THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS

(My Bible Reflection and Exposition -FAZ)

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: PHILIPPIANS 2: 8
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death --
even death on a cross!" (v. 8)
INTRODUCTION:
Why did Jesus, the second member of the triune God, leave the comforts and glories of heaven to
take the appearance of a man, to make himself nothing and take the very nature of a servant and
live among the mortals? (v. 7) Is it for the reason that when the month of December comes, we
can celebrate Christmas day and enjoy the holiday season? Far from it. As Author Dr. Steve
Lawson correctly said, "Jesus did not come to the world to create a Holiday, but to die for the
sinners." Thus, the reason and the purpose of Christmas is the CROSS. So, Jesus was born in
order to die on a cross. The verse says, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!" (v. 8
We call this the doctrine of INCARNATION. When God takes the appearance of a man. And
the humanity of Jesus is real. He was really a man. But in his incarnation, he was more than a
man. Jesus has a single personality with dual nature. His deity did not make him more or less
than a man, and his humanity did not make Him less than an absolute diety.
JESUS HUMBLED HIMSELF IN HIS INCARNATION.
The word “humbled” means “to make or bring low.” The word was used in a secular document
when describing the Nile River at its low stage, in the sentence “It (the Nile) runs low.” What a
description of the Son of God. But this self-humbling does not refer to the self-emptying of verse
seven. That was a self-humbling in His character as God the Son. Here the self-humbling is the
act of our Lord as the Son of Man. It was the humiliation of the death of a cross. If it was
humiliating to our Lord in His humanity, how much more was it so in His deity.
JESUS BECAME OBEDIENT TO DEATH -
He became obedient unto death. This does not mean that He became obedient to death. He was
always the Master of death. He died as no other individual ever died or ever will die. He died of
His own volition. He dismissed His human spirit. The word “unto” is the translation of a Greek
word which means “up to the point of.”
Our Lord was obedient to the Father up to the point of dying. He said, “Lo, I come to do thy will,
O God” (Heb. 10:9). There is no definite article before the word “cross” in the Greek text. There
should be none in the translation. St. Paul wishes to bring out by the absence of the article is the
character of His death. It was the death of a cross, its nature, one of ignominy and degradation. It
was the kind of death meted out to criminals, and only to those who were not citizens of the
Roman Empire.
Jesus humbled himself before the Father and became OBEDIENT to him to die on a cross. Jesus
said, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you
will” (Matthew 26:39). The “cup” to which Jesus refers is the suffering. He was about to endure
on the cross. It was the most difficult struggle of his life: the crucifixion. It is one of the most
painful and disgraceful punishments—death on a cross.
But did Jesus follow his Father’s will? Yes, Not my will but your will. Because he was
OBEDIENT to the point of death – even on a cross.
Therefore, the REALITY of Christmas is the manger. Jesus has to be born, Jesus has to take a
human form and become like us in order for him to die on a CROSS.
CHRISTMAS MAKES NO SENSE WITHOUT THE CROSS. Christmas is nothing or useless
without the cross. Why the cross? Because without the shedding of the blood of Jesus, there is
no forgiveness of our sins.
In Heb. 9:22, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
WHY IS IT NECESSARY FOR JESUS TO SHED HIS BLOOD ON THE CROSS? For God to
FORGIVE our sins.
Jesus was not crucified because he was guilty of treason in the court of Pontius Pilate. In fact,
they did not see any crime that would merit his death. He did not die because he was guilty of
any wrongdoing. HE DIED IN ORDER TO PAY THE FATHER FOR THE SINS OF THE
WORLD.
WE ARE ALL SINNERS BEFORE GOD!
The Bible says: Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Rom 3: 11 As it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS
NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD.”
Isaiah 64: 6, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like
filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom.
6:23)
MAN'S SINS ARE CRIMES TO BE PAID BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS
And for God, sins are crimes that we must have to pay with death penalty. But praise God,
someone paid for it already when our Lord Jesus Christ died on a cross at calvary. Jesus Christ
paid the penalty for our sins to satisfy the requirement of God’s justice.
WHY DOES GOD FORGIVE US NOW?
And since Jesus paid the penalty of our sins, God can now forgive our sins. 1 John 1:9 says “ If
we confess our sins, he is FAITHFUL and JUST and will forgive us our sins and purify us from
all unrighteousness.” So, when God forgives us, it is not primarily because God loves us or is
merciful to us. It is because of God’s JUSTICE and FAITHFULNESS due to the shedding of the
blood of Jesus.
Thus, when we come to God to ask for forgiveness, God must forgive us because Jesus already
paid the penalty for that sin. (Past, present and future sins) Therefore, we can now all receive
God’s forgiveness because it is already paid in full by Jesus through his blood.
TWO PARTS OF OUR SALVATION -
For us to be saved, JESUS HAS TO DIE TO PAY FOR OUR SINS SO THAT WE CAN
RECEIVE FORGIVENESS FROM OUR SINS – THAT IS THE PART OF JESUS IN OUR
SALVATION.
But WE HAVE OUR PART TOO: WE HAVE TO PUT OUR FAITH TO GOD or to JESUS.
And by faith, it involves BELIEVING THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOU ON THE CROSS for our
sins. And that true FAITH will result or produce true REPENTANCE. That is a change of
mind in regard to sin and coupled with a decision to TURN AWAY FROM it or TO
OVERCOME IT BY THE POWER OF THE HOLYS SPIRIT and to embrace Jesus as our Lord
in our lives and savior of our sins.
Without repentance, there will be no forgiveness. If you are repentant, no matter how dark your
sins are, God can forgive you and save you from penalty of sins. It is all because of a cross of
Jesus.
CHALLENGE:
If you are reading this reflection and you have no intimate relation with God and uncertain about
your salvation, you can now turn to Jesus so that you may receive the forgiveness of God and
receive your salvation. Believe that he died on a cross and paid for your sins. Believe in Him and
embrace Him as your Lord and Savior and surrender your life by turning away from your sins.
If you are a believer now, praise, exalt, worship and serve Him for what he had done on a cross
for you. If He died for you, will you be willing to die for Him too?