Preparing for Deaf Ministry: The True Christmas

What does the Bible REALLY say about Christmas?

During the last Intervarsity Bible Study meeting of the semester, our leader asked us a few random questions about what we've heard from the Bible about Christmas and what was passed down.

Shockingly, some facts about Jesus' birth are different than what are sung in songs and commonly taught in some churches.

According to song and common retelling of Jesus' birth, the magi, came just after Jesus was born. But scripture doesn't way that. Check out Matthew Chapter 2: (copied from http://www.biblegateway.com) [Bold and italicized added for emphasis]

Matthew 2

The Visit of the Magi

¹Now after Jesus was ^A)">(A)born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of ^B)">(B)Herod the king, ^a]">[a]magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,

²"Where is He who has been born ^C)">(C)King of the Jews? For we saw ^D)">(D)His star in the east and have come to worship Him."

³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

⁵They said to him, "^E)">(E)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
⁶'^F)">(F)AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER

WHO WILL ^G)">(G)SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'"

⁷Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time ^H)">(H)the star appeared.

⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."

⁹After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood

over the place where the Child was.

¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

¹¹After coming into the house they saw the Child with ^I)">(I)Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and ^J)">(J)worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹²And having been ^K)">(K)warned by God ^L)">(L)in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

¹³Now when they had gone, behold, an ^M)">(M)angel of the Lord ^N)">(N)appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."

¹⁴So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.

¹⁵He remained there until the death of Herod. This was

to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "^O)">(O)OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED ^P)">(P)MY SON."

Herod Slaughters Babies

¹⁶Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by ^Q)">(Q)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and ^R)">(R)slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determine d from the magi.

¹⁷Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
¹⁸"^S)">(S)A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH,
WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING,
RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN;
AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED,
BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE."

¹⁹But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord ^T)">(T)app

eared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,

²⁰"Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead."

²¹So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being ^U)">(U)warned by Go

d in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,

²³and came and lived in a city called ^V)">(V)Nazareth This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a ^W)">(W)Nazarene."

Footnotes:

Matthew 2:1 A caste of wise men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science

Nothing in that passage says "baby". it keeps referring to Jesus as "Child" with a capital C. So by the time the magi came, Jesus wasn't an infant anymore.

How many magi presented gifts to Jesus?

If you said 3, reread the italicized portions again. No actual number was written.

??

What's goin' on here? Christians are assuming....

I was taught something about assuming...
When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. "ass-u-me" This is one reason why non-Christians don't believe that the Bible is true. All the Christmas songs and stories say that Jesus was a baby when the magi came to see him. But He wasn't a baby....he was a Child.

And there weren't 3 magi.....they brought 3 gifts, but in all probability there were more than just 3.

BUT WAIT, there's more! (See below: Luke 2):

Luke 2

Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem

¹Now in those days a decree went out from ^A)">(A)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of ^B)">(B)all ^a]">[a]the inhabited earth.

²This was the first census taken while ^b]">[b]Quirinius was governor of ^C)">(C)Syria.

³And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

⁴Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because ^D)">(D)he was of the house and family of David,

⁵in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

⁶While they were there, the days were comp

leted for her to give birth.

⁷And she ^E)">(E)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And ^F)">(F)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^G)">(G)stood before the

m, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

¹⁰But the angel said to them, "^H)">(H)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

¹¹for today in the city of David there has been born for you a ^I)">(I)Savior, who is ^c]">[c]^J)">(J)Christ ^K)">(K)the Lord.

¹²"^L)">(L)This will be a sign for you: you will find

a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴"^M)">(M)Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men ^d]">[d]^N)">(N)with whom He is pleased."

¹⁵When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thi

ng that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

¹⁶So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

¹⁷When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

¹⁸And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary ^O)">(O)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

²⁰The shepherds went back, ^P)">(P)glorifying and praising God f

or all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹And when ^Q)">(Q)eight days had passed, before His circumcision, ^R)">(R)His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

²²^S)">(S)And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "^T)">(T)EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD"),

²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, "^U)">(U)A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS."

²⁵And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^V)">(V)righteous and devout, ^W)">(W)looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶And ^X)">(X)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^Y)">(Y)see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^Z)">(Z)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

²⁸then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
²⁹"Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
^AA)">(AA)According to Your word;
³⁰For my eyes have ^AB)">(AB)seen Your salvation,
³¹Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³²^AC)">(AC)A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel."

