Luke 2:11

New International Version

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

For Meditation

Like the sun that clears the morning fog, the historical context of a story lifts the veil that shades it. Context clears the reader’s vision and brings a fresh perspective to enhance their understanding. That is why protagonists of falsehood and deceit spend lots of capital to bury historical truth with impunity.

Christmas is here at last, and colorful decorations light up cities everywhere. Islamic countries decorate their cities better than most Christian nations. Jingles greet customers and travelers in shopping malls and airports. Shops compete to create an atmosphere for an unguarded and often irresistible shopping spree.  

Churches join in the hype, too. With profuse Christmas decorations, they organize concerts and caroling to engage its members. The Gospel is preached amidst boisterous praise and worship songs. Previously empty cathedrals overflow into sidewalks and closed streets, while some pastors take the crowd to camps outside the city to increase impact.

That is the Christmas spirit and the atmosphere in which we relive the birth of Jesus, but is that all? Does Christmas’s current commercialized and sometimes romanticized atmosphere fit into that of 6 BC? A little historical background may help clear our vision.

Herod the Great, an Edomite, seizes power over Judea and calls himself King of the Jews, with the support of Rome. He governs with an iron fist, suppressing all forms of resistance. With cunning intrigue, Herod constructs a splendid temple for the nation, an architectural wonder then, and entrusts its management to the priesthood. He siphons the temple taxes to build temples for Rome’s many deities, an offense to God’s law.

Such is the tense atmosphere that welcomes the Lord to the world He made. Can you understand the many desperate moves to rid the world of Him? Is it strange that nobody recognized Joseph and a pregnant Mary in Bethlehem to ensure them accommodation, and that there were no jingles to welcome the King of Glory to His world and among His special people?

No lights lit the streets for Him, and the families meeting around Bethlehem’s dinner tables had other topics to discuss. The sensation of some shepherds and angels singing Glory to God in the Highest (Luke 2:14) was meaningless to them.

However, the Most High smiled on His Son in the manger. All heaven rejoiced with dancing stars in the cloudless skies. The shepherds returned rejoicing after witnessing the wonder of the incarnation. I, too, rejoice at the Savior’s birth and join heaven and earth in serenading our Immanuel—God with us (Matthew 1:23), not forgetting the circumstances of His birth.

How about you?

Pray with Me

As we celebrate Christmas this year, help us, Lord, to remember the hostile environment that welcomed you into the world you created. It makes us appreciate you much more and plead your grace to honor you in our lives. In Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.