Jesus is the reason for the season. We hear this truism everywhere during this time of year, and rightly so. Those of us that love God and are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ herald the truth of Christmas from the roof tops. We know that the celebration is not about how many presents we have under the tree. It’s about the joy of our blessed Savior being born into the world over two thousand years ago. The blessing of Jesus Christ coming into the world to save us is beyond anything we can imagine. However, as we celebrate his birth, there’s also a little bit of disappointment as well. The world has tried to overshadow the true joy of the birth of Christ with commercialism and anxiety about finances and gift-giving. We live in a time where many children grow up thinking that Santa is deity rather than our glorious Creator and Heavenly Father. They aren’t being taught about the goodness of God and the miracle of Jesus’s birth. This is very sad indeed.
We all remember having butterflies in our tummies as children because we couldn’t wait until Christmas morning. It’s one of the reasons we love it so much today, but the wonder of Christmas is the miraculous change that the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, made in us and all of creation. So, we can’t allow ourselves to get lost in the glitz and glamor of the world’s Christmas culture. We can’t lose sight of the reality of God’s glory that is revealed to us in Christ. Our Heavenly Father changed everything for humanity through the birth of His only begotten Son. He demonstrated His great love for us all by allowing His Son to come into the world, and this must be our true focus.
As followers of Christ, of course we focus on his first Advent, his arrival—his birth, which was prophesied by God through His prophet, Isaiah. In Isaiah 7:14(ESV), God told His people living during Old Testament times, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” In Isaiah 9:6-7(ESV), God proclaimed, “6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”
As we know, God is perfect and precise. He keeps His law and accordingly, He establishes His truth. The law given in Deuteronomy 19:15(NLT), says “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” This is a theme of God’s truth that can be found throughout His Word. Jesus Christ is the promised One, the Messiah and Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace that God prophesied about through Isaiah over 700 years prior to His only begotten Son’s birth. God establishes this Word spoken through Isaiah in the Gospels, and He does so through Simeon and Anna, in Luke 2.
During the time of the birth of Jesus, the custom was to make a purification offering after the birth of a child. If the child was a boy, he had to be dedicated to the Lord. So, Mary and Joseph, Jesus’s parents, took him to Jerusalem. Luke 2:25-31(NLT) says, “25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. 30 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people.”
Simeon was one witness according to God’s law of Deuteronomy 19:15, Anna was another. She was a prophet, the daughter of Penuel, and was at an advanced age of 84. Anna’s age equals seven twelves, a sign from our Heavenly Father of divine completeness. Anna’s father’s name was taken from the name of the place where Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, saw an appearance of the face of God, and unlike many who could not survive the sight, Jacob lived. Genesis 32:30(NLT) says, “Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” And, so it is with Anna and Simeon, they were waiting in the temple to see God in Christ face to face.
Imagine the joy that Simeon and Anna experienced. They waited decades for the comfort of seeing the Savior that had been promised. They were God’s appointed witnesses that the Messiah, the Prince of Peace had been born! The joy of that moment was inexplicable, but it is the joy you and I should express every day. He was born! The Savior of the entire world was born into the world! It should fill our lives with excitement and glee every day that we live and breathe.
God always, always completes what He begins. He is the same today, yesterday, and forever. He is faithful, true, and brings life and light to us all. In the hustle and bustle of the season, we so need to keep our eyes focused on the reason for the season. As the Body of Christ, we are standing between two proclamations, the Lord is come, and the Lord is coming again. So, with all that is going on, let’s celebrate the birth of Christ with joy. Let’s focus on his love, because you and I are the witnesses and recipients of the gift and glory of Jesus Christ, and we can hold on to the jubilant reality that indeed he is coming again! ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Celebrate that He Came, and He’s Coming Again!” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.