What man has come to know as the Christmas season is in full swing. There are people buying all kinds of gifts for all kinds of people. Some gifts are given to people who the person giving normally does not care that much about. All kinds of decorations have been put in place; millions of Christmas trees have been bought and decorated. Children are being as good as they possibly can just in case someone special is watching them. There is nothing wrong with having a holiday where people act like they should act every day.
The Bible tells us about the birth of Jesus. While many think December is the month of the birth, it most likely was in the mid to late spring based on where the shepherds were watching their sheep (Luke 2:8 – 14). Man says there were three wisemen, when the Bible only speaks of three gifts not the number of men. Most nativity scenes show the wise men around the manger when in fact Matthew writes that they came to Mary in a house (Matt. 2:11). Yet even with all these mistakes made by man, Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem just as the prophets foretold. Most all men know this about Jesus.
The other thing that most people know about Jesus is that He died on a cross at Calvary. Once again mankind has taken an actual event written about in the Bible and have made a holiday out of the event. In actuality the death and resurrection of Jesus is to be celebrated every first day of the week, not just one day a year. The early Christians met each first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper to remember this memorial (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:23 – 26). This is why the Lord’s Supper should be observed each week, a deep remembrance of the Lord’s sacrifice and triumph over death, remining mankind of the hope of the resurrection.
These two events are very important, but these events are all some know about the Lord. There is much more to be known. For instance, all need to understand that Jesus became a man to save man from hell. “And the Word was made 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). This does not mean that Jesus was no longer God, for He was one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human (John 1:1 – 5). Imagine God loving man enough to send Jesus to suffer death for sinful man (Rom. 5:8).
Not only does mankind need to know about the humanity of man, but they also need to know about His humility and poverty. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and King yet He had no riches on earth as man counts riches. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Luke recorded that Jesus did not even have the blessings of foxes and birds as He had no where to lay His head (Luke 9:58). Imagine Jesus left heaven to come and live on earth knowing all the while that one day He would be crucified so that mankind would have the opportunity to obey His will and go to heaven for eternity.
There is so much more to know about Jesus than just His birth and death. Mankind needs to know about this man called Jesus.