It is amazing how the world is preparing for this period of the festive. Even the majority of the businesses in the entire world are preparing to take a rest and also prepare for a fresh start in 2022. This is by far the most important period in a year for everyone especially in the Christian-based countries which observe the Christmas holiday. Now, the question, is Christmas the day our Lord Jesus was born on? No. We have had many Protestant ministers coming up against Christmas and trying to show us the real meaning of it.
I can assure you that no one knows the exact month of the birth of Christ. The birth month of Christ is never December. However, I don’t want to get into that argument because it will not help you at this stage. But John said, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). I would like to discuss the word dwelt in the Greek, we have the word skēnóō (σϰηνóω), which in English means to tent or encamp.
In all the gospels only in this chapter in verse 14 where we have the word dwell translated as to tent or encamp. According to Strong’s dictionary this word means to tent as God did in the Tabernacle of old, a symbol of protection and communion. Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).
The bible says that Jesus was to protect Jerusalem, the city of David but they were not willing. Therefore, the blessing moved out of Jerusalem to other parts of Israel and it was welcomed. However, Jesus commanded that this gospel should spread beyond the frontiers. Jesus Himself commanded His disciples and said, “…Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:17). The gospel of Christ is now open for all the nations of the earth.
Now looking back to the word dwell, it gives us a notion that the birth of Jesus may have been during the Feast of Tabernacle. During this time, the Jews build tents which are temporary structure to commemorate the time when they were in the wilderness after God had delivered them out of Egypt. The month with which this is celebrated in their calendar is on the 15th of the month of Tishri (September or October).
Therefore Jesus came to gather Jerusalem under his wing, meaning to dwell among them. The first coming of Jesus would be His ultimate if He was accepted by the Jews as their King. He would be ruling in Jerusalem as their eternal King. This is often seen in the phrase that Jesus and John the Baptist used when they said, “…Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2 & 4:17). If the Jews believed these words, Jesus would not have gone to the cross, but would permanently gather Jerusalem under His wings.
However, hope is still not lost because Jesus is still coming back for His church and for Israel. He will return first to rapture His church when the Church will meet with Him in the clouds, then later make a physical return as King in Israel. Therefore brothers and sisters, when we call you onto believing on the Lord Jesus, we are not just recruiting you to a pyramid scheme where we are being rewarded by the number of people we recruited. Jesus said, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
I like how there is a definite article in each word that defines who is Jesus is. It shows that He is not just a way but THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE. These definite articles are there expressing the reality and the authenticity of who Jesus really is. We are not following “…cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). The Lord Jesus is coming back for His own church, it's a relief for us to know that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming for us.
The devil has however hoodwinked people in the world to think that Christianity is for the Europeans and not for the Africans. Christianity was first preached in Jerusalem and it spread to Africa and then to Europe, to the Far East Asia and later it went to America. America is now the headquarters of the gospel of grace which is Christianism and America spread the gospel to the world in an effect way like the Apostles did.
In Israel where it started, Christianity still receives criticism like it does here in Africa and does happen to every country in the world. Therefore, there is no country that accepts Christianity because it seeks to deliver mankind from himself. Remember, if you accept Christ in your life, you are accepting the Way, the Truth and the Life. You will the life of Christ in you, you will be renewed like how Sarah and Abraham were in their old age.
The gospel of grace seeks to bring the lost back to God. The gospel of grace proclaims reconciliation to God; therefore the devil doesn’t want us to know that by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross we are being reconciled to God. We are not being reconciled with God but to God because it’s us who had been away from God and not that God was angry with us. God has always loved us. The death of Jesus didn’t soften God’s heart. The bible says, “For I am the LORD, I do not change…” (Malachi 3:6).
The reason why the Lord said this is because we as human beings we change time and again. He never ceased to love us, for that reason even before we could pray and ask for a solution, He decided to give up His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us. This is how He showed us His love and grace, we didn’t ask for His Son and we didn’t deserve Him yet moved by His love and grace He gave Him to us. Therefore, as we celebrate Christmas, the day with which we commemorate the birth of Jesus, we must remember that Jesus in the flesh emblems God’s grace. Jesus is the grace of God.
This year my dear reader, celebrate this day extending your love especially to poor people. This is the time when we forget about all our failures for the year but hoping for a fresh start in the coming year. Maybe, you say you read this after Christmas and perhaps you did many wrong things during Christmas that you wish you didn’t do, my friend, God has forgiven you just be prepared to accept His Son Jesus Christ. To all the blasphemers, Christ is not the surname of Jesus, but the title like king, lord or even doctor.
Brothers and sisters, let’s celebrate this Christmas remembering that our Lord Jesus Christ paid the highest price for us to be free of sin.
Stay in health
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