The Christmas season is here and people are out shopping, if you don’t believe it check out the parking lot at any mall. The media is one big advertisement and every conceivable business is competing for that almighty shopping dollar.
In return many are straining their bank and credit card accounts to the limit, and sometimes beyond, buying that ‘perfect’ gift for someone. Yes, “Tis the season to be jolly”…, spend, spend, spend.
All the time people shop, in the background sound systems grind out Christmas carols reminding us it’s Christmas time. Unfortunately, though, that’s where what the Christmas season is about remains, in the background.
In the next few paragraphs I want to write about what Christmas is. I can’t begin to do it justice because I’m mortal, and according to the Bible what transpired the first Christmas was the birth of the Son of God, which was planned by the Father and agreed on by the Godhead, sometime in eternity past, 1Tim. 1: 8 – 10.
In the Bible Luke 2 tells of Jesus’ birth. In a little town called Bethlehem, in a stable, Jesus the Son of God was born. (One more quick clarification, in the Bible “Son of God” does not mean “son” as we think of someone’s son. “Son” is translated as “being set aside” Jesus is God’s Son because the Father set Him aside as the “good news”.)
Normally, Bethlehem was a quiet place but because the government decreed a census be taken it was teeming with people. Bethlehem was like a county seat, where people who lived in the area went to be counted for the census. Joseph and the pregnant Mary were from Nazareth, and had come to Bethlehem to be counted.
The inn’s all had their no vacancy signs out but they were offered a stable to stay in, and there Jesus was born.
I believe there is a purposed contrast here. Bethlehem was teeming, but the stable was quiet and peaceful. It probably had an odor, but the only noises were the shuffling of the animals and the occasional sounds they made. The stable was probably at the back of the inn so street noise was muffled, and the inn was full so there would not have been people coming in and out with more animals. Thus, the stable was quiet and peaceful. The introduction to the world of the Son of God was not glamorous, but it was peaceful and quiet.
In John 14: 6 Jesus says He’s “the way, the truth, and the life.” Note it says “the” way, “the” truth, and “the” life. This means there is no other way, truth, or life, but Him. In the same context Jesus is “The” Christmas story meaning there is no other Christmas story.
So, in Matthew 11: 28 when Jesus says “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest,” it is “the” rest.
That is “The” Christmas story. For all the havoc that may be in the world and in your life, the Son of God has been set aside as the stable that gives peace.
Merry Christmas.
The Holy Bible, NASB
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