Yeah, yeah, I know, I know; all the signs, coffee mugs, t-shirts, and sweaters say, “Jesus is the reason for the season!” And if you are thinking, “Preacher is going to be writing about how Christmas has gotten all commercialized, and we lost sight of the purpose of the holiday.” You are mistaken.
We, you and I, and everyone else out there is the reason for the season; the reason for Christmas.
When I was a child, I was one of those kids that continually asked, “Why?” In the first grade, we went on a field trip to a farm. We entered the barn, and two pigs were doing what needs to be done to make piglets. All the kids asked in unison, “What are they doing?” Not me, I asked, “Why are they doing that?” I’ve pretty much have lived life that way, asking, “why?” instead of “what?”
When the phrase, “Jesus is the reason for the season” started becoming popular, I began to ask why. The obvious response is it is Jesus’ birthday. But, to me, the fact that it is the day we celebrate His birth is more an answer to what than to why. This thought caused me to ask if the statement was accurate? Is Jesus the reason for the season?
To answer these questions, we need to look at why He was born.
As for the rest of us, we have to figure out why we are here, but the reason for Jesus’ birth was announced long before His arrival here on this earth.
Mary was a virgin (Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:27) when the angel Gabriel explained to her she was going to give birth to God’s Son. Gabriel’s primary description of Him to her was that He would one day be King (Luke 1:26-33).
When the angel came to Mary, she was engaged to Joseph. Engagement in those days was different than it is today. During the engagement, the couple did not live together, but the engagement was legally binding. Today, if an engaged couple decides not to get married, they go their separate ways, but in Mary and Joseph’s day, they would need to get a divorce to stop the marriage from proceeding.
In Matthew 1:19 the Bible tells us Joseph was considering divorce. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. The woman he is going to marry is pregnant, and he knows he is not the father. I’m sure Mary’s enlarging belly brought up discussion between the two, but the Bible is clear, Mary did not tell Joseph about the origins of the Child within her (Luke 1:19).
While Joseph is trying to decide what to do, an angel comes to him in a dream (Matthew 1:18-25) explaining the situation. The angel tells Joseph the purpose of God-Child, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The reason God became man and dwelt among us is to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21; Philippians 2:7-8; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; Luke 1:30-33; John 1:1-2,14; Romans 1:1-4; Romans 8:3).
The human race fell into sin way back in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-7). It was then, in the Garden of Eden, God gave the first promise of sending His Son to take care of the sin problem (Genesis 3:15).
When you are the one that creates the universe, you are also the one who gets to make the rules. God established the rule, that “without shedding of blood is no remission” of sin (Hebrews 9:22).
Jesus was born to save us from our sins, and the only way He could do this is to shed His blood.
John the Baptist acknowledged Jesus’ purpose and His need to shed His blood at Jesus’ baptism, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
The term, “Lamb of God,” means so much. As the Lamb, He is the sacrifice, propitiation, and price paid for our sin (Ephesians 5:2; Titus 2:14; 1 John 3:16; Romans 3:23; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Corinthians 7:23; 1 Peter 3:4).
The reason Jesus was born was to pay for our sins by shedding His blood on the cross of Calvary. The reason He was born was us. There is no salvation from our sins without His blood being shed for us. He had to be born so that He could die for us.
We are the reason for the season.
