Merry Christmas! It’s About Sin

Matthew 1:21
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

We always say “Jesus is the reason for the season.” That is true. But I’m going to go farther. The above verse makes something abundantly clear—Christmas is about sin.

What is the cute baby in the nativity scene doing here? What does it all mean?

It’s about sin.

So you might say, “Jesus is the reason for the season…and sin is the reason for Jesus.”

We sing and celebrate with words like, “Christ the Savior is born!”

Savior from what?

You see, Christmas makes no sense, Christianity makes no sense—the gospel makes no sense—if we don’t understand that it was all about saving us from sin. The gospel message of salvation will never electrify our hearts if we don’t grasp this. Christmas will be reduced to warm sentimental feelings of family, gift-giving, and world peace. That falls so pitifully short.

The baby in the manger is about the Savior on the cross.

Then what the angel said to the shepherds makes sense, “And the angel said to them, ‘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’” (Luke 2:10-11).

Why is it “good news of great joy”? We are being rescued! We are cleansed from sin and saved from death, promised eternal life through the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross. We have a hope and a future. All that is wrong in the world, Jesus will one day make right. Make sure you think about this today and find the joy in it. Merry Christmas!