23/12/2025
The Meaning of Christmas - booklet by Fiona Szabo.
http://god-so-loved-the-world.org/english/szabo_fiona_meaningofchristmas.htm
The meaning of Christmas
What’s your favorite thing about Christmas? Do you like the displays in the department store windows? The bright lights in the shopping streets? Do you like the presents & delicious food? Or maybe you enjoy how Christmas brings friends and families together?
But did you know that Christmas commemorates the birth of a man named Jesus Christ?
Christmas is a celebration of a special birth, a holy birth. The birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was his personal name, but "Christ" is not a family name – it is a title, an ancient word meaning "anointed" or one set apart by God to be king. So, who is the Christ whose birth is celebrated by Christians on December 25th? Let’s see what the Bible says.
The original Christmas story
In the New Testament of the Bible, in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, we read --
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (Luke 1:26-29)
Here we are introduced to a woman named Mary who is a virgin, and who is engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. An angel, a messenger of God, approaches Mary to let her know that she is considered a special woman in the eyes of God.
“And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:30-33)
The angel of God told Mary that she would have a baby whose name would be Jesus. He would be a very great man - a King who will rule over a kingdom that was once ruled by David, a king of Israel who lived 1000 years BC. Mary was herself a descendant of King David, this is the reason the child to be born will receive the throne of ‘his father David’.
Son of Man, and Son of God
Jesus is sometimes referred to as ‘the Son of man’ meaning – because through his mother he was descended from men, and sometimes ‘the Son of God’- because through his Father, God he had another parent that no other child had.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:31-35)
The Holy Spirit is God’s power. It was this power that would allow a virgin, Mary, to become pregnant with a baby boy. Therefore, Jesus would be the Son of God.
If we continue to the second chapter of Luke, we will read about the actual birth of Jesus.
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.”
Here we discover the name of the city in Israel where Jesus was born – Bethlehem. (His birth in this city was prophesied 500 years earlier in the Old Testament)
“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Mary & Joseph could not find any accommodation in Bethlehem, so Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable. Jesus was laid in a manger, which is a feeding trough for animals. This symbolizes how humble Jesus would be throughout his life.
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
Here is the announcement of the birth of Christ - the one anointed, or destined, to be King and bring peace to the world. The angel went on to say --
“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” (Luke 2)
What a joyous moment to hear the angels praising God because His Son had come into the world! One day, Jesus Christ would be responsible for bringing peace to the earth & good will toward men.
The birth of Christ promised to the first man and woman:
But what does this mean for us? How does the Lord Jesus Christ affect us as individuals? The answer to that begins way back in the Old Testament, the first book of the Bible called Genesis.
The first man & woman, Adam & Eve, were created by the power of God. God made Adam from the dust of the ground, & He made Eve from the side of Adam (Genesis 2:7 & 21-23). They were commanded not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good & evil in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:17). However, a serpent, given the power of speech by God, tempted Eve to eat of the fruit. She ate of it and then offered the fruit to Adam, who also ate of the fruit (Genesis 3:1-6). Adam & Eve had sinned!! They had disobeyed a command from their Creator. As punishment, God said “dust thou art & dust thou shalt return” (Genesis 3:19). So, the penalty for their sin was to grow old, die, and turn back into dust.
So, is that everybody’s destiny? Do humans only have one thing to look forward to – being buried in the ground & being dead forever? The good news is – through Jesus Christ, we can be saved from death and live forever in God’s everlasting kingdom!!
Let’s read the first prophetic record of Jesus Christ’s saving work –
God says to the serpent after he caused Eve to sin – “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
That son of the woman, the special ‘Son of Man’, the son of the virgin, Mary, was not to be born for many 1000 years later.
It may seem very strange to us that the very first chapters in the Bible – the oldest historical event in mankind’s history, end with a promise about Jesus which began to be fulfilled in the first Christmas.
“He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake (1 Peter 1:20)
That means that even before God prophesied to Eve about a son being born, God already “foreknew” about Jesus. We can say that God “foresaw” Mary becoming pregnant, and giving birth in a stable.
So when God made that promise to Eve, he could not just see forward to the birth of Christ, but also to the death of Christ.
Christmas and Easter
This is the time to introduce the other Christian festival – Easter, which occurs in Spring. Easter does not attract the attention of Department Stores, nor is celebrated with presents and eating in the same way, but without Easter, Christmas would be meaningless – because the birth of Jesus at Christmas was only the beginning. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter, which completed God’s promise to the first man and woman.
Remember God promised not just that this special Son of Man would be born, but that the serpent would “bruise his heel”
This is symbolic of what Jesus Christ would accomplish. The serpent represents sin, (which leads to death) and the woman (who is responsible for bringing forth life), represents the things of Christ, and her seed refers to Christ himself. So, there would be enmity, or hatred, between the power of death & the power of life.
We read God’s promise: “it shall bruise thy head, & thou shalt bruise his heel.” So let’s think about these words. To bruise or break someone’s head means something fatal, but to simply bruise or break someone’s heel, while painful, does not equate to a final ending.
Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. This was a method of ex*****on invented by the Romans around 200BC. (Although King David prophesied that his descendant would die by death on the cross 800 years before the Roman’s had invented it).
“Pilate [the governor of Judaea] therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will … And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him” (Luke 23:20-25,33)
It was a horrific painful process. The Romans used this method to scare their subject peoples into submission. Crucifixion was always fatal. And Jesus too died from it. But after 3 days, he was raised from the dead. This is why it says the serpent “shalt bruise his heel”. It should have been the end of Jesus, but it was not because his Father raised him.
Easter – Jesus becomes the first to rise from the dead
Jesus was in the grave three days. He did not just appear to die, or only a part of him die, he was really dead. Later he told his disciple John:
“Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:19)
In the next chapter of Luke after the crucifixion account we read -
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words.” (Luke 24:1-8)
Jesus tasted death for every man
Now, what did Jesus’ sacrificial death achieve? What difference does it make to you and me? Let’s read from Hebrews chapter 2 –
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man … Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:9 & 14)
Christ destroyed the power of death, referred to as the devil (a metaphoric description for sin, not a real creature), thus the fulfillment of “it shall bruise thy head”.
God provided mankind a way of escape from death. He sacrificed his only Son, Jesus Christ, that we could be saved from the power of death.
God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)
This promise, this offer from God is much happier and more long-lasting than the few days enjoyments of Christmas shopping and eating with friends and family – Christmas only comes once a year. God, by the death of his Son, is offering us a much greater celebration, one that is for every day in this life – and then for ever into everlasting life.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
This offer, from God, is to you, personally. Christmas and Easter are not just historical events of a small country in the Middle East retained for entertainment or sentimental reasons, they are the two most important events in world history – the birth and death, and resurrection of the one who was both Son of Man and also Son of God.
Do you want to find out more about how you can attain everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord? Please contact the address on the back of this leaflet
Fiona Szabo, Copenhagen Denmark, December 2006
