Chasing the Seed
How Christmas came to be
Michael Wiley
December 07, 2008
Introduction:
Christmas has been around, well, not as long as you think.
The early church didn’t celebrate Christ’s birth, they celebrated His resurrection.
The celebration of Christ’s birth in December came as a way to use the ungodly celebrations of the Romans, Norse, and Germans that often times looked something like a Mardi Gra celebration. The celebrations centered around the winter solstice, when winter was half over and the days were getting longer.
The church didn’t start celebrating Christmas until the fourth century, and we have had periods when it has fell out of disfavor.
Christmas didn’t become a federal holiday until in America until 1870.
Much of what we do at Christmas came from pagan rituals, the tree, yule log, mistletoe,
Santa (or Sinter Klaus) came with settlers in 17th century from the Dutch, and has made many developments over the years through poems, songs, and a series of Coca Cola adds in 1930.
A brief look at history shows how Christmas has developed, changed, been outlawed, and developed some more.
A brief look at the birth of Christ, shows a calculated, specific plan to redeem mankind from darkness
Transition:
Christ was no half-baked plan to pull God’s original plan out of despair. We find Christ as early as Gen 3:15
READ Gen 3:15
God had said to Adam… God taught “blessing comes by obedience” Satan said “No”
Adam believed he could improve his condition by rebelling and in so doing called God a liar
Read Gen 3:15 – “He” will crush your head.
We are bound to Adam by flesh
We are bound to Christ by Faith
The punishment was pain in childbirth for Eve,
Pain in work for Adam
And, wonder of all wonders, the promise of a deliverer.
1 Cor 15:21-22
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (NIV)
God’s promise to Abraham Gen 12:7 – All nations will be blessed through you.
Paul in Gal 3, points out that God didn’t mean we would all be blessed because of Abraham’s many descendants, but because of His one descendant, Jesus Christ.
Jesus was the promised Messiah!
Abram had Ishmael and Isaac, Isaac should not have been chosen, but was.
Isaac had Jacob and Esau, Jacob should not have been chosen but was.
Jacob fathered the twelve tribes.
As Jacob was coming to the end of his days, he called his 12 sons together and blessed them.
When he got to Judah, he said, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. (Gen 49:10NIV).”
Judah, was nothing special. He was the fourth child born to Jacob and Leah… Leah wasn’t the chief wife…
Some time later a young boy in the line of Judah would be chosen king to succeed Saul. Later Samuel would tell David that a future king would come from his lineage that would never depart the throne.
Matthew’s genealogy was to establish Jesus right to Israel’s kingship
30 some years later…John 18:37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world…" (NIV)
Now, 2000 years later, we all have Christmas Traditions…
A few here…
Mary and Joseph were following tradition based on law when they took Jesus to the temple when he was eight days old…
Luke 2 ---- Simeon had been told he would not die until he saw the savior
TURN Here
Conclusion:
Wonder of all wonders:
We can look back over history, all the way to the garden and find God at work in people’s lives to bring about comfort and peace through salvation
Wonder of all wonders:
The Angels said to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the Highest—and on earth? Peace to men!” (Luke 2)
