What Christmas Is All About
By Dr. Tom Walker
McDowell County 
Luke 2:10-14 says: “10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
This is a very familiar passage to the believer. Even many who are not saved are familiar with the words of the passage to which we have referred.
The Christian life begins with a right view of who Jesus is and what He came into this world to do. People have different views of Christ.
Some say He was just a good man. He was, but His identity goes far beyond that concept. He did go about doing good, helping the helpless, and healing the sick, but that does not go far enough.
Some say He was just a martyr. That line of thinking says He had a cause and Christ was merely willing to die for a cause and lay down His life. Why Jesus came goes far beyond martyrdom. It was not so much a cause for which He died, but it was all about people for whom Jesus died.
Others say Christ was just another man. But wait a minute! I do not know of a perfect human being in life that I have ever met. When it comes to Christ, the Bible says of Him that He was, “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” (Heb.7:26). He definitely was more than a mere man.
I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was the God-man. He was 100 % man without a sin nature and 100 % God in His essence and being.
If you are to begin your journey in the Christian life, then you must see Jesus as God in the flesh. Mary was merely the one God used to bring His Only-Begotten Son into the world. Remember, Jesus had no earthly father. Our Lord was a biological miracle. Never before had a woman given birth to a child without the involvement of a man.
The Bible gives us some information on how the virgin birth happened. The Bible says in Luke 1:35: “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Good Tidings
It is always a wonderful thing to hear good news. The news media feeds more on bad news than they do good news; however, when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ we are given good news. What is it? It is that Jesus came down from Heaven, to take upon Himself a human body so that He could die for man’s sins on the cross.
This news was to bring “great joy.” Man’s biggest problem has always been sin. There had to be some solution for it, but only God could solve the problem. It was planned in eternity past, before God ever laid the foundations of the earth, that His Only-Begotten Son would come to die in the sinner’s stead on an old rugged cross. Unforgiven sin and unbelief has the consequence of being separated from good things in the future and Hell unless a remedy for sin was given. Jesus Christ is that remedy. That fact should bring us great joy.
The news was to be to “all people.” The Bible says clearly and plainly that Jesus came to take the place of everyone born of Adam’s race on the cross. The Scripture says in Hebrews 2:9—“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Don’t miss those three important words “for every man.” There is not a person born of Adam’s race that Christ did not die for at Calvary. If that be so, it is possible for all who come to God through Christ to become a child of God; that is glad tidings of great joy for all people.
Great Picture
Observe the words in verse 12 that says, “And ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” On a trip to the Holy Land many years ago I found out something that I had not read or heard about before. Our guide was a man by the name of Joseph Assad. He informed us that swaddling clothes could be considered grave clothes. If they were grave clothes, then it would signify a prophecy, that one day Jesus would die a special kind of death for sinners.
Some seek to deny this viewpoint, but I would think that those who were raised in and live in the Holy Land should be more of an authority on the subject than someone who may have never even been there.
The only way Jesus could save sinners would be to die in their place that they might go free. I do not believe the “swaddling clothes” just happened. It seems there is an element of prophecy in the clothing of the Christ child.
The Bible pointedly says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). The justice of God could only be satisfied if His perfect son died in the sinner’s place as his substitute.
I love that verse which says the following: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God caused Christ, who knew nothing of personal sin, to be sin for our sakes, so that in and through a perfectly righteous Christ, we can be accepted as righteous, in the sight of God.
Glorious Celebration
According to verse 13, there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising God. They were saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
The Savior coming to earth brings glory to God. God put the man on our planet but man failed and sinned, but God receives glory and praise because He did not leave the man on the earth with no Savior and no way to be saved. He sent His darling Son, the best Heaven had, to make it possible for us to have peace. The only real, lasting, and true peace is the peace that Jesus gives. Because I have the Saviour, I have peace deep in my soul. There is a sense that all is well because I know Christ as Savior and Lord.
No one can begin the Christian life who does not know who Jesus really is. Do you know Him personally? If not, He can be real in your life. Receive Christ as your Savior (See Romans 3:10,23; 5:8; 10:9,10,13). Have a Christ-filled Christmas!
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Dr. Tom Walker is President of Foothills Bible College and Pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Marion, NC. You can read more good Christian News from Dr. Walker HERE.
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