It Doesn't Have to Be About Christmas

By Wayne Poplin

Can the Christmas story yield a fresh message?Can there be year-long application?Absolutely!Focusing on the Gospels’ Christmas narratives, this book shares relevant insights not found in other books on the subject.Here is an excellent combination of textual truth and life application that will resonate in private devotions and provide a rich resource for pastors, Bible teachers and study groups.This material was born in the heart of a pastor who was challenged to make the familiar message of Christmas come alive for the listener.IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ABOUT CHRISTMAS will bless throughout the year.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carpenter's Son Publishing
• Release date: Oct 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781940262338

Book preview

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

To be honest, when I began writing this book, I intended to offer some spiritual truths from the Christmas narratives that might spawn a spirit of worship in people during the Christmas season as well as aid pastors, who at one of the busiest times of the year, were hard pressed to come up with new and fresh material. However, when I finished the chapters and asked my wife to read the manuscript, it was July! When she told me that she appreciated the material six months out from Christmas, an earlier title was tossed for the present one: IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ABOUT CHRISTMAS!

Although this book is based on the Christmas narratives in the Gospels, I hope that the material will bless you and challenge you throughout the whole year. I pray that it will not only teach you more about the great incarnational event that took place at Christmas but that you will see its all-year-long relevance.

With one exception, the chapters in this book relate to scriptural passages in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The lone exception is entitled the Tent of Meeting and is based on material in the Gospel of John. John’s the word became flesh and made His dwelling with us is clearly tied to God’s dwelling with the people of Israel in the Old Testament’s Tent of Meeting. Due to the different nature of this chapter, I have placed it in the Epilogue.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. That is not only because of theological and spiritual reasons but for many other reasons as well. It is a beautiful time, when houses, yards, stores, and cities take on a decorative look. It is a family time. Christmas is the season when families make the maximum effort to spend some time together and enjoy their Christmas traditions. It is a giving time. We give not only to those we love but to missions and ministries meeting the needs of others.

But, with that being said, as a pastor, Christmas was one of my most frustrating times of the year. It involved extra hours spent in decorating, extra money spent on buying gifts, time-consuming parties, social functions to attend, extra services at church, etc., while wanting to just be free to spend time with family and get a break from the rush of it all.

In addition, there was the challenge, as a pastor in a long-term ministry, to present Christmas in a new and creative way. People in the church had heard the Christmas story and read the Christmas narrative to the point that it seemed nothing new could be said. So, the pressure was always on to be fresh and relevant. What I offer in this book is a number of the Christmas, sermon series presented to my congregation during the last years of my pastoral ministry. My prayer is that this book will both challenge and bless those who want to continue to explore the meaning of Christmas.

CHAPTER 1

Supporting Cast

Do you consider yourself pretty well versed on the Christmas story? Do you wonder what more there is to know about Mary and Joseph, baby Jesus, the crowded inn, the shepherds keeping watch over their sheep, etc.? You have read the story and heard others tell the story multiple times. Surely, you have it all down. The story involves only a few chapters in the first part of two gospels, Matthew and Luke, so how hard can it be to master this material?

In one of my early pastorates, I gave my congregation a Christian questionnaire, which asked basic questions about the biblical account of the Christmas story. Interestingly, the test proved that they didn’t know as much as they thought. The test was fun, but the results were embarrassing.

If people have some Christmas story knowledge, most of it probably pertains to the lead characters, Mary and Joseph. But what about some of the supporting cast? They are a vital part of the story. Even Hollywood gives Oscars for characters in supporting roles, because it realizes the significance of those roles. In the Christmas story it is interesting to see how the supporting cast was used, the part they played in the grand narrative, and what we can learn from them. I think it is especially interesting to see in what ways we are like some of those characters. If we find we are akin in any way, that would certainly personalize the Christmas story for us.

Three characters whom I have singled out for significant supporting roles are Herod, Simeon, and Zechariah. I have chosen these three because I think we can learn much from their lives and also find commonality, both good and bad, with them.

HEROD

The Throne-Guarder

For our first supporting character, we are going to look at the man who was King of Judea when Jesus was born. His role was sinister. He was the villain in the narrative. Surely there is nothing about us that is akin to Herod!

Herod’s role is recorded in Matthew:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship Him.

When Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd my people Israel.’"

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.

So he got up, took the child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. (Matthew 2:1-18)

Are there any similarities between us and Herod? Well, for one thing, he was smart and strong. How does that appeal to you? He had great architectural ability and put it to use as a great builder. His most significant project was reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem and a massive expansion of the Temple Mount. But he also built theaters, amphitheaters, and royal palaces. If you go to Israel and tour holy and historical sites, you will learn about Herod’s building exploits from Caesarea by the sea to Masada. He was savvy. He was driven. He was powerful. Those characteristics appeal to us.

But, he was also evil. He was known for killing his adversaries and rivals. He murdered anyone whom he thought a threat to his throne. Even members of his family were not exempt. Among others, he executed his mother-in-law; his wife, Mariamne; and two of his sons. That kind of stuff caused Emperor Augustus to quip that it was safer to be Herod’s hog than his son. Herod was so evil and ruthless he knew when he died there would be celebrating and rejoicing. To offset that anticipated revelry he left an order that, upon his death, hundreds of Jewish leaders were to be put to death in the hippodrome so there would be mourning to offset the partying. Of course, from Matthew’s account of the Christmas story, we know that before his own death, Herod ordered the massacre of boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and vicinity. That was yet another effort to rid himself of throne challengers. The great slaughter was intended to end the Jesus threat.

What lessons do we learn from this supporting character and how can we possibly be anything like him? Among other things, Herod was a self-centered man who pursued the wrong things. His building exploits, which were so much a part of his life, were all about his glory. Unfortunately, we find ourselves pursuing the wrong things in life and seeking the same self-glory. But, I think the kinship we have with Herod is seen most clearly in the area of throne-guarding. The idea of Jesus ruling where Herod thought he was to rule was extremely threatening and disturbing.

Herod was actually correct in knowing that you can’t have two kings ruling over the same territory at the same time. Something, or more correctly, someone has to give. He took the rule of Jesus seriously. He would have had no argument with Jesus’s words:

No one can be slaves of two masters. (Matthew 6:24)

Hence, the text says, when he learned that a king had been born on his turf, he was deeply disturbed. The wise men called Jesus King of the Jews and were prepared to worship Him. That was an outrageous thought for Herod! He was determined to protect his throne. That is what he had done all of his life. And he was not going to change his modus operandi for Jesus.

The Herod syndrome—throne-guarding—may be something that we suffer from as well. We are just as determined to protect our territory—our hearts—as Herod was his Judea. You see, if Jesus is really King over our turf, He has the right to call the shots over our lives. That is deeply disturbing. In fact, that scares us to death. If He is the ruling Lord, He can send us to do mission work in Africa. He can tell us to give money away like the rich young ruler. He can move our grandchildren a long way from us. He can tell us to release a grudge that we enjoy nursing. All of these things would disturb us. We might need Prozac or Ambien! Jesus as King and Lord makes us very nervous. When we become nervous, we become throne-guarders! When we become throne-guarders, we become Herods!

Although we know Herod as a sinister figure and an evil man, he at least took the ruling of Jesus seriously. Do we? We are convinced that we can run our lives better than the Lord and that the path to real happiness means saying yes