by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
Talking about the birth of Jesus Christ is needed at any time of year, but it seems especially fitting to do so when people are thinking in that direction. If we are not careful, we may too easily dismiss an opportunity to speak about one of the most important events in this world. There are extremes to avoid. On the one hand, we may give little to no thought to the birth of Jesus because we are so convinced that his birth had nothing to do with the month of December. On the other hand, we can fall into the trap of paying all the attention to the birth of Jesus and not paying enough attention to his death and resurrection. Or if the only time we think about Jesus is at this time of year, then we have truly missed the point of his coming into the world.<\/p>\n
We must also be careful not to suggest that Scripture nowhere addresses the idea of celebrating the birth of Jesus. This is not to say that December 25th is the one day we are supposed to celebrate his birth. Indeed, our celebration of his birth ought to be year-round. Yet we do not want to avoid thinking about it simply because of December 25th and the faulty views surrounding this. One might say there is no direct command to celebrate his birth, but if we give any weight to examples, we must admit that Scripture does address this, and we should pay attention.<\/p>\n
This is not about defending or denying the traditions surrounding Christmas. Every Christian needs to act in good conscience as informed by Scripture. This is about what Scripture teaches relative to the birth of Jesus and why we need to think about it. Two gospel accounts – Matthew and Luke – provide information about the birth of Jesus. This is no small matter to the purposes of these accounts. They both give us information about the circumstances under which Jesus was born, and they both have something to say about the genealogy of Jesus. These accounts show the vital role of the Holy Spirit and provide foundational thinking to help us understand the divine nature of the Son of God who came into this world in the flesh to save sinners like us.<\/p>\n
Matthew’s account tells us about the wise men who came to worship Jesus after he was born. They recognized him as King of the Jews, and their expressed purpose was to worship (Matthew 2:1-2). Herod was alarmed by this and tried to find out where Jesus was. The chief priests and experts in the law cited Micah 5:2 as indicating that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. The wise men continued in their search for Jesus, “And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him<\/em>” (Matthew 2:9-11). The text shows that the birth of Jesus is a sufficient cause to rejoice and worship. Shall we do any less today?<\/p>\n Luke provides more details. Upon the birth of Jesus, angels appeared to shepherds in the field. They informed the shepherds, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord<\/em>” (Luke 2:10-11). Notice that the birth of Jesus is good news that should cause great joy. A multitude of angels then appeared to praise God: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!<\/em>” The shepherds found the baby and told everyone what had happened. This resulted in more glory and praise to God. Luke gives us more information about Jesus being taken to the temple and seen by Simeon and Anna, with their responses of praise to God for seeing the salvation and redemption offered by the Lord through Christ (Luke 2:22-38).<\/p>\n The birth of Jesus was in fulfillment of God’s plan to carry out salvation and redemption in this sin-cursed world. Recognizing Jesus and his purpose is cause for worship, praise, and glory. We too ought to be moved to worship, praise, and glorify God for faithfully carrying out his promises through the incarnation of the Son of God. This can be a powerful starting point for talking to people who might not otherwise think about Jesus and his purposes. Let us not shy away from his birth simply because there are misconceptions at this time of year. Rather, let us lean into the teaching of Scripture and emphasize his birth so that others may be moved to worship, praise, and glorify God. Don’t miss the opportunities before us!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Doy Moyer Talking about the birth of Jesus Christ is needed at any time of year, but it seems especially fitting to do so when people are thinking in that direction. If we are not careful, we may too easily dismiss an opportunity to speak about one of the most important events in this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[288,73,451],"class_list":["post-64320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-christmas","tag-jesus","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88349,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/remembering-jesus-daily\/","url_meta":{"origin":64320,"position":0},"title":"Remembering Jesus Daily","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Richard Thetford Those of us who understand the authority of the Bible and are guided by it, because we respect what God has said to us, realize that Christians do not celebrate December 25th as the birth date of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian brethren and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28677,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/one-great-birth-two-great-names\/","url_meta":{"origin":64320,"position":1},"title":"One Great Birth, Two Great Names","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer We are at that time of year when the birth of Jesus Christ is on the minds of many. That much is a good thing. There are many misconceptions about His birth, but doors may be opened to talk about it and we need to be willing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38175,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-truth-about-jesus-birth\/","url_meta":{"origin":64320,"position":2},"title":"The Truth About Jesus’ Birth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The world, at this time of year, turns its attention to the birth of Jesus \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The secular world sees opportunity to profit \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The denominations moan about how their holiday is being secularized \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And the real problem is that almost no one is interested in the truth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89526,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-birth-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":64320,"position":3},"title":"The Birth of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown Consider the impact of Christmas on people. Some people who typically look as though they were weaned on a dill pickle may become full of holiday cheer. Someone who might normally be a tight scrooge may become generous and compassionate. For some, this is when they get together\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82143,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-purpose-of-the-birth-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":64320,"position":4},"title":"The Purpose of the Birth of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Jesus was born to bring about our salvation and reconciliation with God by means of His death and resurrection. He was born to provide a pardon for sin on condition of repentance of sin and baptism into union with Him, which begins a walk of fellowship\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29734,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-god-say-not-to-celebrate-jesus-birth\/","url_meta":{"origin":64320,"position":5},"title":"Where does God say not to celebrate Jesus’ birth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Where in the Bible does God tell us not to celebrate Jesus' birthday, but His death, resurrection, and return? Are we really not to celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birth? 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