The Lord, however, was not inactive, says Leake. He was setting the stage, preparing for redemption at the cross.
Christ was born at precisely the right time. Imagine the joy of hearing the Lord speak once more, through this the joyful and puzzling event of what we call The Nativity.
And, as Christians, the indwelling Holy Spirit comforts us personally as we wait for him to come back.
3. Luke 1:50
“And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”
The editors of the ESV Study Bible say that Mary’s hymn expresses “certainty of what God will do.” The Lord is fulfilling prophecy, and we know this because of the word “mercy.” Strong’s concordance defines the Greek “eleos” as “mercy, pity, compassion.”
We think of babies as pitiful, vulnerable human beings; needy, incapable, requiring all the compassion available. Yet here was the King of Kings, born into the world as a demonstration of God’s pity and compassion for not only Israel but for all the world.
Mercy is a poignant word, sending us three decades into the future. Christ came as the King, the one who would save Israel and all the people from their sins. He would be treated with contempt, and yet Jesus would turn the tables by repaying brutality with mercy.
And “generation” calls to mind God’s promise to Abraham: “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:7).
Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham for through him, countless believers would also be heirs to the Kingdom of God by faith in God’s only Son.
4. Matthew 1:21
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The ESV Study Bible says that “the name Jesus was given as a symbolic hope for the Lord’s anticipated sending of salvation through a Messiah who would [...] save them from oppression.”
But this salvation was not a release from the circumstances that held God’s people enslaved to other nations or exiled from their homeland; nor is it a release from the ways in which people and institutions and even illness cause harm. The greatest oppressor is sin. The process of being cleansed of sin was an arduous one.
David C. Grabbe highlights the bloody nature of a sin offering, “detailed in Leviticus 4, [which] is God's prescribed way to show sins being paid for through a death.”
Hebrews 10:4 reminds us that shedding blood did not eradicate sin, “God still required blood to be shed to remind the people that sin incurs the death penalty."
Jesus’ name was yet another symbol of what he would accomplish for the people: their burden would be removed because he would look after full payment for sin, forever.
Christ’s birth affirmed that generations of hopeful Jews had not been foolish. And his birth also ended slavery to a religious pattern which was insufficient to restore God’s people, whether Jew or Gentile, to relationship with Him as Father.
5. Matthew 1:20
“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.”
Christmas is a magical, even mythical throwback to childhood and make-believe. Those who celebrate frequently make the day as playful as possible in order to forget their daily lives and relax. They make a special point of being particularly kind on this one day or during the holiday season.
Joseph, however, had cultivated a gentle, generous, and reasonable spirit before he met the angel. Although he was imperfect, Joseph represents the goal of maintaining that “Christmas spirit” 365 days of the year.
He had already decided to release himself from his engagement to Mary in a gracious way so as to prevent her from being humiliated or even executed.
The angel did not have to appear in order that Joseph would behave with integrity, demonstrating the fruit of a heart bent on serving the Lord. Joseph was ready, even though the Lord had been silent until then.
But this softness of heart did not come from a place of weakness; Joseph was thoughtful. He “considered” everything that Mary had said to him, weighing the facts.
Everything associated with Christmas and the gospel in its entirety would seem like foolishness — and is, indeed perceived by those who are perishing as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18) — if it weren’t for the evidence.
And this evidence is worth deep, intentional thought, not as another way to escape real life but as a means by which we cling to hope. Joseph is a reflection of that reasonable attitude that Paul calls for in the New Testament (Philippians 4:5).
Christmas is a miraculous time, when we remember that miracles are possible. Yet God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20).
While waiting for Christ’s return, we are sometimes guilty of looking too far forward and forgetting what is right in front of us. Christmas is a reminder that the magic and joy of Christmas is really in knowing that there is more to the story that has already been written.
Within the meaning of Christmas, as illuminated in the Bible, we find meaningful truths to hold on to the rest of the year which can impact our hearts and offer something compelling and beautiful to those around us.
For further reading:
5 Ways to Stay Focused on Jesus This Christmas
So What’s for Christmas This Year?
3 Ways to Keep Jesus at the Center of Your Christmas This Year
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Jessica Fadal