³³And His father and ^AD)">(AD)mother were amazed at the thin

gs which were being said about Him.

³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary ^AE)">(AE)His mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed for ^AF)">(AF)the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed--

³⁵and a sword will pierce even your own soul--to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

³⁶And there was a ^AG)">(AG)prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of ^AH)">(AH)the tribe of Asher She was advanced in years ^AI)">(AI)and had lived with her husba

nd seven years after her marriage,

³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with ^AJ)">(AJ)fastings and prayers.

³⁸At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were ^AK)">(AK)looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^AL)">(AL)their own city of Nazareth.

⁴⁰^AM)">(AM)The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

⁴¹Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at ^AN)">(AN)the Feast of the Passover.

⁴²And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;

⁴³and as they were returning, after spending the ^AO)">(AO)

full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it,

⁴⁴but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

⁴⁵When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.

⁴⁶Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷And all who heard Him ^AP)">(AP)were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

⁴⁸When they saw Him, they were astonished; and ^AQ)">(AQ)His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^AR)">(AR)Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You."

⁴⁹And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that ^AS)">(AS)I had to be in My Father's house?"

⁵⁰But ^AT)">(AT)they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.

⁵¹And He went down with them and came to ^AU)">(AU)Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and ^AV)">(AV)His mother ^AW)">(AW)treasured all these things in her h

eart.

⁵²And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in ^AX)">(AX)favor with God and men.

Footnotes:

Luke 2:1 I.e. the Roman empire
Luke 2:2 Gr Kyrenios
Luke 2:11 I e Messiah
Luke 2:14 Lit of good pleasure; or of good will

Cross references:

From reference of Jesus from "baby" to "Child", the story of Jesus WAS NOT WRITTEN IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

But enough about that.

What is a manger?

The story that I was told growing up was that it was somewhat like a barn, and that Jesus was clean, even though he was out with the animals.

What covers a baby when he/she is born? Blood...is that part of the story too? No. And a manger isn't like what we think a manger is.....back in the days of Jesus' time, to protect the animals, which was most people's sources of income, they kept them shelters in the mountain sides. But that still isn't specific enough. Do you know actually what a manger is? It's the food trough that the animals ATE out of. So while Mary was giving birth to Jesus....back in those days people didn't live as long as most people do now. Women starting having children soon after puberty started, meaning that Mary was a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus. Think about it:

a teenage Mary, giving birth to Jesus while animals were snacking on the food around them. Gross isn't it.

BUT THAT'S WHAT CHRIST DID FOR US. CHRIST DIDN'T COME DOWN IN THE ROALTY LINE OF JUDAH, LIKE THAT THOSE PEOPLE THOUGHT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. INSTEAD HE CAME DOWN AS A BABY, BORN IN FILTH, SO WE COULD HAVE A CHANCE IN HEAVEN.

WHAT KIND OF A KING WOULD DO THAT FOR US? THE KING OF ENGLAND? KING OF SCOTLAND? WHAT ABOUT THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA? NORTH KOREA? DEFINATELY NOT.

CHRIST CAME DOWN INTO FILTH....DIED IN FILTH....

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR THIS CHRISTMAS? ARE YOU THANKFUL THAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET WHAT YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS? OR ARE YOU THANKFUL THAT CHRIST CAME TO EARTH TO GIVE US THE GREATEST GIFT HUMANITY WILL EVER SEE?

TAKE THE GIFTS OUT OF CHRISTMAS. INSTEAD OF GIVING GIFTS TO EACH OTHER, WHY DON'T YOU GIVE GIFTS TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOTHING. IF GOD CAN BECOME A LOWLY HUMAN...WHAT'S THE POINT OF THE GIFT GIVING TO OURSELVES? SELF-CENTERED DON'T YOU THINK?

How many of you actually ask Christ into your Christmas celebration? When everyone shows up, do you take the time to pray and sing Happy Birthday to Christ? Did you bake him a birthday cake like you baked your parents or siblings?

Why not? Jesus is a part of your family too. Show it this Christmas.

BAKE JESUS A CAKE. SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JESUS. GIVE GIFTS TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOTHING...INSTEAD OF YOURSELVES.

LETS MAKE CHRISTMAS PERSONAL AGAIN...TAKE THE RETAIL OUT OF IT.

Merry Christmas!
May God bless you during this time of celebration!!
Yay for Advent!

Many blessings to you!
Cody Marie Bolton

Preparing for Deaf Ministry

17 December 2009

The True Christmas