Many people, whether they are religious or not, believe Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25th. The Bible does not tell us the date of Jesus’ birth, nor does it tell us to observe or celebrate His birth. We have no Biblical authority to celebrate or observe any day as the birth of Christ. Despite these facts, some people can be heard to affirm, “Jesus is the reason for the season!”
Jesus is not the reason for the holiday season, but He is the reason for many much more important blessings we can enjoy. Consider some things said about Jesus in Colossians 1:13-23.
1. Jesus is the reason we have salvation. There are terrible consequences to our sins – they entangle us in bondage and condemn our souls. We are powerless to save ourselves from these consequences. We desperately need a Savior. God has supplied us with this savior - Jesus Christ. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14).
2. Jesus is the reason we have peace with God. Reconciliation is one of the great themes of Scripture. It means “to render no longer opposed,” or to make friendly again. Our sins separate us from God and make us His enemies. If we die in this spiritual state, we will be doomed to spend eternity separated from God in a burning Hell.
In Colossians 1:20-22, Paul explains that the blood of the cross of Jesus, which washes away our sins, is the only thing that allows us to be reconciled to God. Jesus is the reason Christians are no longer “alienated and enemies.” Jesus is the reason we are “holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” Jesus has “made peace through the blood of His cross,” and we can enjoy the blessing of this great peace by obeying His gospel.
3. Jesus is the reason we have hope. Paul speaks of “the hope of the gospel which you have heard.” The gospel contains facts to be believed and commands to be obeyed. When they are, the gospel also gives us promises to be received. One of these promises is the hope of eternal life. Because of Jesus, we don’t have to struggle aimlessly through this life with nothing to look forward to but the grave. The faithful Christian has hope in something much better awaiting us after death – Heaven!
However, notice that the realization of this hope is conditional. Paul says, “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister” (Col. 1:23, emphasis mine - HR). What if we don’t continue in the faith? What if we aren’t grounded and steadfast? What if we are moved away from our hope? The answer is obvious - we will not receive these great blessings.
Jesus did not come to this earth so we would have a holiday to spend time with family and exchange gifts. He came so we could be saved from our sins, be at peace with God, and live with hope in that which is to come.