On December 25, just a few days from now, we celebrate the birth of the Christ (Jesus of Nazareth), who came into this world a little over 2,000 years ago. The actual date of Jesus’s birth is disputed, but that aside, December 25, Christ’s Day, Christmas, is greatly anticipated in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. In Belize, from the beginning of December it’s one activity after another until the big day.
Jesus was born to the tribe called Jews in Bethlehem, and He became the Savior for people all over the world. Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe said the first direct prophecy of Jesus’s coming is recorded in Deuteronomy, whose authorship Bible scholars attribute to the prophet Moses, around 1,400 years before His birth. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses says: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.”
Speaking of this Messiah to come, the BBC says, “Some Jews were looking for a warrior Messiah to overthrow the Romans”, and “some Jews were looking for a king who would have great wealth and power and demand obedience.” We know the only crown that the Christ would wear in His time on earth was one made out of thorns.
Author, university professor, regular columnist in The Gospel Coalition, Trevin Wax said, “The Gospels reveal a Jesus focused on Israel. In fact, his ministry appears to be focused so relentlessly on the Jewish people that many scholars have debated whether Jesus was concerned with outsiders at all. He claimed that his mission was only to the ‘lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 15:24).’”
Wax said, “Jesus ministered to the Jews for the Gentiles.” He said Jesus “is the good shepherd come to gather the renewed Israel around himself, and to launch their trajectory into the world with the healing grace God always intended to flow through his chosen people,” and that “we should say the mission of Jesus is first to Israel (through his own ministry) and then to the Gentiles (through the actions of his apostles).”
The Jews had waited over a millennium for a Messiah, a conquering hero to come and subjugate their enemies. They were no strangers to wars. The Old Testament, particularly the Books of Samuel and Kings, is littered with military conflicts. According to the Book of Exodus, the Jews’ first great leader, Moses, took up the mantle of leadership a number of years after fleeing from Egypt after he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew; and in the Book of Kings, David is exalted for crushing all the Jews’ enemies militarily.
Jesus did not exist in our part of the world until the coming of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Disparagers of the Christian faith charge that the Europeans who conquered the Americas and Africa did so with a sword in one hand and the Bible (Jesus) in the other. No doubt, political and military leaders exploited the charismatic Christ, but many missionaries were sincere in spreading the Gospels to “unbelievers.”
Jesus was a man of peace, not the messiah the Jews dreamed of, and they put Him to death as an imposter, a threat to their status quo. Today, Jews still don’t see Jesus as divine. To them He is one of many who came before and after Him claiming they were the One.
In the struggle for survival in a world where some have too much and want more, and some have too little, peace is elusive. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shook up the world. Russia, which has forwarded two reasons for the invasion, chose to use might, its powerful military arsenal, to gain its end. The organs of the United Nations (UN) were at their disposal to mediate the differences they had with their neighbor. In a civilized world, Russia would have taken its grief, legitimate or illegitimate, to the General Assembly, the International Court of Justice, core bodies of the UN. For almost three years and counting, Russia has been pounding Ukraine with bombs and bullets, and between Russia’s attack and Ukraine’s defense, tens of thousands have been killed or wounded, most of them young adults.
Modern Israel responded a hundredfold to an October 7, 2023 attack by the military group Hamas which left over a thousand people dead. Modern Israel has dropped tons of explosives on Gaza since, bombs that have killed 45,000 men, women, and children, wounded over a hundred thousand others, caused famine and disease, and reduced homes, hospitals, and schools to rubble. It’s a page out of the Book of Kings, this revenge mission. Modern Israel, boastfully, is blasting its way to peace. But peace gained through ugly violence is not the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Only peace won through love can endure.
Wars largely funded by outside forces in Sudan in Africa, and Yemen in the Middle East, have caused tens of thousands of deaths, famine, and the displacement of millions. In our hemisphere, for over 60 years our brothers and sisters in Cuba have been victimized by a brutal US trade embargo that was imposed in 1962; and in Haiti the aspirations of our brothers and sisters have been stymied since their declaration of independence from France in 1804, over 200 years ago.
These wars between nations, and civil wars, are but a few of the troubles mankind around the world struggles with. Murders, rapes, greed, disrespect, and environmental abuse are daily occurrences in the experience of humankind all over. For Christians, Christ is the answer in the midst of all this chaos!
In the Christian faith, there are literalist and non-literalist believers, the former believing that every word in the Bible comes directly from God, the latter believing in the message. For literalist believers, God created the earth in 6 days, and Jesus’s physical body was transformed at the resurrection. Literalist Christians are more likely to support so-called “holy” wars. Non-literalist believers, who are viewed suspiciously by literalist Christians, believe in a spiritual resurrection. Non-literalist believers are largely pacifists.
There is no division among Christians about the life and ministry of Jesus. They are awed by His heart, humility, and unparalleled sacrifice. For Christians of every sect and kind, He is the Prince of Peace. The Bahá’ís speak glowingly about Him; the Muslims speak about Him with tremendous respect. And Christians adore Him. To walk in His footsteps is to lead the most exemplary life.
We know at this time two thousand plus years ago, the Magi were well on their way to Bethlehem, that Jesus’s first abode would be a humble stable, and that soon after His birth King Herod would set out to harm Him. And that He would grow up and His message of peace on earth, goodwill to all men would ring in every corner of the globe.
From tip to tip of the Americas, all over the world, the Faithful are getting ready for the big day, with colored lights, the Krismos tree, food and drinks, and gifts for loved ones. At Christmas we make a special effort to be like Jesus. We express and show love to all our brothers and sisters, and especially the children who, “red and yellow, black and white … are precious in His sight.” Christmas, “It’s that time of year when good friends are near … [when] People you don’t know smile and nod hello … It’s that once of year when the world’s sincere, And you’d like to find a way to show the things that words can’t say.”
A Merry Christmas to all!