Every year, around the world, people celebrate Christmas Day on 25 December. Some focus on shopping, business profits, tinsel and toys, gifts and celebrations. Others think only of Bethlehem, the star in the sky, shepherds in the field, and angels singing. Children are warned to behave well unless a fictional character, Santa Claus, will skip their homes on Christmas Eve without leaving them any gifts. We are living in an artificial world which seems to be falling apart and where truth is concealed by relativity theories and lies. How many people still know the true meaning of Christmas?
The word, Christmas, originates from the Old English ”Cristes mæsse” or ”Christ’s Mass,” first recorded in historical documents around 1038. By coming together for ”Christ’s Mass” the early Believers celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the promised King, who would set the entire world free from sin and death, bringing love, joy and hope.
Isaiah prophesied, ”Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Emmanuel” (Isaiah. 7:14). Matthew 1:23 reminds us that ”the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel.” Emmanuel is a Hebrew word consisting of two parts: ”Immanu” meaning ”with us” and ”el” meaning God. So Emmanuel/Immanuel means ”God with us”.
This idea of God being with us is a theme we find right throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and it’s the central message of Christmas: Jesus came to save his people from their sins.
Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that at the very beginning God created us in His image, to His likeness. Likeness was made for the purpose of fellowship and intimate communion. God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Sadly, they were expelled from the garden and cut off from God’s presence because of their disobedience and their sin against God.
Isaiah 57:15 describes God’s nearness and far-ness, ”For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ”I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.” This verse, as well as many others, says that God is simultaneously high above us, but also near to us when we need Him, when we are humble and vulnerable. Through Adam and Eve, we are all separated from God. All of us need ”Immanuel/God with us”. He designed us to be with Him and longs for fellowship. He risked everything to have this one treasure – those who would worship Him, nor merely out of command, not as robots, but out of a relationship. So, if God’s entire purpose for creating humans in the beginning was so that He could be with us – Emmanuel – then it makes sense that He made a way for us to be with Him for all eternity.
In Exodus we see how God set up a system of sacrifices so that He, the Holy One, could once again dwell in the tabernacle in the midst of His people. I will be with you is a promise made by God to all His servants. Moses (Exodus 3:12), Joshua (Deut. 31:6,8,23, Joshua1:9) and Gideon (Judges 6:16) received the same promise. In the New Testament, this promise came to all Believers through the Great Commission by Jesus Himself (Matthew 28:19). The heart of God in this matter is clearly seen in the amazing prophecy from Ezekiel. ”I will not hide My face from them anymore, for I shall have poured out My Spirit (Ezekiel 39:29).”
”For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, Jesus, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).” ”And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).” The word, ”dwelt,” in Greek – skēnoō – actually means He tabernacled among us. Reading the Gospels, we see King Jesus demonstrating the heart of God, conquering sin by sacrificing Himself and destroying the barrier of sin that barred us from the holy presence of God. That Greek word, skēnoō, is used only four more times in the Bible and all of them occur in Revelation. Revelation 21:3 promises, ”Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell (skēnoō) with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
Every human being born into this world is separated from God, but can draw near Him through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, our Saviour. Ephesians 2:13 emphasizes, ”But now in Christ Jesus you who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 6: 17 reminds us, ”But the one who is united and joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” The original Greek word for ”being joined” is kolláō (from kólla, ”glue”), which means to bond (cleave). It literally means to be ”glued together” and figuratively it means to be intimately connected in a soul-knit friendship.
The true meaning of Christmas does not depend on the number of gifts under the tree or the type of food on your table. The message of Christ doesn’t change if you are surrounded by family, missing loved ones for the first time or on your own. It is not affected by your circumstances. Our hearts can rest in the assurance that we have the gift of eternal life and that we can live in victory while still on this Earth. This is all because Jesus obediently left His throne in Heaven and was born on Earth with the sole purpose of saving us. What an amazing privilege to be deeply loved and known by Him. Christmas is not a tradition, not a dream, not a myth. It is a glorious reality and it can be all yours!
Thank you, Father, for the greatest gift of all, the gift of Your only Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour, our Emmanuel, God with us! Amen!
Angelique van der Westhuizen