DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN
We are in the midst of “the holiday season.” It’s a confluence of three major holidays: the American Thanksgiving, the Christian Christmas, and the universal New Year.
There are other holidays in the neighborhood, but they don’t garner the same attention as the big money-makers.
Christmas is the big boy on the block, with the most attention, the longest history, and the vaguest connection to its true meaning.
Everyone acknowledges that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” but do we realize that the significance of his birth arches back to the beginning of time?
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). What is the connection to Jesus? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).
Jesus’ coming as a human being was foretold in the Garden of Eden: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). In this pithy statement from God, after mankind’s first sin, is the promise of a human who will finally end the ages-old battle between man and Satan, the crucifixion of the Savior and his resurrection, and the demise of Satan.
Prophecies of Jesus’ birth and life appeared for thousands of years, as he reminded some disciples after his resurrection: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself ” (Luke 24:27). And this long-awaited babe in a manger had arrived, unlike most babies, right on time: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4).
It’s easy to realize that such a miraculous birth should have great significance. Theologians describe Christ’s significance with cold, lofty words like “propitiation,” “redemption,” and “justification,” all of which are appropriate. However, there is a softer, more vulnerable side to the story.
When Jesus came down to Earth, he brought an intimacy between God and man that neither had previously experienced.
When God gave the Law to Israel at Mt. Sinai, “they could not endure the order that was given,
‘If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned’ ” (Hebrews 12:20). If someone touched the
Ark of the Covenant, they were struck dead (2 Samuel 6:7). Only the High Priest could enter the veil into the Holy of Holies, and that only for a few minutes once a year (Exodus 30:10). Touching the Holy was a fearful thing.
Jesus came bringing the law of love, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). When people touched Jesus, they were healed.
No one could look at God’s face and live (Exodus 33:20). Jesus removed that fear when he said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9).
If you want to know how God feels about people, politics, and possessions, watch Jesus interact with the suffering, the sincere, and the self-righteous. “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise’ ” (John 5:19).
In Christ, God knows what it is like to be human (Hebrews 4:15). In Christ, God came down from the mountain.
In Christ, we know God as Father. In Christ, God the Holy Spirit lives inside believers (1 Corinthians 6:19). It doesn’t get more intimate than that.
These blessings are not available at Walmart, Costco, or even Amazon. They are free for the taking when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.