Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas!  Today, spend time with family and friends, and keep Jesus at the focal point, because without him, we'd have nothing to celebrate.

The resurrection

Peter talks about the resurrection of Jesus in his speech to the large crowd in Acts 2.  I just read about this passage in a commentary by William Barclay.  Barclay wrote that the resurrection was at the heart of the "early preachers' sermons" because that was what the Christian life was all about.  As a Christian, I know this to be true, but somehow, it's so easy to get caught up in Jesus' birth (especially at this time of year) and his life's ministry.  In the end though, none of that would be worth anything, except in light of the fact that he conquered death.  Because Jesus came back to life, the rest of his actions mean something.  The resurrection is the central point of Christian faith.  Without it, we have nothing.  Thankfully, God did send his son as a baby who was meant to die for us, but not only that - to come back to life!  That's why Christmas means anything at all, because Jesus was born to die... and then live.

A new take on the Christmas story

You must listen to Greg Koukl's podcast from December 20 (found on str.org or my redirect page).  He discusses the historical account of the Christmas story, and suggests that instead of the traditional village inn, Mary and Joseph stayed at a relative's house.  The Greek word that has been translated as 'inn' is actually the same term used for 'the upper room'.  Bethlehem was a tiny village and likely didn't even have an 'inn'.  Most guests would stay in the upper room of a relative's house, and the animals were kept in the lower area.  However, if Mary and Joseph were late in coming to Bethlehem, and their relative did not have room left in the upper room, they would have had to stay in the lower room of the house, not necessarily a cave.  The idea that they stayed in a stable cave didn't come up until the 3rd century, probably shortly after such caves came into existence.

The Christmas story

In light of Christmas day, soon to be here, I am just posting part of today's reading from Matthew.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^c because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

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What a way for God to come to the world to save us!  This story shows how much God is interested in having a relationship with us, that we came as a child, to real parents, and grew up among us.